Karen O’Neil

WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE OPENING

SEQUENCE?

The film Saw 1 effectively arouses the interest of the audience by immediately showing violent action during the opening sequence. The audience see a male begin drowned in a mysterious setting with low-key lighting which straight away creates enigma and

bemusement for the audience as they’re unable to completely see and interrupt what’s going on. The audience are left to wonder who this character is, where is he, why’s he being drowned and

by who. These questions encourage the audience to continue watching in order to find the answers out. This technique

successfully foreshadows the pace of the film. The opening sequence continues to arouse the interest of the audience by the way the antagonist’s introduced. The audience are only able to hear the antagonist’s deep voice which intrigues the audience

and creates mystery as they’re unable to see him/her.

AROUSES THE INTEREST OF THE AUDIENCE IMMEDIATELY

The film The Exorcist effectively establishes the genre and theme of the film by straight away using the colours black

and red to display the credits. The colour red connotes blood, danger and anger whereas the colour black’s used to signify death, mystery and evilness. These are themes most

commonly associated with horror films and immediately show the audience the genre of the film. The opening

sequence also consists of dangerous props such as a pick-axe that foreshadows the violence within the film . The

pick-axe’s being used to dig through sand which represents the ancient theme of discovery within the storyline. The use of sound within the opening sequence establishes the genre as it varies in tempo and pitches. This is commonly used to emphasis the different emotions and pace within a horror

film.

ESTABLISH THE FILM’S GENRE AND THEME

The film Dark Water introduces the key character of Dahlia during the opening sequence by demonstrating her day to day life to the

audience and informing them about her current situation. During the opening scenes the audience learn she’s recently been divorced,

jobless and homeless which contributes towards portraying her as venerable and an easy target for the antagonist. Throughout the first

scenes Dahlia wears dark colours such as black, grey and brown which signifies depression, solidity and dullness. She also at times

has the colour pink hidden within her clothing which shows the audience she’s still a compassionate, loving and feminine character. This techniques effective as the audience feel sympathy for Dahlia straight away which encourages the audience to continue watching

in order to find out what happens to her. The antagonist’s introduced in a discreet way which creates suspense for the audience as they’re unaware of what he/she looks like and why they’re victim is Dahlia.

INTRODUCE KEY CHARACTERS

The film Insidious effectively establishes the setting of the film through the use of long and medium shots. The

majority of the opening sequence is in low-key lighting and contains a lot of objects related to fire such as candles,

fireplaces and lamps. This shows the audience where the majority of the action in the film will take place and

foreshadows the ending of the film. The shots within the opening sequence are edited in black and white to show the

good versus bad themes within the storyline. The credits within the opening sequence fade off the screen in a grey font and move in a swirly motion similar to smoke already showing the audience the house is possibly haunted. The close up shots within the opening sequence highlights the

objects within the bedroom’s of specific characters showing the audience the characters the antagonist’s after.

ESTABLISH THE SETTING OF THE FILM

The film Silent Hill effectively foreshadows the key events within the film. The opening sequence first introduces the audience to the main character Sharon and shows her sleeping walking over a cliff as she shouts the words “Silent Hill”. This straight away foreshadows the key setting of the film to the audience and highlights the main issue within the storyline (Sharon’s sleep walking). The opening sequence begins with Sharon’s parents walking round looking for her because they’ve assumed she’s gone missing. This also foreshadows a key event within the storyline as Sharon goes missing as the storyline progresses and the characters are in the town Silent Hill.

FORESHADOWS KEY EVENTS

The film Se7en consists of encoded signifiers which appear later on in film. The opening sequence contains weapons such as knives, blades and axes which all appear later on within the film. The use of these props sets a dangerous

and eerie atmosphere for the audience and also connotes death, pain and blood. These props appear later on within the film and are used by the antagonist when he kills his

victims in a gruesome and violent manner. The use of encoded signifiers effectively shows the audience the genre and theme of the play straight away. The audience are able

to learn that the film’s a horror and will contain some violence by these props. The use of close up shots and the

screen time of maximum 4 seconds per prop shows the audience the importance's of these props during the film.

The long screen time also makes it more likely for the audience to remember these props later on when the

storyline’s progressed further.

ENCODED SIGNIFIERS

The opening sequence of The Cabin In The Woods sets the tone of the film by using low-key lighting and having close up shots of blood and fire. The close up shots effectively creates enigma and mystery as the

audience are unable to identify what the close up shot’s of. Already the audience learn the film will be dark and contain the theme of violence

and death due to the constant use of the colours black and red. The font of credit’s are also displayed in a red font which foreshadows to the audience there may be a lot of bloody scenes within the film. The use of music contributes towards setting the tone of the film as it’s

slow and deep and varies in tempo and speed to represent the different paces the film moves at throughout. The opening sequence of the film

ends with the music suddenly cutting off and a quick shot transitions to a naturalistic setting and lighting which possibly indicates to the audience the contrast between the protagonists and antagonist’s

lifestyle as well as the fast pace of the film.

SET THE TONE OF THE FILM

The film Scream creates the element of suspense and enigma immediately by having the sound of high pitched screaming at the start of the opening sequence. This straight away grabs the audience’s attention as they’re left to wonder who is screaming and why. The opening scene continues to show

the main character receiving constant phone calls from a mysterious number and character with a deep voice. The suspense is built up during

this scene as the audience are unaware of the appearance of this character and the reasoning behind the constant phone calls. The enigma during the

first scene gradually increases as the lighting becomes darker and the conversation between the main character and mysterious character on the phone develops. The opening sequence concludes with the dialogue “Why

do you want to know my name?” and the response “because I want to know who I’m looking at”. Deep instrumentals begin to play in the background which builds up tension and suspense for the audience as the scene ends.

The audience are left to wonder what’s going to happen next which encourages them to continue watching in order to find out.

CREATE THE ELEMENT OF SUSPENSE AND ENIGMA