The Ritual is a horror that takes place in a forest, and a group of friends agree to go on a trip in northern Sweeden in a dark and deep forest. The group traverse throughout the forest and one by one each of them die and they are finding ritualistic things along the way and then they encounter a being who cannot leave the forest but while in the forest he is extremely strong. The movies credit sequence at the beginning of the movie includes the groups start of the trip in an open area and you can hear dialogue in the background. The credits are displayed at the edge of the screen after every shot, and it is utilized well because with the dialogue they develop setting and plot while the credits are being rolled.
This catches my eye because in my opening sequence of credits I can incorporate things like this to develop plot and setting whilst still enrolling the credits. It is smart because things like dialogue can help have the audience focused on what's going on but also seeing who produced and made the film and things of that resource. I intend to start my opening similar to this opening, like in the forest.
Smile
Smile is a horror film taken place in New Jersey and there is a lady who gets a curse put upon her because she watched a girl kill herself while smiling. The lady must escape multiple instances with an entity that haunts her but at the same time tries to kill her. The lady subsequently escapes all confrontation besides the last one in which she dies and passes it on to a friend. The entity aims to target the weak points of the lady so she can give in to her mind quicker, and the entity can take over her body and pass on the curse to someone else. The credit sequence includes a lady killing herself with the main character witnessing the lady give into her own mind. The curse ends up getting passed on and the main character is in the corner, afraid and crying and the credits begin to play while panning all over the room in red font color. Once again, the credits are played throughout a serious event in the movie and develop big time plot because now, we know what the curse is and who our main character will be for the movie.
This credit sequence does separate itself from others because it occurs right after a main event in the plot occurs. It doesn't occur at the beginning but at the end of the opening scene. It utilizes panning throughout the entire credit sequence moving all around the room and outside the room which in conclusion establishes setting. I aim to use things like the panning but also doing the credit sequence perhaps at the end of the opening scene.
Midsommar
Midsommar is an amazing movie that is very disturbing. The movie includes a lady who goes through a horrible tragedy when her parents and sister die in a scary suicide carbon monoxide incident. The lady who experiences this tragedy decides to join their friends on an adventure to an unknown Swedish village in an unknown area to meet a friend's culture and family. Slowly the rituals and scary occurrences show themselves and the people slowly realize that they shouldn't be there and need to escape immediately. The lady sadly grows into the culture and now is trapped in something dark. The credit sequences subsequently are played at the end of the opening scene after the incident of the family dying is shown. The credits are displayed in a very sinister way with the credits being rolled with a very disturbing soundtrack being played with the lady's screams in the back.
This credit scene is amazing because it immediately gives you chills and the scene is played in a snowy environment where you can barely see them but still visible. The disturbing screams paired with the uncanny music makes the credit sequence in this movie so scary and just gives chills. I would love to utilize the synchronous aspect of soundtrack and non-diegetic screams from the lady that can provide that gut wrenching feeling.
So far, this project has already been a ride because I've had to explore all options possible for this film opening. I feel it's already been a journey trying to find the right genre and idea to create and adapt into this film opening. After hours of research, me and my partner Selena have decided to do the horror genre because we believe we have the resources to provide a well put together horror film opening. A horror film we would typically make would be something disturbing with disturbing settings such as a forest or maybe dark areas.
Hereditary
The opening for Hereditary starts off with a shot of a treehouse with an eerie soundtrack playing in the background. The shot then zooms out into a pan of a figure set of a house in which a figure of a kid is sleeping and it zooms into the set, and the set suddenly but smoothly turns into real time. This film opening opens up to be because it really sets the tone and setting of the movie and it provides that eerie feeling to the viewers straight from the start and it foreshadows later events in the movie which is impressive but do able. I wish to not adapt but use techniques and ideas that are similar to of this opening and it will provide that unsettling feeling to the viewers.
What appeals to me the most is that Hereditary begins with a treehouse and eerie music so that undeniable feeling of something not being right is already present once the movie is started. When you watch the beginning, it already leaves you questioning why they started with the treehouse as the opening shot. If that can be exerted within the first 30 seconds to minute of my film opening it will be a recipe of success. The shots and techniques will most likely be hard to execute but if me and my partner Selena can get an idea of similar shots and techniques to utilize it will come out somewhat similar which is what we are trying to aim for. The exact opening sequence as Hereditary doesn't and shouldn't be the same as what ours will display but we can try to incorporate it into ours.
This exact video is around 4 minutes long, but the analysis is around the first 2 minutes
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th opens up by setting the scene for where the campers are at, where you later learn further in the opening. The long shot of the cabin then turns into a back shot long shot of multiple campers. After the switch it turns into a POV shot of a man walking in on multiple campers sleeping but based on the noise the character is making, we can assume this is the antagonist. The POV shot provided lasts for most of the opening shot but based on what he's doing to the campers (inspecting them) we can assume he is towering over them because the height he is looking at over these campers sleeping is scarily gigantic. After the POV shot the ending of the opening shot is of the campers singing together around a fireplace. Throughout the entire opening scene, non-diegetic audio is utilized which creates a sense of realism.
What I like most about this opening is the non-diegetic audio which gives me personally an unsettling feeling. Also, the fact that the antagonist, Jason Vorhees, is towering over the rest of the campers is very intimidating and it leaves you questioning if this person that were seeing the POV from is even human due to the enormous size of him. Although that is the case, I most likely intent to use a supernatural being in my opening.
