Research - Types of Film Openings

Types of Film Openings:



Narrative Openings - They set the scene, introduce the characters as well as inform the audience as to their situation.

Examples (Films) we see narrative openings in:-

• The Shining - Ariel tracking's used to stalk a car as it's driving through a rural, isolated location. The non-diegetic music's tense and disturbed.

• Trainspotting - The name's of main characters in this feature-length's highlighted in a bold-style font during lead protagonist (Renton)'s narrative opening. This helps the audience familiarise themselves with character's personalities as well as their overall attitudes e.g. Spud's small-minded way of acting. Multiple scenes are also intercut together to enforce the sense of characters and their lives. 

Discrete Opening - An opening that usually separates itself from the actual film itself. This short-feature's typically used to emphasis a title sequence.
Example of a discrete opening:

• Se7en - During the disturbing opening. Fast-paced/rapid editing is used. All cuts convey a distorted feature as it is enforced with close-ups of props (razor-baldes, needles, etc.), scrapbook photos/entries and body shots; there are no facial shots in this discreet opening.  

Titles Over Blank Screens - Unlike the other two types of film openings (narrative & discrete), titles over blank screens helps us understand the overall mood set for a film. As appose to familiarising us with any characters.
Example of a title over blank screens:

• Donnie Darko - We see the film open with diegetic thunder after the gothic-font title exits the screen using a transition. The amount the screen-time a character is presented usually highlights their importance to the main plot without using a narrative element. Though some may argue these type of openings limits expectations for the film. Others would say lack of opening knowledge makes for an interesting feature.