Wednesday, 24 September 2014

The Key Conventions of Film Openings


  • Film title
  • Company logos
  • Credits; actors, producers, directors etc
  • Music; diegetic or non-diegetic sounds 
  • Sound affects
  • Establishing shot of the setting or scene
  • 2-5 minutes long
  • Introduction to the plot
  • Establishing genre
  • Starts with equilibrium
  • Main protagonist or someone relevant to the plot
  • Vague introduction to the plot

First Task/Research

Film Genres;

  • Horror
  • Comedy
  • Romance
  • Thriller
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Science Fiction
  • Western
  • Fantasy
  • Musicals/Dance
  • Cartoon

Conventions of Horror/Thriller genre;

  • Usually some sort of death e.g a murder
  • Use of blood in scenes
  • Designed to frighten or unsettle the audience e.g a jump action
  • Location; isolated area, abandoned buildings e.g hotels hospitals old houses, urban environment e.g dark streets and back side alleys.
  • Characters; victim, hero, villain, children, form of monster e.g demon, vampire, psychopath. 
  • Props; knife, guns, machetes. Masks normally featured in slasher films like Scream. Masks are used to hide the villain from the audience that will leave a distinctive image in our minds. 
  • Colour and Lighting; dark colours e.g red and black to symbolise danger, blood and evil. White colour to show innocence and purity. Lighting gives a dark and sinister atmosphere. Low lighting is used to create dark shadows and unfamiliar shapes. 
  • Common themes; revenge, religion, suicide, nightmares, slasher, depression and supernatural.
  • Camera work; POV shots from the killer or victim, fast zoom into a room or building to show a quick action.

What is suspense?

Suspense is a feeling that you get when you are excited or anxious about something that may happen next. Music always plays a big part in creating suspense by low and high pitch sounds, type of instruments making the sounds and different patterns. In horror films camera angles can show suspense by following a certain character maybe with POV shots because they don't know what may happen next.