Dialogue

Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie.

Dialogue is not necessary in the opening sequence of a feature film as there's other alternatives that can be used to replace dialogue. In some cases, no dialogue or music is more effective or creates a better toned atmosphere than an opening sequence with dialogue.

Examples of where dialogue isn't used in the opening sequences of a film:

The Graduate

The Woman In Black

Transporter 1

 

Austin Power

Submarine (although there's a small bit of recorder dialogue)

Films with dialogue in the opting sequence:

Shrek

Legend

The gladiator

The Woman In Black Two

Pretty Woman

What are the positive and negative effects of dialogue in the opening sequence?

Using dialogue helps to entice the viewers and makes the story line more easy to understand as its often hard to tell peoples emotional through body language and facial expressions, therefore the characters are shown in more detail and we can also get a feel for the relationship between the characters through their dialogue and how they speak to one another. However, some audiences may feel the need to be drawn into a film with an urgency to find out character profiles rather than being told at the start.

What are the positive and negative effects of not using dialogue in the opening sequence?

Not using dialogue in the examples I have used provides a larger visual impact towards the audience. The audience become more attached and can associate with the characters leaving them wanting to find out more creating a sense of mystery of what the characters are like. Dialogue can be very difficult to write and takes a lot time to consider what lines work best, therefore it is useful to use silence or narration especially when there's little time to rehearse and film the film. Certainly in a non professional context the producer may consider music or narration as actors may not have the quality experience of performing affective dialogue. A negative would be not performing the appropriate skills required by a specific audience because to make up for the lack of dialogue you have to show really good clear facial expressions and body language to explain the plot also the story line may be really vague.

What issues do you think you would face in your own coursework by using dialogue?  

The issue I think I will face when creating my film is having actors who aren't very confident in speaking so the dialogue will come across unrealistic and there will be lots of stutters.

What issues do you think you would face in your own coursework by not using dialogue?

By not using dialogue my coursework may come across really confusing because the actors may not be very confident in using facial expressions and body language to communicate thoughts and feelings.