Conventions of a Film Opening (Research Task 1)

What are the conventions of film openings?

There are a few main types of conventions which are portrayed in many films, for example: thrillers. Film openings tend to be at lest 2-3 minutes long so that the audience gets an idea of what the film is going to be about.

The main conventions are:
- An introduction of the characters and Directors
- Music
- Film title
- Production logo
- Setting (e.g: location, time)
- They may introduce a pre-plot of the film


The Taking of Pelham 123 is a good example of conveying the conventions of a film opening.

Main Characters & Directors

John Travolta's name cascaded across the city to portray
significance.

Two main characters are shown in the film opening to also
show significance

The main characters are portrayed through text on the film opening, 'John Travolta' is introduced to convey his significance in the film. Names of celebrities that are shown in the introduction of the film opening will enhance the popularity of the film and it will encourage their fans to go and watch the film.  The directors name is also conveyed to the audience right after the production names 'A Scott Free.Escape Artist, which conveys to the audience who created the film.

Music
Music is used to create an atmosphere for the audience, in reference to The taking of Pelham 123 uses a hip hop track which was produced by Harry Gregson-Williams which sets the mood of the film. The music that is used in the film, determines what genre the film is.

Film Title

A film title introduces the film, and it tells the audience that the film is about to start. It provides information of the film to the audience by the style of font the film uses to promote the film. 'The taking of PELHAM' in the film title, suggests that it is taking place in an urban city, of Pelham.

Production Companies

The company productions are promoted at the very start of the film, which conveys their stake in the making of The taking of Pelham 123. At the start of the film opening, we see a 'Columbia Pictures' that steadily zooms in to the screen in slow motion, which gives the audience time to acknowledge where the production of the film comes from. Also, there is bold, black text cascaded across the city setting, which also gives the audience acknowledged of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures (MGM) contribution the film.

Setting

The setting of the film is a crucial element because it provides information to the audience of where the film is set and what time of day it is. As you can see, it is in an urban city, with massive amounts of development which suggests that the film is set in a modern city with modern technology such as new guns.

Camera Shots
Extreme Long Shot (ELS) - is used to show the setting of the film.

This portrays the film is set in an urban city of Pelham.

Long Shot (LS) - is used to convey buildings.

The film is set on this very busy street,
which foreshadows the dangers of the citizens

Medium Shot (MS) - conveys the significance of an object or character.

The camera shot makes the Subway significant because
it suggests that something bad is going to happen in the
subway.

Medium Close up (MCU) - conveys the facial expression of a character or significance of an object.

This camera shot allows the audience to get a close up of
this bad character, you can see his tattoos, shades and hat
which conveys he's up to no good.