Film Opening Analysis

Student made film openings

 Hemlock

Quite a lot of the plot is introduced in the opening two minutes. It shows a person in a hooded coat pushing a wheelbarrow, with what we can see to be a dead body covered by a blanket. From this, we can presume that the rest of the film would be something to do with the body, maybe how the person got killed or the story of the person with the body - are they the killer? If not, how did they come across the body? All of these questions about potential plotlines show that the general theme of the film has been given away, but not the entire plotline. We see two characters only in the opening two minutes. I think we presume that both of them are the main characters, as it seems logical for the story to continue with how the body came to be where it was, and how the other person did too - we don't know for definite if they're the people the story actually focuses on as the whole film isn't in existence, but from what there is it seems like both the main characters are featured. There isn't any dialogue over the top as there's music and sounds instead - I think this is effective as it adds to the overall dark mood of the clip. There's only one location, the pathway in the outdoor area they're burying the body in. This, again, adds to the mood of the film opening, as it helps keep up with the still, calm, and dark mood of the scene. The credits appear on the screen as the body is being wheeled to the hole in the ground, which is a good way of not only setting the scene (with the forest/path and the body) but distracting from the long shot of it being wheeled up the path (which lasts just over a minute).

Red Tide

Most of the plot is introduced in the opening two minutes. You can tell that it's going to be a war film, as it's quite difficult to introduce that specific genre in the opening two minutes and create a complete change of one after that. However, we don't know if there is another main focus apart from this - it could just be a small part of a flashback, or the main focus could be about someone at home missing their husband who is in the war - this means we know part of the plot, but not all of it, meaning that we are curious as to what is going to happen. We see a lot of characters in the opening of this film, but a lot of them are shot. However, it's easy to tell who the two main characters are as they are the only ones who share dialogue, and you also see them both running away together. This is the only dialogue throughout the film opening, however I think adding any more would have taken away the effect it had, as it was fast paced, shaky and tense - more dialogue would have created a more still atmosphere, taking away from the overall feeling of it. The opening  is filmed outside - in the woods, and then in a field for the very last part. There's a lot of movement throughout with the camera, and so more locations would have probably made it quite confusing. There are quite a few credits, but they don't add or take anything away from the opening - they only let the viewer know the actors etc.

Untitled Youth

There isn't much of the plot revealed in the opening sequence of this film. You find out what the film is going to be about - a group of people wearing masks - but that's all you really find out. This both adds to and takes away from it - it does make you want to watch more, but the lack of knowledge about the plot does make it slightly less interesting. It's not very clear who the main character is - the first person you see is the man in the car driving up to the masked person, and you presume he is the main character until it cuts to the part with the person in the mask sitting at the table. This also makes it slightly more confusing as the viewers perception as to who is the main character changes over the course of two minutes. There's dialogue throughout the opening - I think including this was a good idea as it helps it to have a sense of realism, and it also makes it easier to understand. It's filmed in two locations - the road where the masked person is first introduced, and the office/police station. The title sequence is very fast paced, with lots of rapid changing patterns in the background, making it interesting to watch and fitting well with the mood of the opening.

Produced film openings

 Fight Club

In the opening scene of Fight Club, there is only around 15 seconds of the actual film (due to the credits), but a lot is revealed. Since that 15 seconds is in 'real time', and the rest (up to that point in the (whole) film, which is right near the end) is the Narrator filling in the details of how he got there, you essentially know how the film ends before it even begins. However, it doesn't give away the entire plot, and that's what makes it such a good film opening - it begins with someone we immediately guess to be the main character with a gun in his mouth, and he reveals through narration that he will tell us the story of how he got there. This makes the audience curious as to how a seemingly normal character got into that situation, and why he is so calm (which is also revealed later on in the film). Both the main characters are introduced in the opening scene - Tyler and the Narrator. However, this is only known  to people who are familiar with the film, as Tyler isn't in any of the shots, it's just his voice. However, this could be foreshadowing as the biggest plot twist in the film is the fact that Tyler isn't actually real, just a result of the Narrator's insomnia - so showing his voice but not him could be representing the fact that that's all he really is - a voice inside the Narrator's head. The dialogue in the opening scene is minimal, but it still manages to be very intriguing. Tyler says,

'Three minutes. This is it. Ground zero. Would you like to say a few words to mark the occasion?'

