Film Opening: Researching Genre

Genre and Film	Character	Setting	Mood	Narrative hook	Sound	Titles
1.       Horror Scream	'Casey Becker' is the first character shown. She is alone in her house, when a stranger calls her and she's conversing on the phone with him.	It's set in her house. This is effective because she is alone and a shot is soon shown that her house is in a very secluded place, thus emphasizing the fact that if she screams for her, no one would hear her.	At the start it's calm & slow, there is no music at all. As the scene progresses, the audience feels on edge and afraid (fast, haunting music is introduced, also her deafening screams)	Mysterious man keeps calling and antagonizing her. Also the the fast, loud music makes your heart race, thus making the viewer want to watch more to find out what happens next.	Low, threatening sounds, deep loud drums contribute to making our heart race. They almost sound like a large monster stomping it's feet as it comes closer and closer.	Only 1 title is used, red -> blood, danger
2.       Comedy Easy A	'Olive' (protagonist) is eventually shown, but we hear her voice (monologue) to start with. When she first appears, we see her being knocked over to the ground, adding to the comedy element.	At a high school. It tells us that this is the story of a high school girl and her struggles of popularity (we know this because she appears as a 'geek' type character.)	'Feel good' music is used. Lighthearted, also her humorous monologue makes the scene more comedic.	The protagonist's sense of humour and the fact that she's shown as a geek makes us want to continue to watch her and her journey through high school.	Upbeat, happy, fast paced, dance like music	13
3.       Romcom The Breakfast Club	Non diegetic monologue is spoken. Five teenagers are shown with their pushy parents as they get ready to enter detention.	A stereotypical public high school. Shots of vandalism committed by teenagers are shown.	Anticipation for when they meet (and their clashing personalities.) We're sympathetic for them due to their pushy parents.	The different personalities of the teenagers -> we know they'll soon meet, makes us wonder what will happen? Will there be conflict?	Non diegetic music (iconic song for movie). Also the person saying the monologue	0

In conclusion, from the information provided in the table I believe that researching the patterns that occur in different film openings will in the end help me a lot for my own opening. The table shows me how important certain elements are (Character, Setting, Mood, Narrative Hook, Sound, and Titles) in terms of making a film opening work well. I think that the mood created in an opening is incredibly important, as it's meant to reflect the genre, as well as how the audience should be feeling. For instance in the film 'Easy A', which is a comedy, the music used is upbeat and 'happy', which in result translates to the audience that the atmosphere and mood is lighthearted and feel-good.