Purpose of an Opening

The main intention of a films opening is to grab the audiences attention and hook them into watching the rest of the film. This is done by questions being left unanswered. The opening of a film will introduce the main characters to the audience, and will set the mood/tone of the film at the same time. It is a chance for the setting/location of the story to be displayed. It will also give a brief insight as to what the storyline of the film will include. All of these things make the audience want to continue watching, and this is mainly because of the editing. The editing of the sequence is the directors manipulation of the audience to get them absorbed into the film.