HOW TO OPEN IN A SCREENPLAY

Example:


FADE IN ON:

BEDROOM BALCONY
Slowly migrating towards us…

Its doors are open.  WE see that inside is typical-- a bed, dresser and vanity.

From inside.  The sound of CLASSICAL PROGRESSION whispers dimly.

INT. ROYAL SUITE (BEDROOM) -- NIGHT

As WE progress, following the music, WE catch glimpse of a silenced 45 caliber handgun and a kill-wire, lying on the mattress…

On the doorknob of an open bathroom door hangs a black cocktail dress: wet, scuffed, and torn…

The volume of the classical music (identified as “Frederick Chopin Nocturne” in C-Sharp Minor) heightens as WE pursue the bathroom…

INT. BATHROOM

It’s coming from an I-pod speaker adapter on the counter.  In the sink: WE can’t help but notice the bloody cloth and surgeon scissors.

WE divert our attention to a naked WOMAN, an assassin, lying in a tub of cold water.  Injured but alive.  Age is unknown.

She possesses a few scraps and scars on her body, a fresh stitch on her left thigh, and a cigarette glued in her right hand.  Her eyes are vacant.  You could almost mistake her for a manikin.

She then brings the cigarette up to her lips-- her movement too sudden.  As if a dead woman comes to life…
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At the beginning of a script, It is essential that you try your best to lure-in the audience, no matter what the occasion. This is because the first pages of a manuscript will tell an agent, or director if it's worth reading further.  As you observed from the EXAMPLE above, the MAIN character was introduced rather intricately: You get a  sense of  the character. That's what you want to do.  You want to create an attachment between the main character, and the audience.

Feel free to ask questions.