Film Opening.

A good film opening mainly has one purpose and that is to establish the visual style of the film and also introducing the viewer to some if not the main character or characters in a film. it should also introduce a location, this will also show the viewer the key parts of information the viewer needs. Another key feature to get across is part of the plot to the story by doing this in the beginning it is a sure way of getting the viewer more interested in the film. an opening has to also show the genre and the theme of the film.

The opening scene in "13 going on 30" was released in 2004, it is a chick flick, about a un happy un popular 13 year old who wishes to be 30. to skip her teenage years. as she believes being 30 means she is going to be happier and lifes better.

the film starts with non digetic music which is happy upbeat music that shows this is a happy and not horror film, there hare no images of anyone in the scene to start with but a blue sky with clouds appear, the film titles and names of the stars such as Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo appear in pink writing with glitter over them , this then shows the viewer that this film appeals to girls more then boys.

The blue sky then fades to a background of a school photoshoot and of a young girl being pushed into her shoot, showing she is pushed around. she is having her school photo taken. this is a mid shot. The young girls clothing is not a style we see in today so from this you are able to see that this scene is from a long while ago which therefore represents the time period that the scene is set in. as the first shot of the girl is a mid shot and just of her you are able to see that she is the main character in the film.

The first spoken dialoge in this opening scene is of the photographer getting her name wrong and ignoring her when she corrects him. from this you are able to see she is not happy as he gets her name incorrect again showing she is ignored. her photo is then taken. at this time there is a snapshot freeze frame and the title of the film is introduced.

this short opening to the film allows the viewer to see part of how the girl is feeling and therefore why she wishes she was 30. from this you are able to have the main character introduced, part of the location this being the school which shows she is un happy as she is pushed around.