Conventions of Film Openings

I have seen two film openings in order to establish the conventions of film openings. The first film was 'The Taking of Pelham 123' and the second film was 'Psycho'. 'Psycho' was an example of a thriller film with a classic opening.

In an opening of a film we see

• The credits- title sequence
• We are introduced to the main characters
• Introduced to the key setting and locations
• Production and Distribution Co. idents
• Introduced to the start of the narrative to get a sense of the storyline
• We get a sense of the pace of the film- what the mood and the tone will be like later
• Sets up the genre
• The film title is usually early on in the sequence
• Music is used to set the mood

In a Classic opening we see

• Cityscape- this is the location in which the film is set
• Window- this shows us the room where the opening of the film may take place
• The characters- the main character