Conventions of an opening sequence

Conventions of an opening sequence

Credits

The credits of the film introduce the actors and actresses, this could make the film more engaging for some people if an actor they particularly like is in the film. The colours and sounds used in the credits are used to show the genre of the film before it has even begun.

Title

The titles not only show the name of the film but like the credits are also used to show the genre, the font, colours, images and sounds all hint what kind of film it will be.

Logos

Not only do the logos inform the audience about which company made the film, the logos can also be used to represent the genre of the film as different effects and colours can be used. An audience recognising a well known company will make them want to carry on watching as they may know the company have produced good films in the past.

Introduction of characters

In the opening sequence of the film we get our first glimpse at the characters and how they will be represented in the film. This will either make the audience like them or they’ll know they’re be the antagonist. The way characters are portrayed in the opening may change throughout. The characters are there to engage the audience as they want to keep watching and see what happens to them.

Sounds

Sounds in the opening sequence also hint at the genre for example in the film jaws very suspenseful music is used to build up the tension before the big event happens. Silence is also an effective part of opening sequences, perhaps to emphasise the difference between the scenes with sound and make them look more frightening. Sounds such as screaming show the genre is horror and the effect of what’s going on or laughter tells us the film genre is a comedy.

Narrative enigma

Narrative enigma codes are unexplained events that happen, they are used in the opening sequence to engage the audience, they want to carry on watching to find out why that happened or what’s yet to happen. They make the audience question the situation and want to know more.

Location

Setting the scene in the opening informs the audience where the film will be set, it also shows genre as for example if the location of the opening is a scary woods its likely the genre is a horror. It could also tell us about the people in the location as it may be their home or workplace.

Mis-en-scene

The mis-en-scene of the opening sequence is the factors that tell us what’s happening and the genre, for example a person In a mask will tell us its a horror and that they are the villain.