What is a film opening?

 

The first scene of a film is called the Opening Scene.

An Opening Scene is the most necessary scene of a movie as it sets the first impression and reveals the main idea of the film. The audience is able to tell what genre the film is just by the opening scene. This scene is supposed to establish the location, introduce the characters, unfolds the narrative through enigma and reveal the title of the film. Enigma is what hooks the audience and makes them want to watch the rest of the film as they want to know more.

Here is one of my favorite film openings:

Scream (1996)

Craven’s Scream is a 1996 American slasher film. The film is about a serial killer known as Ghostface. In the opening scene, student Casey Becker receives a phone call from an unknown person. The conversation quickly escalates and the caller threatens her life then reveals that he has Becker’s boyfriend Steve Orth. The opening credits also use non-diegetic sound effect of a knife slash and a scream linking with title to the film and the rest of the films narrative. This helps the audience in guessing the genre of the film. The reason this is one of my favorite film opening scenes is because of the way Wes Craven was able to create a thrilling atmosphere through dull crisp lighting, sadistic sounds and a script that leaves the audience wanting more before the movie even begins.