RESEARCH: Structures of film openings

There are three ways in which a film opening can be structured:

1. Stand alone titles
2. Narrative opening
3. Discrete title sequence

The stand alone titles


 This type of opening consists of titles shown on a black background before the film starts.

Narrative openings

 Titles run during the first scene of the film, which is part of the film's narrative. They can be superimposed, appearing over the scene, or inter-cut, where the scene is divided by titles shown on a black background.


The discrete title sequence

These are highly stylized openings that contain images that are not part of the narrative, but may hint to it or to important characters by showing key props. In a thriller film, this type of structure is usually edited at a very fast paced and accompanied by suspenseful music.