These are some openings of comedy and/or superhero films which we could take inspiration from.
KickAss:
The KickAss opening establishes location immediately with an establishing shot of the Empire State building and the New York skyline which tilts don to reveal the hero in full costume, standing on the edge of a roof. The colourful costume and cape like wings establish that this is a superhero. The low angle shots from the floor then establish that people can see him. The monologue over the footage establishes that the hero is a young man from the voice and parodies dramatic speeches in the dramatic close ups of his face and what he says, while also establishing his character and reasons for becoming a superhero; "I always wondered why nobody did it before me. I mean, all those comic books, movies, TV shows, you'd think that one eccentric loner would have made himself a costume. I mean, is everyday life really so exciting? Are schools and offices so thrilling that I'm the only one who ever fantasised about this? Come on, be honest with yourself. At some point in our lives, we all wanted to be a superhero." The fact that he crashes on a taxi, looking to be seriously hurt, establishes that this is not a successful hero by undercutting the dramatic monologue and drop, while parodying the trope of a superhero falling from great heights and landing in a three point pose.
The Incredibles:
Shaun of the Dead:
The opening scene shows people walking around like zombies. This introduces the theme of the film, zombies, and one of the major jokes of the film, that people are like zombies anyway. It also introduces the two main protagonists (Nick Frost as Ed & Simon Pegg as Shaun), and their personalities; both are relatively lazy but Ed far more so, not moving in the whole sequence. It shows the living room as incredibly messy, with crushed drink cans, crisp packets and wrappers everywhere. It also establishes that Ed is unemployed but Shaun has a job through the one line of dialogue; Ed saying "Don't you have work?" This is a very effective example of show don't tell, establishing much of the two main characters and a general theme with almost no dialogue in only one minute.
KickAss:
The KickAss opening establishes location immediately with an establishing shot of the Empire State building and the New York skyline which tilts don to reveal the hero in full costume, standing on the edge of a roof. The colourful costume and cape like wings establish that this is a superhero. The low angle shots from the floor then establish that people can see him. The monologue over the footage establishes that the hero is a young man from the voice and parodies dramatic speeches in the dramatic close ups of his face and what he says, while also establishing his character and reasons for becoming a superhero; "I always wondered why nobody did it before me. I mean, all those comic books, movies, TV shows, you'd think that one eccentric loner would have made himself a costume. I mean, is everyday life really so exciting? Are schools and offices so thrilling that I'm the only one who ever fantasised about this? Come on, be honest with yourself. At some point in our lives, we all wanted to be a superhero." The fact that he crashes on a taxi, looking to be seriously hurt, establishes that this is not a successful hero by undercutting the dramatic monologue and drop, while parodying the trope of a superhero falling from great heights and landing in a three point pose.
The Incredibles:
Shaun of the Dead:
The opening scene shows people walking around like zombies. This introduces the theme of the film, zombies, and one of the major jokes of the film, that people are like zombies anyway. It also introduces the two main protagonists (Nick Frost as Ed & Simon Pegg as Shaun), and their personalities; both are relatively lazy but Ed far more so, not moving in the whole sequence. It shows the living room as incredibly messy, with crushed drink cans, crisp packets and wrappers everywhere. It also establishes that Ed is unemployed but Shaun has a job through the one line of dialogue; Ed saying "Don't you have work?" This is a very effective example of show don't tell, establishing much of the two main characters and a general theme with almost no dialogue in only one minute.
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