The Art of The Opening Scene

In film, there is perhaps no more important story device than the opening shot. The first visual, the first lines of dialogue, it can establish so much in so little, and get the audience excited for what they are about to see. Let’s discuss the importance of the opening shot and why it can harm or help your film. 

The opening shot is essential to getting the attention of your audience. It can also introduce the audience to your world, as well as the themes and tone of your film. In plain words: the opening shot should be a small summation of what your film is about. Maybe a comedy starts with a big laugh from our main character, letting us know he/she is both the focus of the film, but also the source of the laughs. A horror movie could start with the next victim of a killer, letting us know the story we are about to be told is serious, and based on the actual scene itself, how bloody and disturbing it may be. On the other hand, simply providing text or exposition to the audience is a quick way to introduce them to the world, but also bore them completely.

Here are the “Don’ts” of the opening scene.

DON’T: Use ADHD news footage to describe your future world.

Remember the trailer for District 9? How it used that one long, low note to give it a sense of tension? Then Inception used it and now it’s referred to as “Inception horns” and is constantly overused in every trailer ever? Well that thing has happened to the ADHD news footage of several news anchors talking about the political climate of your future society. I know it might seem like the best way to introduce your audience to your future at a fast pace, but when every movie does it, it’s not original or interesting anymore. How can I watch Robocop (2016) or World War Z, or Dawn of The Planet of The Apes, when I can’t help but notice that every single movie starts out the same way and delivers the same information in the same way. Stop doing it until it stops becoming repetitive.

DON’T: Start with a big wall of text

This one should be self explanatory. Film is a visual medium. Who starts a visual medium with a big wall of text? In fact, change this to “no text” period. I know text can be a quick way to give information, but again, film is a visual medium. You don’t need to show us everything, but at the very least have characters say something to give information. Exposition exists for a reason.

DON’T: Establish something we already know

Spoiler alert: Batman’s parents are dead. There, don’t you feel like you just wasted several seconds reading that sentence? You do, don’t you? And why is that? You’re answer is probably, “because we already know that”, and you’d be right. It’s something that comic book movies and similar adaptations have a problem with this more than any other medium. We already know the origins of Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man, there is no need to shoot Thomas and Martha Wayne, have Krypton explode, or kill Uncle Ben. We know. We get it. It’s easy to say “but Eric, we need to establish the backstories of these characters! Normal people who don’t read comics won’t get it!” You know, if we were talking about Deadpool, Moon Knight, Watchmen, MODOK, Spawn, etc. I would agree completely. Hell, if we were talking about Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Twilight right before they had their first films, I would agree with you 100%. But in this specific case, I disagree. Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man are the best selling comic series of all time. They’ve had dozens of reimaginings, re-adaptations, an uncountable number of comic runs, and several tv series, movies, soap operas, and parodies. My point is that these three particular characters have been in mainstream media for so long that it is safe to say that we have no real reason to spend a long period of time explaining their backstories. Hell, and that’s just for Batman, Superman and Spider-Man, don’t even get me started on how The Avengers opens with re-introducing every Phase 1 character making the entire MCU experiment seem pointless.

Here’s a examples of good opening scenes.

Guardians of The Galaxy

Guardians of The Galaxy opens with our main character, Peter Quill as a child crying as his mother dies of cancer, then being abducted by aliens. Skip ahead two decades later, and we see Quill grown up in some kind of bounty hunter get up before playing Redbone’s “Come And Get Your Love”, and dancing along as he explores some alien ruins. We don’t know Peter Quill has become “Star Lord”, we don’t know what he’s doing there, we don’t know how he got there, essentially we know nothing about this character, but so much is already established.

1. This story is going to be emotional, most likely featuring themes of family and togetherness
2. While this story may be emotional, it is also light hearted, with characters who may end up being giant goofballs
3. This is a sci-fi story, so you’ll see some weird alien worlds as the story unfolds
4. This story wants you to relax and enjoy yourself in the same manner as Quill is

By using almost 0 words, James Gunn has introduced us to the general template of Guardians Of The Galaxy. This is a story that pretty nobody besides those who read the Guardian’s comics are aware of, and it’s all established in about 3 minutes. And hell, this is just the opening dance sequence. As this ends, Quill finds an artifact in the ruins and is attacked by space pirates, telling us “oh yeah, we’ve got action too. We’re basically Star Wars.”

Star Wars

The Star Wars opening scene is a rare exception to the “never use text to open a movie” rule. For one, this opening hadn’t really been done before in this style. Usually the text is stationary over a blank screen so the audience can read it, but Star Wars is different. That blast of the orchestra, the logo flying by, then the text crawl, are not only staples of the Star Wars franchise, but also serve as a way of getting the audience into a certain frame of mind.

1. This is a fast paced adventure film, so pay attention
2. “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” is basically “Once Upon A Time…” letting us know that not only is this story fiction, but it might as well be a fairy tail.
3. There are two factions: the rebels (good guys) and the empire (bad guys)

And that’s just the text crawl scene. In the following scene…

1. The Empire are an evil force with a massive influence on the world (noted by the size of the star destroyers)
2. The rebels are a small force for good (noted by the size of the rebel ship)
3. The rebels are so small they get bodied all the time (noted by the quantity of bodies that were once rebels)
4. Darth Vader is a scary mother fucker
5. Princess Leia (or whoever she is since we don’t know her name yet) did something to a droid, and has information for Vader wants 
   
   

Amadeus

A movie starting with the end of the story can be a huge “no no”. When done right, the result can be a phenomenal story told in an unconventional way. It’s especially effective when a character has actual investment in the story, rather than an unseen narrator retelling a tale. Amadeus is a film about the life and death of Mozart, told through the eyes of Salieri, a musical rival to Mozart. The first 10-15 minutes of Amadeus sets up everything we need, including Salieri’s idolization of Mozart, his father dying, his devotion to god, etc. And how does all this actually start? With Salieri failing a suicide attempt.

1. We know that Salieri is an old man with a death wish
2. We know that at a young age, Salieri was devoted to Mozart, and strives to become as talented as he was
3. We know that he is prideful of his music, and his talent, but he never achieved the popularity and success of Mozart (noted by Salieri playing music for the priest)
4. We know as soon as the priest mentions that “everyone is equal in god’s eyes” and Salieri glares at him, that Salieri has some kind of issue with god
5. Because the story is being told from the perspective of a character, we know the information we are about to be given may be adjusted based on the character’s feelings and motives. This one is especially important because at the end of the day, Amadeus is a historical fiction story about the sketchy death of Mozart.
6. Go a little bit past that scene, and you find that Salieri is jealous of Mozart because he is not the man he thought he was.

What’s the point of all this? To demonstrate that a movie does not have to bore or confuse the fuck out of you in order to draw you in. Something that can grab your interest and hold it for an extended period of time is something that only great art can do, and when I see it ruined or squandered, it just makes me bored and angry.

So please, open your movies properly. And stop using ADHD news footage.