Different Types of Structure of a Film Opening

There are different types of structures that may be used in a thriller opening. They are:

1.  narrative opening with the titles running throughout
2. A discrete title sequence
3. Titles over a blank screen, followed by the narrative opening. 
4.  A 'stylized editing' opening structure. 

A narrative opening is an opening which sets up the story straight away. This is a good structure to use for an opening as it engages the audience with the story immediately, making it less likely for them to lose interest. A thriller that follows this opening is 'The Shining', we are first shown a car driving further and further into the mountains. Also, there are titles which are shown as the clip goes on.

                                             

 The next opening that may be used in the opening of a film is discrete film opening.This type of opening is usually heavily edited with special effects and titles. It is a distinctive type of opening as all aspects are edited in a way which helps build emotion and set the scene so that it intrigues the audience to carry on keeping themselves engaged with the movie. A great example that uses this type of opening is the thriller 'Se7en', this is because they have used the factors that make ot a discrete film opening.

Another opening that may be used for films is titles over a blank screen, followed by the narrative opening. This is similar to a narrative opening except this opening begins with showing the audience titles over a blank screen. However, this type of opening has the risk of losing the attention of the audience if the titles run for too long. An example of a film that has used this opening is 'Donnie Darkco'

Finally, the last type of opening that can be used is a sylized type opening. This structure consists of using various types of edits, which can be time-consuming. However, once this is all done it is interesting to see how all the shots fit together to make this type of opening. To use this type of opening can be very effective as it usually fascinates the audience meaning that they would most likely remain connected with the film. 'The Taking of Pelham 123' is a good example which uses a stylised type opening.