1) When Thomas Sutcliffe says, "Films need to seduce their audience into long term commitment. While there are many types of seduction, the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistible" he means that the beginning of the film is significant as it can make or break the film. If the audiences attention is grabbed right away by the title sequence of the film then the likelihood of them watching the rest of the film is high. Overall, film makers should start their films with a big bang so it 'seduces' the audience into watching the film because of the temptation from the title sequence.
2) According to the Director Jeane Jacques Beineix (picture above), the risks of 'instant arousal' are that it will disinterest the audience due to it being rushed. Jeane Jacques believes that films should slowly arouse the audience so it keeps them in suspense and gives them satisfaction from it. He challenges the view of grabbing an audiences attention straight away and prefers it when narratives build up arousal for an audience.
3) The phrase: "A good beginning must make the audience feel that it doesn’t know nearly enough yet, and at the same time make sure it doesn’t know too little" explains that film makers want the title sequence to be good enough to help the audience understand a good proportion of the plot of the film. However, they don't want the audience too much so there is no point of the film, but instead become intrigued by the title sequence that will leave them in a dilemma and suspense of what will be happening throughout the film.
4) The critic Stanley Kauffman (picture above) describes the classic opening as showing the exact location of the film by the use of an establishing shot. This notifies the audience of what the scenery and plot of the film may be like. For example, in this establishing shot there was a castle shown with spooky music in the background, which suggests that the films genre is meant to be horror and it is going to be based on the castle. Also, the use of other shots such as a close up shot and tracking shot give the audience a sense of idea about who will be playing the major role in the film, and gives them an idea of what their background will be like compared to opposing characters.
5) Kyle Cooper's title sequence to the film 'Se7en' is so effective because it tuned the audience to the correct field. The title sequence showed a variety of props, which are later shown in the film as very significant. For example, the use of the notepad being written on in is later shown as the killer’s personal diary. Along with the horrific images of blades and knives there was eerie music to match the sequence, this implies that something menacing will be happening throughout the film. Moreover, the use of typography on the font gives a ghostly effect, as it shows the font as slowly fading away. This may signify that the plot of the film is based on a character that is unstable. Overall, the different props, typography and music used in the title sequence assisted the audience in understanding the psychotic energy – it was more intriguing than the film itself.
6) For the opening of Orson Welles film 'A Touch of Evil' he wanted it to be seen with credits but no title music and plunge the audience into the story without giving them time to prepare themselves. However, Universal Studios chose to add music to the title sequence to engage with the audience of what is happening. By doing this, Orson Welles originality was lost and the effect of keeping the audience in dilemma was gone too, which in his opinion didn’t make his title sequence as special.
7) 'A favourite trick of Film Noir' means putting the ending at the beginning. The trick is to manoeuvre the ending of the film to the beginning. An example of this is the film Casino, by starting the film with an ending it makes the audience more intrigued into watching the whole film, so they can find out what happens in between the scenes.
8) The opening of the film ‘The Shining’ creates suspense because it is first presented with scenery of mountains, which looks calms, but in the next scene the camera follows a car like a predator, which is high above the ground and is placed behind the car. This shows that the car plays a significant role in the film, and is building up tension to alert the audience of something terrible happening involving the car.
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