Gabriella's Media Studies Blog: Research

When being given the challenge to create the beginning of a film it is often over looked how important a film opening actually is. Me and my group have decided to gather an overall view of what it truly is and how we can meet what is expected of us. Here is what I have learned!

A film opening is typically the first few scenes of a film, it introduces the story to the audience. This establishes main characters, setting, genre, and tone.

The opening is very important since it is the audiences first impression of the film, it must grab their attention. It sets the expectations for the rest of the film. It gathers an idea of what kind of the story is about to unfold, it creates curiosity and the need to know what happens next. The tone of the film opening is also very important, audiences subconscious look for hints about the film. This includes clothing music, lighting, any short dialogue , and more. It helps the audience understand what type of story they could possibly expect to see.

Effective film openings are made using many different techniques. This consists of establishing shots to share the initial location of the story; dialogue or narration provides plot and introductions to characters, and finally sound effects and music is often used as a huge give away to what the mood of a story may be. In some film openings conflict is shown almost immediately to show off important events that affect the rest of the film, however in other films mystery I built up as the main conflict isn't shown till later in the film.

Film openings set the narrative, drawing audiences into the world of film. An impactful opening can introduces questions that will be answered throughout the film. It introduces excitement and interest.

Here is one of my most recent favorite film openings:

"Baby Driver" is a 2017 action thriller film, it immediately grabs the audience's attention as it introduces major factors to the story line. From the first scene we are introduced to the main character "Baby" right after he executes a high speed getaway. It shows Baby listening to music as he always does throughout the film. It is a fast paced energetic scene that perfectly captures what the rest of the film will be like.