Genre

Horror movie openings all use quite similar techniques which tend to reveal their genre. The first convention of a horror movie can appear very early on - when the film corporation names appear in the first 10 seconds or so, sometimes the producers put a slight spin on it by incorporating horror-like colours or effects to it. Another thing they typically do is use typography to set the scene during the credits - this is especially important when the beginning of the plot doesn't reflect the genre. A lot of films incorporate font or a title sequence that shows the horror genre, e.g. scratchy font or words that looks like they're dripping blood. Another convention of typical horror movies is music - creepy music is often played during the title sequence to give an indication of the genre that is to come, which is very effective as it sets the mood before the film even starts. Finally, horror films often use close ups of blood etc. to show their genre, as this is a good way to get an audience in the right mood, and captivated by what is to come. An example of a horror movie opening is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The film opens in a way which is quite typical to a horror film, first showing a woman peering at the camera, which is in place of an unknown object. This adds a sense of vulnerability to the audience, as right from the start a woman is making eye contact with us from a higher angle with low lighting, making us as viewers feel smaller and less powerful. Next, there are a lot of close ups - again, these are all shown in low lighting, which gives us a sense of the unknown and unsafe atmosphere that is going to come. The content of the close ups are also conventions of horror movies, as they are old, black and white photographs of younger children - which are often seen in horror films about death or supernatural forces. Finally, there is a lot of blood and close ups of people's bleeding/disfigured flesh, which is obviously related to horror movies, and also sets the scene of what the specifics of the film are about. The target audience of this genre tends to be older teenagers or young adults, as a lot of the blood, gore and jump-scares of horror are too much for younger viewers., and people aged 16-25 are usually a lot more geared toward thrill seeking than adults, and so it suits them a lot more. Also, the main characters in horror films tend to be young families, young couples or just young adults, and often the main character of the film tends to make up a large part of the audience as they're easier to relate to.

Sci-fi movie openings have very specific conventions, which is how they reveal their genre. The main way they do this is in the establishing shot - since most sci-fi films are set in the future, an establishing shot that shows this is very important in terms of the audience understanding the type of film. Close ups of technology, costume and props are also very common in science fiction, as it puts the focus on the new machinery, clothing, and items, giving the audience a sense of futurism. Finally, narration is another convention of sci-fi films. Since sci-fi's include a lot of things that are unrecognisable and unfamiliar to us, narration helps a lot with setting the scene and revealing to the audience what's happened between the present day and when the film is set. Gattaca is a film set in the future, about a world where you can alter an unborn child's DNA. The opening sequence of this film matches a lot of the conventions of other Sci-fi films. Firstly, there are many close ups - at the start of the opening sequence, the camera shows microscopic fingernail clippings, hair shavings, and skin pieces all falling to the ground. They appear very big, and make a loud noise when they land - this not only gives the audience a sense of what the film is going to be about, but it shows the importance of DNA throughout the film. There's no narration within the title sequence, however, this may be due to the lack of immediately present futuristic technology - later on in the film, there is narration, which is introduced as the changing DNA part of the film comes into play. However, even though there is a lack of futuristic technology, the house the title sequence is set in isn't like a modern family home - the floor is made of dark wood and the rest of the walls and furnishings look like metal - it's very hospital like, which is a key thing in giving away the genre within the opening credits. The target audience of sci-fi films I think can be any age, but they tend to be for mainly males. This is because science and maths are typically male dominated, and so men would stereotypically be a lot more interested in watching films along the lines of these subjects.

