Differences in Film Openings

The film opening is important because it set the overall tone for the piece and also is the first thing your audience will see, therefore it is important to hook your audience at the beginning to therefore have their attention throughout the whole film, For example, the opening of 'Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of fleet street' the opening consists of taking the audience though important parts of the film, for example, we are taken down the shoot of Sweeney's chair, and into the oven with Mrs Lovett's pies. (Approx: 1:30 and 2:15) By using a film opening like this, it attracts audience members because they will be curious to watch the rest of the film to understand the link of the chair and the pies. This opening uses titles, which is common in film openings, and due to the typography, it doesn't take away from the story being told behind the text, for example, the typography matches the mise of the background to therefore keep the atmosphere created by the film itself and the non-dietetic music playing.


However titles do not need to be used throughout the entire opening, for example, 'The nightmare before Christmas.'  This film opening only has the titles of the company and then that of the title, therefore allowing the audience members to be fully involved within the piece from the beginning, and not having their focus taking away by the titles. Again, although there are few titles, the typography matches that of the film genre, and is brighter than the film graphics itself, therefore drawing attention just due to brightness, the use of also showing the titles on a black screen and centered, gives them importance, which establishes to audience members that they are of importance, and therefore should be looked at.



A reason why titles may not be used within a film opening is because the company thought it would be better for the audience, or for the atmosphere for the audience to just be involved within the story line, for example, the film opening above, the opening starts with a voice over setting the atmosphere and also the story, to then go straight into the main narrative, which includes a musical number. Disney may of desired not to use titles because of the musical, because it may of been a lot for the audience to take in, and therefore they wouldn't be fully focused on the musical number, or the brightly coloured titles, they would be flitting between the two, which would then take away from the narrative and atmosphere of the piece.