Codes and Convections of Film Openings

The opening of the first 2 minutes of any film is highly important, as with any entertainment the beginning is what will entice and keep the audience interested. For instance the film opening should be gripping, should entice and not allow the audience or film critics to become bored, however this must be achieved without also giving too much away.



At the very beginning of every film before any suspenseful or action scenes occur; a production logo is introduced usually shown before any actual movie scene. The most common often being Paramount, Tri-Star and 20th Century Fox. This shows the viewer who has produced the film, as well as which studios have funded the making of it. The production logo also may add status because it denotes a studio, a nationality and the quality of the film we may be about to watch.

After the production logo is shown the next step of the opening of a film, will traditionally be the opening credits also known as the opening title sequence. This is also crucial because this will tell the audience who the director is, who the actors are and if there will be any guest appearances.



However, there can be variations to the standard form of introducing these credits, George Lucas (an established director) decided to do something different. In the opening of the 1970’s sci-fi Star Wars movie, Instead of rolling credits he decided to open with dramatic silence, and a short and memorable quote appears for the audience to read, “A long time ago in a galaxy far far away”. Followed by the film title is a rolling narrative introduction, of a general background story for the audience to also read and understand. In the same frame two spaceships fly at an angle to make it appear, as if they are going over the audience’s heads; shooting lasers at each other. The effects of this are still recognised and marvelled at today, due to Lucas’ creativity, not only with the opening style, but also the dramatic music used in the first few scenes. Other recognisable openings have also been noted in James Bond movies, Jaws and Indiana Jones.

Most films have a central protagonist, which means throughout the film the story will be evolved around him or her. If this is the case the actor may get introduced in the opening scene. For example in the opening of all ‘Indiana Jones’ movies, Spielberg chooses a format where he introduces the hero ‘Indy’ played by Harrison Ford; in initial dramatic, audience enticing action scene’s. These initial action openings have nothing to do with the general plot, but are tactics to excite the viewer even before the actual narrative takes place.