RESEARCH - the conventions of a film opening

There are many aspects of a thriller opening to illustrate it's theme and to engage the audience. These are:

- Music and Sound Effects: This builds tension and engages the audiences' interest. It also gives an indication of the mood/theme of the film, for example if it contains a lot of slow moving violence it is likely the music will be piercing and suspenseful.
- Introduces characters, locations and teasers from the plot: Usually, a small selection of the main characters are introduced along with the main setting/film location. Thriller openings commonly give an insight on the films main storyline, this may be done by using a 'hook' which engages the audience to make them keep watching the rest of the film.
- Establishes genre/pace: This tends to be indicated using editing, for example fast editing would connote an action packed quick moving thriller.
- Titles: The opening title sequence of a film has a large impact on its overall presentation. It can contribute to giving away the films pace and contents. Visually they are very important as they are considered by the audience as much as the filming is. These titles tend to include the producers name and ident, the distributors name and ident, the director, the stars, other cast and film crew.

Seven is an example of a thriller movie