This exact video is around 6 minutes long, but the analysis is around the first 2 minutes
Annihilation
The opening sequence for Annihilation consists of multiple close ups, and medium shots with background characters. It includes dialogue describing occurrences that must have happened in the past which insinuates that we are in the present. The dialogue also includes an eerie soundtrack playing softly in the background. The end of the opening sequence includes a shot of a meteor hitting a lighthouse which we don't know anything about yet but if you watch the movie, you learn what happened. With watching the movie, it technically goes more into the past then when she was talking about.
I greatly appreciate the techniques and dialogue used in this opening because it establishes a main point and tone. Based on dialogue you can infer that the lady has lost her memory, but what she can remember is very important to the crew. I would love to utilize dialogue that can establish a plot that can be developed. Although this movie is a thriller/horror, the openings sequence makes it seem more intimidating what there is to come further if you watch the movie. I would also love to use the mis-en-scene they used because the hazmat suits and contamination chamber they are in automatically makes the lady seem like a threat and makes it intimidate.
Establishing a timeline in this class has become a thing I've needed to do after our first ever project. If there is not a backbone to my planning, I will be stressing to complete things the night before or even having to make last minute adjustments. This project is over a course of 7 weeks, and I know for a fact I will be stressing without a timeline.
Breakdown of timeline:
Research
Research some movie film openings related to the genre I choose and get inspiration from these film openings.
Research ways to develop a story and idea throughout the film opening.
Research resources possibly needed to film the opening.
The typical target audience of the action genre is usually 15-35 years old or teen to young adults. It appeals more to a male audience as well because of the fast-paced camera shots, action happening, and typical strong protagonists.
Genre Conventions with Content:
Conventions with content typically include high stakes and man vs man conflict that are centered around a main heroic protagonist who faces many obstacles, a clear antagonist that represent threats, themes that typically include justice, revenge, and sacrifice, and finally intense sets that often include fight scenes, car chases, and even huge explosion seen in movies like The Dark Knight. Sub-genres typically included are things likes superhero's, military, and action thrillers. All of these sub-genres typically include protagonists who have moral responsibility.
The Dark Knight
Genre Conventions with Techniques:
Action films typically rely on techniques to really give the movie that thriller and excitement feeling. Techniques typically included are rapid editing to develop intensity, tracking shots and handheld shots for ultra realism, close ups and extreme close ups to emphasize pain and expressions, and non-diegetic music for tension. This appeals to me for my project because I feel I can edit well enough to build excitement and develop a full theme within 2 minutes using all these various techniques.
Institutional Conventions:
Action films often associate themselves with high budget productions from major studios, structured by a straightforward narrative with a climax and resolution, built around a star actor, and usually developed into big name franchises. Conventions include trailers emphasizing stunts, posters with the protagonist, cross media synergy, and global marketing.
A sub-genre of horror may possibly consider would be found footage horror or psychological horror. Although Mrs. Stoklosa advised us to stay away from the horror genre; I may want to try to create a masterpiece of an opening that may scale away from other more boring openings seen in the past.
-REC Foreman, A. (2025, October 9). The 25 best found footage movies ever made. IndieWire. https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/best-found-footage-movies/
Target Audience, Conventions Associated with Content and Techniques
The genre of horror typically attracts audiences that are younger towards their 25's and under and some middle age older people but the majority of young people. People who are attracted to suspense and psychological exploitation. The opening will most likely, but not definitely, feature a suspenseful scene that never reaches its climax or a cruel a brutal opening featuring the main antagonist. Conventions used with this content are typically low-key lighting, major mis-es-scene and props, and more non-diegetic dialogue and less soundtrack. Actors I will possibly need will be people who can give genuine reactions while acting that make it seem like ultra realism creating that shock and unsettling feeling. According to Moments Cameras, there a plethora of budget cameras that can achieve the found footage quality I will be looking for. Disturbing found footage tapes I may be inspired by are some like V/H/S, REC, as above so below, The Blair Witch Project, and even a short horror film named No Through Road made in 2009 published on YouTube. Found footage horror only uses handheld POV shots that illustrate the people around the Filmer typically.
Institutional Conventions
Institutional conventions typically associated with the horror genre are things like imagery on posters that stand out from others and trailers that emphasize the poster but also display the films intensity. Typical CGI effects are mainly utilized in the preview and low to mid budget openings. Horror is a predominantly October special and companies utilize that by posting trailers during the festive spirit. Expectations are also a no brainer in horror usually expecting a main and clear threat of an antagonist, build up of danger, confrontation of danger, and overcoming the fear of danger.
Gonjiam Haunted Asylum
RedditorUsername. (2025, January). Beat boxing possessed girl in Gonjiam [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/foundfootage/comments/1ix0b75/beat_boxing_possessed_girl_in_gonjia/
Hello Camidge, film openings are critical to helping establish the tone of a movie. In many instances, movies will most likely open with certain mis-en-scene or various colors to establish the mood trying to be set. The main goal is to illustrate the genre, if the audience doesn't know what genre they are watching within the first 2-3 minutes of the film, the opening has failed to develop. Dialogue is also crucial to establishing characters and it develops background. Without dialogue, you would have to infer most of what you're watching such as conflicts.
I plan to develop my idea of a film opening by researching every genre that I'm interested in, and I will take the top ones on my list and dive deeper and research sub-genres that fall under the genres I'm interested in and in the end, I will make an adaptation of ideas I create in storyboards etc. I will approach this project as if I were trying to find the right people to act in the film opening and I will have open arms from friends or peers to have feedback on ideas. Although Mrs. Stoklosa has advised against the horror genre, I feel that I have a very creative mind, and I think I have the capabilities to impress her and Cambridge in ways they never thought of. I know it will be hard but I'm willing to put countless hours' time trying to achieve this. I feel I'm more likely to establish a character vs. character conflict although my film opening will most like include multiple people against one.
