conventions of an opening sequence

Purpose of an opening sequence

The purpose of an opening sequence is to entice the viewer, introduce the characters and to portray the genre to the audience, the mood and visual character of a film is also presented in the opening sequence. An opening sequence is also used to introduce the viewer to some of the following elements, which are; locations, Narrative, Plot, Themes and Visual style of the film. The opening 2 minutes of the film can have a huge impact on the opinion of the audience. It is vital that the audience has some understanding of the key concepts from the opening scenes. 

studio/production company

Film openings should always show logos or identification of the production companies and often the other companies involved in the production of the media text. These are expected by the audience and in many ways help to set up expectations for a film and whether it will be good or bad; for example, if the Warner Brothers and 20th-century fox logo is shown, the audience is likely to expect a big-budget blockbuster compared to indie film where not many people know the brand it is key for the company to show their logo to get their name out there

Titles

The functions of a title sequence are designed to tell the audience the names of the people and the companies involved in the making of the film or other media piece this gives the people involved in the making of the film the respect and recognition if the film does well. There is specific way titles are presented to the audience no matter the genre of the film the production company name comes first along with the logo the producer's names, the directory name, The title of the film, the leading actors which are followed by the supporting cast and the film crew.

Title sequences are very key for attracting audiences due to the logos of the big production companies audiences see the logos and names and recognize the brand, as well as the name of big actors, also attract a wider audience because they would normally associate good films with these famous actors

Establishing The Genre

During an opening sequence, the audience should be able to establish the genre due to the conventions of the different genre types for example in the horror genre eerie music and low lighting to create tension, as well as very dark colors at certain points, can convey to the audience that the film is a horror one example of a horror film is scream with eerie music as well as the dark colors. As well as within an opening sequence the film will have an event or have the characters to help establish the genre so continuing with the horror genre a death or jump scare may occur to again reiterate the genre of the film however the director could switch it up after the opening sequence by changing the genre 

 

Theme

The topic or theme is within the genre as its the story and it is what occurs in the opening of the film so whether it is a comedy or an action movie there will be a theme at the start of the film this is used to help ease the audience into the film so they understand the rest of the film and hint at the story and narrative of the film however some directors may not have a theme at the start of the film to try and disorientate the audience which will help create enigma and keep the audience hooked right from the beginning. The theme also helps establish what the genre of the film will be for example if there's a fight scene in the opening sequence it could indicate that its an action film, as well as quotes, can help indicate the theme of a movie, the reason this is important is it allows the director to convey the whole story of the film in just in the beginning of the film just by sticking to a theme or type of genre.

Introducing The Characters 

The establishing of the characters in the opening sequence is a very key convention for an opening sequence the reason for this is because normally in the opening sequence the main characters are introduced to the audience which is key to the film as to understand the film you need to know the characters as well as it shows the significance of the character however some very experienced directors will start to challenge these conventions and will not show the main character in the opening sequence to cause confusion in the audience and to also to get the audience to ask questions(enigma) also some actors characters can be key for being able to tell the genre of the film, for example, adam Sandler and instantly people will expect the film to be a comedy one famous film from him is the grown-ups franchise.   

Sound

in every opening scene of a film there is always sound(two types) diegetic sound and non-diegetic, is more common in films as it helps set the scene for the audience and can help convey what genre the film is to the audience. For example, slow and tense music will be used in horror and fast-paced music for an action movie however some opening sequences of films will use diegetic sound which is where the character and audience can hear the sound this is very common for comedies where the character is alone and there is a funny moment like in Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air in the pilot episode this helps the audience establish the genre. Furthermore, some opening sequences in films use theme music to help set the overall expectations for the audience films like Harry Potter do this the best and Tv shows like peaky blinders

Enigma

The theory of the enigma code was developed by Roland barth the theory suggests that there are codes in a narrative which gets the audience to ask question these are called Enigma codes and they are used in the opening sequence of a film to help create tension and gets the audience asking questions right from the beginning to try and entice the audience. The enigma codes keep the audience interested in the film and wanting to find out answers to their questions this, therefore, keeps the audience focused on the movie this is very key to the movie being successful as it keeps the audience gripped for the whole entire movie one example of enigma a director could use is introducing a new character this may get the audience to ask questions like ‘who are they’ or ‘where did they come from’. furthermore, it opens up the movie to progress further into the narrative