Research for film opening

Our brief for our media coursework was to analyse openings of films. I picked the genre of horror and then chose to analyse the film "Scream" in a presentation.

When focusing on this film, I firstly analysed the title sequence.I saw how sound fx were used to create a sinister effect and how special fx were used as well. Secondly, I talked about the sound and music, this showed me how sounds are used to exaggerate certain things that happen and to add tension. Music is also used to add tension to scenes and create certain feelings for the audience to feel. Silence plays a big part in horror movies as it adds more tension than music , because the audience won't know what to expect. Thirdly, I talked about the mise en scene.

On the mise en scene slide, I analysed the clothing of characters and how this can represent/signify class,age,ethnicity etc. I also talked about the setting of the scene, as that plays an important part in a film opening. It sets the atmosphere and tone of the movie. Finally, i talked about camera shots used within the film opening. I picked out a variety of shots and analysed the use of them at what they show.

All this information can help me with my own film opening sequence as, me and my group are using the same genre, which is horror. In the film opening that I analysed, there were loads of conventions used such as the opening being filmed in the night and and the teenage girl always being alone in a house. By analysing, the film opening, I know what to do in my opening in order to create certain effects, build up tension and how to use music to create tension.