Combined with the situation the Narrator is in, using this sentence as the opening one creates a lot of interest into what Tyler actually means, why they're there and what they are going to do. Only one location is used in the opening scene to Fight Club, but I think this is very effective in contrast to the credits. The credits are very fast paced, with lots of flashing lights, fast music and glowing text, and so when it moves onto Tyler and the Narrator in the dark, still, empty office block, the use of one location (and not moving onto another one to keep with the pace of the title sequence) emphasises the aforementioned characteristics of the location, and so it makes people pay more attention to what's going on, and so they're probably more interested.

 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

The first two minutes of this film don't give away a lot of the plot, but it is very good at creating an interest in what is going to happen. It shows Joel, the main character, waking up, getting out of bed and going to the train station. He is average looking, wears average clothes, and there is initially nothing really interesting about him at all. The train station also reflects this - everyone, including Joel, is wearing grey business suits, grey coats and dark scarves - it looks almost colourless. However, toward the end of the first two minutes, instead of getting on his usual train, he is shown running across the platform, onto a different one. In the narration over the top of the scene, he says

'I ditched work today. Took a train out to Montauk. I don't know why. I'm not an impulsive person.'

This creates a sense of interest as the boring person we perceived Joel to be in the beginning is now changing - it makes people want to keep watching as this could be the start of a big turning point in his non-impulsive, uninteresting life. This does turn out to be true, as him taking the train to the beach allows him to meet Clementine, and subsequently get his memory of her erased, which, to anyone, is something very interesting. Joel is the only character introduced in the opening two minutes, but shortly after that, Clementine, the other main character, is also introduced. This is important as we have already started to connect with Joel, because it's him we meet first, and because we see Clementine for the first time when Joel does, it allows us to form a new connection with her as he did at that point in time. There's minimal dialogue in the opening two minutes - the only thing we hear anyone say (apart from the narration) is Joel phoning his work and explaining that he's not coming into work. This is effective as the first piece of dialogue we hear from him is something that doesn't really match the boring, bleak lifestyle we have seen him lead - the train station, his house, his clothes etc. are all very dull, and so when we first hear him speak, lying to his boss about why he isn't coming into work, it creates a sense of excitement and change. There are three locations in the opening two minutes of this film. They are all fairly normal places - a house, a train station and a beach - since this is contrasting with what's actually happening, it makes it a lot more interesting. It also emphasises how ordinary Joel's life is, and so in turn emphasising how not ordinary the beginning plot is. There are no credits in the first 2 minutes of the film - however, this could be foreshadowing, as the opening of the film actually belongs at the end - at the start of the film, he is meeting Clementine for the first time in his POV, but it's actually the second time after they both wiped their memories of each other. The credits appear when that scene ends and it cuts to the chronological start, which to some people, may be a sign of how the plot is actually ordered.

Trainspotting

A lot of the plot is revealed in the first two minutes. The film opens with two of the main characters, Renton and Spud, running away from two security guards. Their pockets are full of things, which is obvious to the viewer that they have stolen. There is narration over the top of the scene - saying:

'Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family, Choose a fucking big television, Choose  washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin opener. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed-interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends.'

 This narration doesn't give away the plot, but it gives away the genre and feeling of the film. Since Renton is talking about living the typical middle-class life, but him and Spud are shown running away from security guards with stolen things in their pockets, it's revealed to the viewer that he obviously doesn't mean these things (at that moment in time). Therefore, we get the sense that the film is about something to do with rebelling against authority and not obeying the law. There are two of the 5 main characters introduced straight away in the opening two minutes - Renton and Spud - and the rest are introduced a little later in the opening, all together in a football game. The character's names are shown through a freeze-frame, where their individual names flash on the screen at the point they come in shot. However, since the film is about Renton and his experience with drug addiction and (attempted) recovery, only his name is shown at the start, despite being with Spud. The rest of the character's names are revealed during a football game. There isn't much dialogue in the start of the opening, as there's lots of narration instead - the first time the characters properly talk is when they're shooting up, which gives the audience a better idea to their personality as the first time we feel properly connected to them is when they're beginning to take heroin. There are a few locations in the opening two minutes - the main ones being the street Renton and Spud are running down, the football pitch, and the flat they are doing drugs in. These locations help us to form a better idea in our heads of the character's personalities, as the first locations are the street when they're running away from shop security, them playing football as a group, and them taking drugs. There aren't any credits in the opening two minutes, as it focuses more on the characters themselves rather than the introduction of the film.