Differences Between a Film Trailer and a Film Opening

Traits of a film trailer;

- Film trailers tend to be more action-packed
- They show the climax of a film so audiences are fully aware of the plot
- Shows relationships between characters
- Displays the actors, usually the most famous ones who will attract an audience
- There's an emphasis on the title of the film so audiences are certain of the name
- In between clips within the trailer there is usually a number of fade to black transitions
- There might be a tagline that could be associated with the film
- Due to advances in social networking some trailers display a related Twitter page with a hashtag

Traits of a film opening;

- The production companies logo and sequence may be integrated into the opening
- There may be different speed editing depending on the film and certain cuts and shots
- Tend to be chronological
- Some films like Catch Me If You Can use iconography to open the film

The biggest difference between a film trailer and a film opening would be the use of transitions. Transitions, especially fade to black transitions, are commonly seen in film trailers rather than film openings. This is to connote the sense of time movement within the trailer because trailers are usually around 2 minutes long so can't display every part of the film.


This film opening doesn't use fade to black transitions because it is an opening. This opening in particular is extremely fast pace so the cuts are very quick to display how quick everything is happening. From the clip of the Quantum of Solace opening it is clear that the genre is Action because the use of pace, continuity and the mise en scene like fast cars. The narrative is uncertain because we don't know why the car chase is happening but it is clear there is a chase and the history of James Bond and the devices used in the film opening convey to the audience that the central character involved in the car chase is James Bond. The atmosphere inside the clip is very intense, exciting and action-packed to promote the genre of the film and capture the audience. The key element of a film opening is to prolong what a trailer is designed to do and keep the audience interested. This film opening does that by using things like a car chase, fast expensive cars and beautiful landscapes to keep the audience entertained and intrigued. The settings changed to more beaten up, building areas towards the end of the opening but the setting still remains interesting. Towards the very end of the opening there is use of iconography to flow with the credits being in a computerised font. After the original credits the title of the film is displayed as the very last thing in the opening. All these features are stereotypical aspects of a film opening, however, depending on the genre of the film the opening may feature a difference in pace.



Transcendence is an upcoming 2014 film and the trailer features some of the attributes of a film trailer which I have already specified. The beginning of the trailer shows a woman announcing the character Johnny Depp is playing as her "partner in science and partner in life" so the audience are already aware of the relationships between the characters. This may be helpful to attract females to view this film because they be interested in the love story side of it. The climax of the film, where Johnny Depp's character gets shot and hooked up to a computer to convey his thoughts would be seen as the climax, or a vital point in the film that wouldn't be shown in the opening sequence. It is shown in the trailer however because it is designed to attract an audience so gives away as much of the storyline as possible. Johnny Depp is the most famous person in the film so he is shown the most so the audience are aware he is in it. There are a number of transitions within the trailer which differs away from the stereotypes of a film opening because a film opening wouldn't feature as many transitions, if any.