Good opening film scenes...

I went to see Super 8 at the cinema last night. I was impressed.

Super 8 really is a Goonies/ET cross. A thoroughly engrossing adventure story; it's thrilling, funny, scary, and it'll even bring a tear to your eye.

Right from the beginning I was enthralled, not least because of it's brilliant opening scene.

**SPOILER ALERT**

The scene opens with a grubby factory scene overlooked by a giant wooden board detailing how important health and safety is. Giant numbers indicate how many days it has been since the last factory accident; over 700. Only there's a guy up on a ladder and he's removing the numbers. The whole scene takes on a sombre and depressing tone, not least because of the miserable factory setting but because of the juxtaposition the sign offers up: the swirly writing about the factory safety suggests an upbeat, positive tone which is clearly only there for the purpose of looking good to visitors.

This scene only took a matter of seconds, but was enough to tell us all the major facts: this is a factory town, there's been a serious accident or even a death, and everyone is miserable.

Cut to the next scene and we instantly know what it's about. A wake: someone's died. A boy on a swing: bereaved. A visitor chucked out: must have had something to do with the accident.

So often when I read scripts the opening is drawn out, clichéd or both. There's usually a landscape or a location but nothing that really tells us anything about the plot or the characters. Then there's the dreaded waking-from-a-dream scenes or those that show us a main character starting their day.

Your opening scene needn't be explosive or crazy, but it will be much richer if it supports the story or a character within the story. The audience are hungry for information - how much can you tell them in one scene?

Consider what your screenplay is really about. Does your opening scene tell us something crucial about the plot? If you're showing a character, does the scene reveal something crucial about the character that is relevant to the plot?

When you are writing your first scene, consider the fact that this scene is crucial to the success of the whole screenplay. Start off well and you'll capture readers' attention. Capture readers' attention and you'll be one step closer to getting your script recommended.