Opening scene analysis - introduction

The reason why an opening scene is arguably the most pivotal moment in a film is since it carries the task of establishing the tone, ensuring the audience fall into whatever mood the opening scene conveys to carry that mood throughout the entirety of the film. Whilst asserting the mood of the film, the opening scene also has the task of laying a foundation of the main character, the storyline and setting. Opening scenes may introduce the genre of the film and are likely to include conventions such as titles and production company logos. This is the reason opening scenes come with great difficulty and are often immensely hard to perfect, however when executed to precision can become infamous and renowned such as several examples listed below.

I'm going to look at a number of opening scenes from a range of different films from different genres to see if the conventions remain consistent regardless of genre.

Hot Fuzz

BabyDriver

Iron Man 3

Jaws

The Shining