Narration

      Narration can be used in film openings to give the audience a sense of understanding, and background on what has happened/is happening. However, film openings may not always have narration/any talking within the few opening minutes at all.

      Two contrasting film openings where Forrest Gump and The Breakfast Club. These are contrasting because in Forrest Gump the entire opening sequence is a white feather which floats from the sky very gracefully, and lands at the feet of Tom Hanks, who plays Forrest Gump. This entire scene is narrated by nothing but the music playing, this being effective because it adds to the calmness and serenity of the feather falling. In this opening sequence, nothing is given away, we have no idea what the story is about because there is no clear give away from naration, or the acting of characters. Yet we're still left interested in the significance of the white feather.
      
      However, in The Breakfast Club, the opening sequence not only has music playing, but it has character narration also. This gives me the impression (as I have never seen it before) that it is going to be  much more complex storyline than Forrest Gump, because it's giving you some background information before the actual movie has properly begun.

"Saturday, March 24, 1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois, 60062. Dear Mr. Vernon, We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did *was* wrong. But we think that you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athelete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at 7:00 this morning. We were brainwashed."


      In this opening scene, we are shown the main characters of the film, each one representing a different stereotype from high school, and with the narration over the top, we are able to tell that this is a story of stereotypical teenage characters finding themselves.

      Another film which has narration in the opening few minutes is Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. This opening is much different to the one of the breakfast club. This is because it gives us kind of character profile of the main character, instantly introducing him, and making the audience know that the film is going to be about him. Having the narration completely about the character opposed to anything else, can be good because it instantly makes the audience feel like they can connect with the main character, which you need from every film in order to have complete interest.

"He was like a God walking amongst meer mortals. He had a voice that could make a wolverine, pur. And suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a hobo. In other words Ron Burgundy was the balls."

The narration continues on for another minute or so, but this is just a small example of how it is a character profile.