By Indya Clayton

Conventional ContentAll film openings have a universal structure of content.

What I have noticed is that most of my film openings include:

Idents

Titles

Credits

An opening scene

Sound

Idents Idents have been used in these film openings to inform

the audience on the studios that produced or had associations with the production of the film.

They establish authority and sets the standard of the film straightaway.

Idents are usually accompanied by sound effects and have some sort of animation effect when they appear.

Titles The titles used in these films are usually enhanced

by the use of sound effects and bold typography styles. This is so that they are easily seen and the viewer knows what they are watching.

The title effects establishes the tone of the film. The information of the titles used are usually

credits so actors/actresses’ names as well as directors and editors etc.

Also, titles of studios are used as well as idents to emphasise the studios impact on the film.

Credits I have noticed that the credits used in film

openings are presented one by one or in groups of a maximum 3. This is perhaps to make the credits unmissable for the viewer.

Some opening credits in films are accompanied by sound and some are not.

Some credits have animated effects to set the tone of the film for example in Insidious especially.

Opening Scene Most of these film openings have an opening scene

which is used to establish part of the narrative of the film.

These opening consist of key characters and key locations to establish a specific reading.

Sound The sound used in these film openings varies from

each genre.

Sound is overall used to create mood/atmosphere through sound effects of titles and incidental music.

Creating the Correct MoodFilm openings create mood through the use of sound

especially as it sets a tone of the film from the very beginning immediately establishing the film’s mood.

The typography of titles helps create the correct mood which communicates to the viewer the genre of film as well as the narrative

Technical Construction Film openings have been technically constructed in a

way that conveys the right tone/atmosphere, narrative and location to the audience.

By constructing titles, idents, sound, opening scenes and credits together, the audience view a film opening that is successful in grabbing their attention.