To ensure that my coursework was as professional as possible, it was first important to ensure that I knew the difference between a film trailer and a film opening. Therefore, it was compulsory to research the differences between the two so as to avoid my opening from having the appearance of a trailer.
Film trailers give important information about the film and tend to begin with the institution that created the film and end with the film's title. Trailers use a montage of clips from the film in a fragmented narrative to show sections of the film that will grab the attention of the audience to entice them into cinemas and picture houses to watch the film. These clips are most commonly separated by fade to/through black which makes it evident that the narrative is fragmented rather than in a chronological order. Many film trailers will include a voice over towards the end of the clip with actors names and it is common for a memorable tagline to be used so as to be more easily remembered. The A Team (2010) trailer is an example of a trailer which contains all of these aspects:
This trailer shows how a memorable tagline ("There's no Plan B") can be used in conjunction with a fragmented narrative to help promote the film at the end of the trailer so as to entice audiences.
Film openings include the logo of the institution producing the film at the beginning as well as details of cast and crew. The film title is usually displayed within the first 40 seconds. Within the film opening there is an introduction to characters and/or character types and a signature theme tune as well as indication towards place and historical period. The audience are given information on genre which is revealed by the use of generic conventions and are provided with information about the mood and tone of the piece. The editing style used in the film opening will reflect the editing style for the remainder of the clip and the mise en scene and cinematography used will be echoed or elaborated upon during the remainder of the film. Potentially the most important aspect of the film opening is that it raises questions and intrigue within the audience. The film opening sets up the film. An example of a film opening which contains all of these aspects is the opening to James Bond: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977):
This film opening indicates towards spies, sensual women and death as well as hinting towards a story of love and loss as well as raising questions from the audience such as "Who is this woman?", "What is the relationship between the characters?" and "What happened to make "loved" past tense?".
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