Extension Research Post 5; What Is The Purpose Of A Film Opening

What is the purpose of a film opening?

•  Thomas Sutcliffe said “Films need to seduce their audience into long term commitment”. This statement meant that the title sequence of a film is always meant to entice audiences and keep them interested in what they're about to watch. It's to make the film exciting and keep people wanting more. It helps to capture the audience before the film even begins.
• Director Jean Jacques Beineix said “there are risks of 'instant arousal'. Explaining this would be to say that if you show something intersting at the beginning of the film, it may be harder to keep the interest of the audience if the rest of the film doesn't follow the same path. Film Makers are aware that this poses a risk because they may end up disappointing the crowd if the can't live up to the standards of the opening sequence.
• "A good beginning must make the audience feel that they don’t know nearly enough yet, and at the same time make sure that it doesn't know too little". This means that you must create a balance between how much you show the audience to interest them and how much you leave out to create the urge to watch further. You must not give away the whole film, but just enough to keep the audience interested.
• Critic Stanley Kauffmann said   “ The classic  opening as the film began with an establishing shot of New York City usually from the East side, then a close up of a building with a camera shot tilting up the building to a window “. This classic opening works because it gives the audience a little incite to where the films going to take place and what kind of people live there . 
• Kyle Cooper's title sequence to the film Seven was very effective  as this title sequence became the first scene of the movie as it told the story and introduced the incisive nature of the films main character. it also gave little hint to the audience of whats going to happen in the film. 
• Orson Welles wanted to created a title sequence that hasn’t done before it consist of no credits and title music and plunge the audience into his story without giving them time to prepare themselves in his opening of the film 'A Touch of Evil'.Universal Studios did not totally agree with this idea so they put a nice score underneath with the credits so the effects were lost . This is because they did not understand the picture in the opening shot 
•  "A favourite trick of Film Noir"  this is a trick where the beginning of a film is actually an ending and not a beginning at all. This  phrase means a  film with an quality beginning that makes the audience see what's to come and if it's not clear the first time, it will be clear the second time round when you watch the film.  This allows the audience to have an “aaa ha” moment . 
• The opening to the film 'The Shining' creates a suspense by shooting from a birds eye view but then it’s full of tension as the camera follows the car like a predator high up from behind.