Teen movie openings are almost all based around their own conventions - if they didn't incorporate them, they wouldn't really be classed as 'teen movies'. Most of the conventions in this genre are based around stereotypes of the characters - for example, you have the popular girls (unintelligent, short skirts, slutty etc.), the 'jocks' (bullies, unintelligent and obsessed with sports), and the outsider (the main focus of the film; someone who sees the others for who they truly are). These are almost always the main characters - the main convention of teen films plays on these stereotypes, and results in the unpopular girl getting the popular guy. Conventions of teen film openings are usually the introductions of these characters. The Breakfast Club is a very typical teen movie. In the opening two minutes, all the characters are introduced, and they are all stereotypes of one type of clique. The fact that they are all in detention together in school gives the audience an immediate idea that eventually, all the characters are going to come together and we are going to find out about the non-typical, individual side of each of them. They are all revealed in succession, along with their parents (when they are getting out the car to go into school) - by doing this, we can very easily tell who belongs to which clique, as for example, Claire gets out of the car, and her dad says something about her skipping school to go shopping. Brian, on the other hand, gets told off and then told to use the time to study by his mum, and John walks in on his own, being very reckless and almost walking in front of another car pulling up. This introduction of each stereotype individually allows us to know more about each character, and therefore when watching it, we care more about what happens to them. Teen movies are highly targeted toward teenage girls and young (female) adults. This is because they tend to be either about romance, which is seen to be a lot more suited to females than males, and also because the protagonist is almost always female in those types of films. They also tend to represent 'female experiences', and since they always end with the girl getting the guy, they hold the ideal outcome for most teenage girls.

Action movie openings have a lot of different conventions, but they all relate to each other in the same way. Action movies conventionally have fast paced music to get the audience excited, missions that need to be completed to save something important, and an evil force trying to stop them. Big explosions, fast pace chases and a lot of tension play a huge part in every action film, and so you could conclude that overall, the main convention of an action film is fast paced action, and speed. In action movie openings, the audience will get the feeling that all of these things are about to happen, as they tend to start off with a normal person, and something going wrong. Batman is an action film. The titles aren't the most stereotypical, as they are quite slow paced in terms of the content, but there is fast, tension filled music to contrast this. Also, since Batman is quite a well known film/brand, the slow reveal of the Batman logo does build up suspense, and make you feel like something action filled is going to happen. The colours and lighting are both dark, meaning you can't actually tell what is going to be revealed until the very end of the opening titles, which again, adds suspense. The titles themselves are nothing special - they are in yellow font, centred on the screen. These don't particularly add anything to the opening in terms of revealing the genre, but they do contrast nicely with the dark colour scheme, and also since the Batman logo is black and yellow, it creates an image of that in your head before the film even starts. There's a core target audience who would probably want to watch action films - typically young adult males, with an interest in action, thrills and excitement. They usually go see these films with other men, as action films contain things that are stereotypically "masculine" - things like car chases, explosions, gun fights, melee fighting, etc. However, a lot of films are cross-genre now, and often action films tend to have elements of romance and comedy in too, and so the audience for action movies tend to be a lot more widespread than they used to be.

Crime movie openings have few conventions. Crime movies themselves always have protagonists and antagonists, and so one main convention of a crime move opening is to introduce the protagonist. They also tend to start off just like any other film, as they want you to see the protagonist as a normal person - so when something goes wrong, you sympathise with them, and want to watch the rest of the film to find out if they are okay. They also often include police or detectives, which are sometimes introduced early on in the film, and sometimes introduced later on once the antagonist is known. The Godfather: Part 1 opening kind of reflects these conventions, as although most of the opening is based around the credits, they do show a lot of furniture/props in a house, albeit for an aesthetic reason. Who we assume to be the protagonist is shown a few times in the beginning, in normal, everyday situations, such as a cafe, sitting in a chair, and being outside. The target audience for crime films is generally stereotyped as being aimed at men, due to use of violence, the justice system and villains. Normally the lead protagonist tends to be a strong, dominant male, and so other males would relate to this and probably want to view the film. People over 15 tend to watch crime films, as they often include blood, violence or gore, and so are not suitable for younger viewers.

How do marketing companies attract an audience?
The title of a film is what first catches our attention. It can make a big difference as to whether or not the film is successful at the box office, meaning that the choice of a title is a crucial part of the marketing campaign. 

Trailers are also used to attract audiences. When we watch a trailer, we are seeing the most exciting, funny, significant or dramatic parts of a film, which creates a lot of excitement as we then want to see how the story shown in the trailer is pieced together. Trailers are also usually fast paced, using very short clips from the film, which means the audience has to concentrate hard to understand what's going on. Also, narration is used in a trailer to create a ‘want–to-see‘ reaction in an audience, by raising questions about both the plot and the character that you can only find out by watching the film. The trailers are carefully marketed - they are shown on TV at certain times on certain channels, as to attract specific audiences.