Comedy- An example of a comedy film which uses dialogue in the opening is The Hangover. At the beginning of this film you see a young girl getting ready for her wedding when she gets a call from someone. You then see her and a guy talking over the phone before you realises that the man is stranded and that they have lost the guy who she is meant to be getting married to that day. The use of setting also helps the audience establish what is going on in this scene. You can see that the bride is at home getting ready when she gets the call and that they guy is stranded in an isolated area with three other guys. All this helps to emphasis to the audience that this is a comedy film and the use of dialogue helps you to understand what is going on in this film opening. Without the dialogue you wouldn't understand that it was this woman's wedding day or that the group of guys had managed to lose the groom, making dialogue a key aspect for this film opening.
An example of a comedy film which doesn't use dialogue in the opening is Mrs. Doubtfire. In this film you see the main character and you get to understand that they are a voice actor and do voices for cartoons. Although there is no dialogue in this opening you do experience him doing the voice overs for two cartoon characters who are having a conversation of their own. I think the use of not have dialogue is very important in the opening to this scene as you find out later on that the guys ability's to put on different voices is a key aspect to the film. Having a demonstration of that at the beginning of the film helps to portray what is to come later on and shows the audience that his voice and his ability to create different voices will be used in the film later on.
Horror- An example of a horror film which does contain dialogue in the opening is The Ring. You can see in this opening that the two girls are talking about a video tape that is meant to kill you once you have watched it. One of them describes the tape to the other and tells them how once you've watched it, you get a phone call that tells you that you'll die in seven days. You then see the other girls get very distressed after hearing the story and starts demanding that the over girl tell her who told her about it. You then find out that she has supposedly watched the tape and you can see from the expression on her face that she is really scared about what is going to happen. She then starts to go into great detail about the film and how she watched it in a cabin with her boyfriend and a few mates. She then starts to act as if she can't breathe before revealing it was all a joke to her friend. The use of having dialogue in this opening means it’s easier to bring in this mysterious tape which is obviously the key event around this whole film. It gets the audience aware of the supernatural element to the film and also prepares them for what is to come. The audience can easily predict that one of the girls will die as they have in fact watched the tape. The use of dialogue also makes it easy for the audience to follow what is going on. They understand that these are two young girls and they both know about a tape which can kill you if it is watched. You can also see that one of them have watched the film even though she pretends to joke around about it, you know she has watched it by the emotion in her face when telling her friend about it.
An example of a horror film which doesn't include dialogue in the opening is, The woman in black. In this opening you see the three little girls playing happily before they look toward something in the corner and suddenly stop what they are doing and go and jump out of the window. The use of having no dialogue in this film opening helps to create the right atmosphere and makes the scene seem even more sinister. Having dialogue at the beginning would ruin that and make the film seem less scary to the audience. The creepy music that is played in the background and the scream of a woman is all the sound that is really required in this film opening to set the scene for the audience.
Action- An example of an action film which uses dialogue in the opening is The Dark Knight. The use of dialogue in this scene helps to explain the robbery to the audience and how although it seems at the beginning these guys are all working together for a guy called the joker, they have actually been given individual jobs which you see by the way they start to kill each other off. Without the use of dialogue you wouldn't understand that these guys are working for someone else who is actually controlling them. You also understand that none of them know who this mysterious joker is. You see them all talking about him and discussing why he is called the joker, which makes the audience intrigued to find out who this mysterious character. Dialogue really helps the audience to understand what is going on in this opening and without it I think that the scene might be too confusing to follow and understand.
An example which doesn't use dialogue in the opening is Spectre. In this opening you can see that the action is happening in Spain and that it is the day of the dead. You then see the camera close up on two people who are heading to a hotel. Although once in there they exchange one line of dialogue the first two minutes doesn't contain any which is effective in making the audience see the mystery in this scene and engages them into wanting to watch more.
Drama- An example of a drama film which uses dialogue in the opening is Boyhood. Here you see a mother and son having a conversation about school and how the young boy isn't handing his homework in and is staring out the window during class. The boy tries to defend himself by saying he doesn't always look out the window but you can tell by the mother’s expression that she doesn't believe him. The use of dialogue in this film opening helps the audience understand that this is an ordinary family and it starts to tell you a little about the boy who is obviously the main characters. You see at the beginning of the film the young boy is staring up at the sky and you learn from the mother that he gets distracted very easily at school.
An example of a drama film which doesn't use dialogue in the opening is Titanic. Here in the opening scene you have the iconic Titanic theme playing while you see pictures of the Titanic before you see the sea and what appears to be a submarine searching in the water. There is obviously no dialogue because you are not introduced to any of the main characters at the beginning of the film. The use of having no dialogue at the beginning of the film helps to set the mood for the audience as many people know the tragic story of the Titanic. Showing the pictures of the original Titanic and having the slow sad theme playing over the top helps to create a sense of hope to the audience but also shows them the devastating reality of what is to come by showing the sea after the photos.
Romance- An example of a romance film which contains dialogue is The Theory of Everything. In this film opening you see two different groups of people talking. You see two man and two woman talking separately about university life and other things. You then see one of the girls make eye contact with one of the boys and their friends immediately start gossiping about them. The guy then approaches one of the girls and they start to converse in conversation with one another. They talk about what they are studying at university and even start to talk about their interests. The use of dialogue here helps to set the atmosphere that this is a romance film and that these characters are at a party. You can hear the music playing in the background and you can see that this fills the conventions of a romance film as the characters are in an open place where the chance encounter can happen. The dialogue that occurs between the two groups helps to show the audience that the girl likes the guy a vice versa. The use of having dialogue between them means we get to understand the main love interest a little more. We get to know what each of them are studying and a little about their interests which helps us as the audience connect with them more.
An example of a romance film which doesn't use dialogue in the opening is The Notebook. Here we get established with the setting rather than the characters and we only see one main character in the whole opening who we see right at the end. The use of having no dialogue in the opening means it gives the audience more time to establish where the film is taking place and also understand that it is a romance film. Having most of the opening scene illuminated by the deep red colour highlights to the audience immediately that this is a romance film and that its going to be all about love and affection. Having just these slow scenes with slow romantic music help to set the right atmosphere to the audience that would otherwise be ruined by dialogue.
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