4. How can a film opening attract an audience?

Film openings are carefully constructed to allure the audience. Without a well thought out introduction, people might not want to continue watching the film.

According to Thomas Sutcliffe, a British journalist and arts broadcaster; "Films need to seduce their audience into a long term commitment." films must grab the attention of the audience so that they stay around to watch the rest of the movie and enjoy it. The audience must establish how they are supposed to feel whilst watching the film (e.g. if they should feel anxious whilst watching a horror movie) and what reactions they are to have. 

However, French film director Jean Jacques Beineix does state that there are risks of 'instant arousal'. Speeding through the opening and having too many unanswered questions can leave the audience confused as to what is going on. This will lead them to not bother in understanding what is happening in the rest of the film. As well as this, openings to a film can be spectacular, yet they can set the bar too high for a movie. It will make it hard for the producers to keep up the high expectations made in the beginning and bore the audience during the movie. 

We learn from Stanley Kauffman the classic opening to a film. 
1.

We have an establishing shot, usually from the east, of the setting of the film. This tells the audience where the main character live/works.

2.

Next we have a shot of the building where the main character works. This is usually shown with a tilt up action.

3.

Then we have a shot of a window of the building. The action would be a following or zooming shot inside where we see everything in a normal state; how mundane everything is.

4.

There is usually a shot next of a receptionist before they lead off towards the main character.

5.  

Then we are finally introduced to the main character and what their occupation is.

This is what a classic film opening would be.

One of the most revolutionary and effective title sequences to ever be produced is Seven by Kyle Cooper. 

This title sequence is so effective as it tells the story, the audience can see what the movie is about. It also foreshadows events that will happen within the film as well as intrigues and tempts the audience to watch the rest of it. 

In the opening sequence of 'A Touch of Evil' Orson Welles wanted to have no music or title sequence at the beginning of the movie. He wanted the audience to plunge into the film directly. However Universal Studios did not allow this and added in the title sequence and music anyway.

Many films start from the end of the movie instead of the beginning. This is known as 'a favourite trick of Film Noir' This 'trick' is used in many movies and is not uncommon. It can make the audience want to know the story behind what happens at the end of the film. This is a very effective way of making an opening sequence.

The opening to the film 'The Shining' is very successful in creating suspense within the opening of the film. This is due too the fact that there is a tracking shot of a car on a mountain. This creates the feeling of something following the car. This was carefully done by having a helicopter following the car to get this shot. This is even more effective as the car is driving into the darkness of the mountain. This adds more suspense to the opening of the sequence and makes the audience feel the tension being created. 

Through this research I can say that I know how an opening to a film can attract an audience.