Mark Landvik leans against a fence, chewing on a piece of straw and drawling:“This is gonna be a darned good movie!” Cue a heavy synthesizer bass line and swooping aerial shots of New Zealand, and a Subaru splashing through a fjord. Recognise it? No? Then go buy yourself a copy of That’s It That’s All NOW! If you do, then welcome to the power of the intro. The key is to build up the anticipation. It’s been months since you last saw the snow, autumn has arrived and your sweaty, fumbling hands have just put the latest DVD into the drawer. You need a fix, dammit! The opening titles start up and by now you’re ready to explode, but the director isn’t done with you yet. Oh no. He’s playing you like a true Vegas stripper, with his arty special effects and his brief flashes of hardcore footage (nothing landed of course, you’ll have to wait for that).

And, like the stripper’s lingerie, those teasing intros are often more fun to look at than the, er, meat of the film. It’s a chance to give the whole production some individual flavour, play around with fonts, get jiggy with After Effects, blend action from multiple riders and introduce their different personalities.

Over the years intros have come in all shapes and sizes, from the ‘straight into the film’ approach of 91 Words for Snow to the animation-heavy Future proof to the jaw-dropping scenics of TITA. If in doubt, however, choose a tune with an atmospheric intro, pan across some moody mountains, throw a few sponsor logos and some swirling snow, then bring on the fast and furious action as the music kicks in. BOOM!