Research into genre conclusion

 After watching and studying these six genres, I will conclude with evaluation of them all. 

All these opening sequences, despite their differences in genre, tone and settings all clearly portray an eye catching opening narrative which allows the audiences to develop an understanding of the tone and mood of the film, whether it's funny, thrilling, scary, or mesmerising. The point of an opening scene is to engage with the target audience while also introducing important aspects of the narrative. Elements of opening sequences include characters, plot, tone and a sense of conflict. It also allows the audience to build expectations of the film and work out who is the protagonist, antagonist and so fourth. 

All of the opening scenes i studied gives an idea of setting/location, tone, genre, characters, time period and a short introduction to the narrative. Each opening sequence includes an establishing shot to set the location of the film, also, each sequence incorporates a sense of time period from the way they are dressed as well as non diegetic music to match the genre style. The lighting and shadows in these sequences allows us to get an understanding of the mood and tone, such as the opening sequence to 'The Conjuring' it was clear that this film was not going to be light hearted, or happy due to the lack of saturation and dark lighting in the shots, it immediately sets the eerie, dark tone of the film. These elements of film making are key to creating a successful opening scene as it allows the target audience of the film to quickly establish the genre of the film, as well as if it adheres to the usual stereotype according to the conventions of a genre of film, or if it adheres to our expectations. 

A certain scene which stood out to me was the Dunkirk opening sequence, due to the fact it is a war film, I had expected the opening sequence to be packed with violence and machinery, however, it opens with a tracking, slow extreme long shot of an empty street, with a group of soldiers walking aimlessly while letters, papers, and posters fell from the sky above them. This silent, peaceful sequence adheres to the usual expectations of a war film, however, minuets later the suspense was broken by the sudden, alarming diegetic sounds of guns, bullets and bombs exploding. this was extremely effective as it allowed the audience to be stunned by the sudden plot twist in this opening. 

In my opinion, I think that the most intriguing, and most successful opening sequence was 'Joker'. The unsettling, eerie opening automatically set the dark tone of this thriller. It allowed the audience to feel on edge as they were introduced straight away to Arthur, who we can quickly assume is the main character. The long, slow shots makes the audience feel unsettling and also builds suspense. 

However on the other hand, I think that the least successful opening sequence was Baywatch as it is easily interpreted as a comedy, more than an action according to the opening, We get a small introduction to one character however I don't think that the storyline is hinted at in this opening.