Film Opening Analysis

Identify the film and it's genre:

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is an adventure/action film.

Identify where the story takes place and the time scale:

It is set in 1935 Shanghai, as shown by the shot at 2:55

Summarise what happens in the sequence in chronological order. How significant to the story is the story telling in the order of events?

A gong is hit by a man, then the mouth of an ornamental dragon is shown. Women then appear and start to dance, whilst one sings a song "Anything Goes". It is a grandiose musical number. As the musical number finishes, there  is a shot of a Chinese man clapping with who appear to be henchmen or guards. A man in a white blazer then walks down some stairs and is told to be careful. He then takes a seat at the previously mentioned Chinese man's table and starts a conversation with him. This sequence of events is rather important, as there is a sharp contrast between the first shots and the musical. The first shots seem very dangerous and in line with the previous movie, but then the musical is very different, it seems almost surreal. The musical is used to deceive the audience to play with the audience's anticipation. This confusion is then dispelled once Indiana Jones walks in, and the audience gain a sense of what is going to happen.

Do events link to each other or are they distinct, unconnected events?

The events in the opening link to each other, giving the audience a sense of continuity. This is a convention of adventure films, as they tell the story right from the beginning to get the audience immersed in the narrative.

Which characters are introduced and what their roles in the film? How do we find this information out?

Chinese Man - He seems to be the bad guy, this can be inferred by his "henchmen" standing next to him, guarding him as he watches the show.

Indiana Jones - A recurring character in the series of films, he stands out and is instantly recognisable by the audience.
How much story information is revealed and how is it revealed to the audience? What is deliberately withheld?

Very little information is given to the audience, adding to the confusion of the musical piece. The audience suspect that the Chinese man is bad, but they do not know why. Also they do not know why Indiana Jones would be in the setting and interacting with this Chinese guy, leading to suspense and suggesting a possible conflict.

What do you think the audience needs to know at the start of your film? Explain. 
I think the audience need to know who the main character of the film is, so that they can get a sense of what type of story the film will have. However in this case, I think it is not as important, as the main character had already been established in the previous film.
Another thing that is important is for the audience to know the credits of the film and the name of the film.