Film Opening sequences

To make a successful film opening, you have to understand how a film opening works.

A film opening is used to entice the audience and hook them so that they watch the rest of the film. Enigmas are used to pose questions to the audience, these questions make the audience want to watch more so the questions they have in their mind will be answered. Opening sequences can also be used to establish a relationship with a character in the film, the opening sequence is also where the audience decides whether they like or dislike a character.

Kill Bill Volume One. Director: Quentin Tarantino, 2003.

Before anything appears on screen the audience hears the sound of heavy breathing this immediately sets up and enigma, Who's breathing? whats wrong? so this encourages the audience to keep watching. Then the first thing we see on screen is a close up of a woman's face and i can tell from the mise-en-scene that she has been beaten up, she is also wearing a brides vial which brings the connotations that she is a bride on her wedding day this shot answers the audience s questions about who was breathing and sets up new enigmas. There is pleonastic sound on the male characters footsteps this makes him seem ominous and dangerous and it also add dramatic tension to the scene.
In a close up shot of the females face the male character comes in and wipes her face with a handkerchief that says bill this is clever shot as it establishes who the male character is. Bill (the male character) also has monologue type dialogue which he uses to torture the female character before he shoots her then she reveals some information but the shoots her before she finishes this sets up even more enigma and hooks the audience.