*Conventions of a film opening is basically a way in which something is usually done at the begining of a film*
In lesson i watched 3 film openings and i was able to recognise certain conventions seen in not just those three openings but in general, as in most movies that i have seen.
One Convention of film openings are that production logo's such as Warner Bros, Universal, Paramount etc
are present.
are present.
Here are parts of the openings from 2 of the movies watched in class, these movies are Psycho (1960) and Goodfella's (1990):
as you can see, both Psycho and Goodfella's have production Logos to tell viewers what company made the film.
Title Sequences/Credits
The title sequence and credits show the name of the film, key production members (like the director and editor) and main cast members. This can sometimes be used to convey the genre of the film, for example in Goodfella's the title is shown in red to convey the violent nature of the film:
Establishment of Genre
In an opening of a film the genre can be established, this can be done through the editing of a film, for example in Psycho, the names Transition by being slashed and moved eratically across the screen suggesting that the film is a thriller or horror:
This can also be done through Sound, in psycho there is some sort of sharp and unsettling soundtrack present in the opening which makes the the viewer some what uncomfortable. This is done to differientiate the film from other genres such as romance, sci-fi and comedy, therefore establishing it as a horror/thriller.
- Here is the link to Psycho's Opening which shows good examples on how genre is established.
Esablishment of Setting
Setting can be established in the opening of a film, this can also be done through Sound, in Goodfella's opening there is diegetic sounds of city cars suggesting that the film is set in the city. The sound of cars also lead up to a scene in opening introducing the main charactor or protagonist.
Location / establishing shots and extreme long shots are used as well as panning to establish key locations that may be important in the film and gives the audience an idea of the place were the film is meant to be set.
In Psycho an establishing shot was done
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