For my research into horror film opening scenes or sequences, i have researched 3 different sub-genres of horror to widen my knowledge of the different items that appear in the opening sequence.
I have researched:
- Halloween (1978)
- Saw 2 (2008)
- Sinister (2012)
Overview of Opening SequenceIn the 'Halloween; trailer from 1978, it is a more basic approach towards horror film opening scenes. This is most likely due to it being from 1978. Throughout the sequence the background is black and there is a pumpkin on the screen at all times, also throughout there is a well known soundtrack. The name of the production company is shown first, shortly followed by the director. After both of those, the name of the film is shown as ' John Carpenter's Halloween', this is because Carpenter is the musician for the soundtrack displayed.
The overall effect of this opening sequence is not that exciting. Although, the music does seem to create some tension for the film and so i believe 'carries' the film along to begin with. Considering this is a horror, i do not find the opening scene portrays this as there are no typical codes and conventions displayed, such as: blood etc. |
Timings:
0.07 - Production company mentioned ' Compass International pictures' 0.12 - Film producer is mentioned 'Moustapha Akkad' 0.21 - 'Donald Pleasence' is mentioned - Actor 0.30 - Film title shown ' John Carpenter's Halloween' 0.36 - Another film producer mentioned 'Debra Hill' 0.43 - Another actor is mentioned ' Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie' 0.49 - 'Nancy Loomis' another actor is mentioned 'as Annie' 0.55 - Another actor 'P J Soles' is mentioned 'as Lynda' 1.02 - Actor 'Charles Cyphers' mentioned 1.06 - Actors 'Kyle Richards' and 'Brian Andrews' is mentioned 1.18 - Director of photography 'Dean Cundey' mentioned 1.25 - Film editors 'Tommy Wallace' and 'Charles Bernstein' mentioned 1.32 - Music by 'John Carpenter' shown 1.38 - Associate producer ' Kool Lusby' and Production manager 'Don Behrns' mentioned 1.44 - Production designer 'Tommy Wallace' mentioned 1.50 - Executive Producer 'Irwin Yablans' mentioned 1.55 - Producer 'Debra Hill' mentioned again 2.00 - Director 'John Carpenter' mentioned again 2.06 -Location of film shown 'Haddonfield, Illnois 2.14 - Date shown 'Halloween Night 1963' 2.21 - Film starts |
At 3.41 - the title of the film is shown
'Saw 11' |
Overview of Opening SequenceIn the opening scene for 'Saw 2' there are no names of the cast, production companies etc are shown, it jumps straight into the film. This could be a issue because the audience wouldn't know who is in the film and who have made it too. Another issue could be that this opening scene doesn't follow typical horror film opening scenes as these display the production company names and cast.
The overall effect of this opening scene is intense, this is because the film is shown straight away rather than opening credits, meaning the audience will not be expecting it. Although this, the audience may not like the fact that the film starts straight away and may want to know who is in and who made the film they are watching. |
At 1.08 - the film title 'Sinister' is shown
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Overview of Opening SequenceIn this opening scene for 'Sinister' there are no opening credits showing the production companies and cast. This may be positive or negative depending on the person watching and so it really does depend on the audience. Despite there being no names given in the opening scene, the name of the actual film is displayed at the end of the clip (left).
The actual clip itself shows connotations of a horror film as there is an eery scene of four unidentified characters being hung on a tree. As the audience does not know what is going on they would feel intrigued to learn more about the storyline. The overall effect of this opening scene to 'Sinister' is quite disturbing because there is no sounds or narration to inform you what is going on but visually you see four characters being killed. |
Overall Conclusion
After researching these three opening scenes i have learned that the oldest film 'Halloween' from 1978 has more information about who is in the film and the production company or companies, whereas the two other films have no information about who is in the film and which production company produced the film. This could be because audiences nowadays do not necessarily want or need to see the cast or production company names.
How this links to my own film
I now know that after researching these three films' opening scenes only one of the films displayed names of production companies and the cast. This tells me that it is more likely for 1/3 films to not contain typical horror film content in their opening scenes and also tells me it is not important to put them in my own opening scene.