Trailers and openings

Although a trailer of a movie and the film opening may appear simular, there are many important differences which allow us to distinguish between the two.
Trailers
A film trailer is a montage of sections of the film which grab the audiences attention, the clips they chose to show in this montage will probably give the genre of the film away, for instance a funny part if the genre was a comedy. It gives the audience a taster of the film by bombarding the us with information, yet not giving the story line away. Trailers usually include transitions such as fade to black. There are certain places in the trailer where certain things should be, such as having the title and strap line of the movie at the end or near the end, and the institution logo at the start.


Paul trailer (2011)


Openings
The film opening has the job of setting the film up, it usually reveals the genre, mood and tone of the film. It also tends to include the signature theme tune of the film.  The opening will most of the time give an indication of the setting and the time period it is set. The opening poses interesting questions to the audience about the movie, drawing them in, and making them want to keep watching. It could introduce all the characters, some of the characters, the main protagonist, or no characters at all. Once again, certain things have to be included in certain places, the institution logos at the starts, the main film title about mid way through, and openings should include titles that show details of the cast, crew and institution.
All film openings and trailers should include and indication or some or all of the below:

• Genre
• Narrative
• Character
• Atmosphere
• Themes
• Sound

Angus, Thongs and perfect snogging (2008) opening