Opening sequences research

Opening sequences help present the narrative and help set a plot for a film. In a lot of opening sequences they introduce the main characters, they establish the setting and genre through the use of mise en scene. This can be done by establishing shots of areas or cities.

Thriller opening sequences examples:


The Hitcher





The film Hitcher is about a young boy who escapes being killed by a hitch-hiker but then gets stalked by the hitch-hiker to then kill as he got away.

 Hitchers opening sequence starts with you automatically knowing something is not right. It starts with a young man in a dark road in the middle of nowhere smoking a cigarette in the pitch black, this follows by a pan of the car going around this long road which builds up the tension to what's going to happen. The use of darkness in this opening scene already is implying someone horrible is about to happen. There is also a thunderstorm which also can show the bad side to the film. As soon as the opening sequence starts you hear music which is very mysterious and builds up tension until the hitch-hiker gets into the car.  The credits are all coloured in red which could indicate blood and dying which also creates the audience with the idea that someone is going to die which gives away the genre of the film instantly. The first piece of dialogue in this film is when the boy opens the door and says 'my mum said never to do this' this also creates tension knowing that something is clearly going to go wrong. The hitch-hiker immediately seems strange and we can see all of his odd facial expressions due to a lot of close up shots of his face. This opening sequence really creates the feel of the genre of the film and tells the audience the basis of the film and to what can come. I think this is a good opening scene as it is very clear of the storyline and has created the tension which is needed.