Conventions of an opening sequence

The Conventions Of An Opening Sequence 

The purpose of an opening sequence of a film is for it to establish the different conventions. For instance to define the mood and visual character. Sometimes the viewer is introduced entirely to all the specific elements, alternatively the viewer could be exposed to only a few of the elements.These elements include: 

1. Studio/Production Company Logo .
2. Title of film.
3. Star billing/Titles (of the cast and crew).
4. Genre.
5. Theme/s.
6. Protagonist (and/or other main characters).
7. A hook (action/event/chase)
8. Sound (specially non-diegetic music and/or voiceover).
9. Establishes setting/period.
10. Enigma.

The title of the film can be used to give some perspective to the audience. This can be achieved by using, for instance colours. For example, if a title is red or crimson, this gives connotations of blood or strength. This could suggest that it’s going to be a horror film or crime. On the contrary the colours could soft pastels creating an image of peace and satisfaction which could also elude to a romance film.For example Annabelle Creation has a dark red font and a black background indicating horror and violence whereas Clueless which is a romantic comedy has bright greens, blues and purples, this conveys the tone of the film with the bounciness of the colours.

The establishing of characters in an opening sequence is one the key conventions in a film, this is generally where the audience is introduced to the protagonist and main characters. This can signify their importance and where they stand in the film. However in some films the characters are not introduced in the opening sequence and this can therefore challenge the audience and create and element of mystery and confusion that the audience can be drawn to. Sometimes the specific character can help identify the genre, usually come actors are directly associated with a specific genre.Jennifer Anniston was shown in the opening scene of ‘Blended’ thus assisting us to classify that it’s as romantic comedy as Jennifer Aniston is usually affiliated with that genre.

In opening sequences they may also establish the setting or the period in time where the film is set.For example in ‘The Shining’, Jack Torrence agrees to be the caretaker for the winter for the Stanley Hotel, when his wife is given the tour of the hotel, this is a key scene to understanding the setting .The high vaulted ceilings, dark hues of the floors and walls really implement the future events of the film.

There is usually sound in opening sequences.Non-diegetic sound is the most common as this helps in conveying the genre to the audience and they will therefore know what to expect. For example having slow and tense music could signify that it’s a horror movie or thriller. Alternatively some opening sequences use diegetic sound, this is where actors hear the sound too, this can really help the audience have a feel of what  the film is going to later be like. For example in ‘Cheaper by the dozen’ the opening scene has the radio playing music where all the characters can hear creating a cheerful environment. However some films may use a contrapuntal sound, this challenges the audience as it makes it confusing as the music does not connect with the scene, this adds mystery and disorientation to the opening sequence. In ‘The Shining’ the opening is a view pod the serene mountains, however the music over it is tense and concerning creating a contrasting effect between the eyes and ears. Some films may include their theme song this, this can also the set the overall mood, particularly if the theme song belongs to a well-known franchise, this ca used to implement and expectation in the audiences head.For example, the Harry Potter films also have their well known theme tune at the beginning of every film.

The titles of the cast crews are extremely important to attract an audience. It's quite common for opening sequences to feature the names of the director or the main characters. This is particularly helpful if the actors or directors are famous and known, this convention is normally used as a method of attraction for the film. For example, director generally cast certain actors to play as their leading roles, if somebody sees Tim Burton’s name on the screen they can expect a gothic theme to the movie, and most it will most likely contain Johnny Depp who also holds a certain macabre element to him that can be easily identified.

In openings there will always be logos or identification of the production companies, these are normally expected by the audience and in many ways it helps set the expectations for a film. Also if a logo that is not well known shown it can be extremely important as they’re putting out their brand and setting out their expectations for their company.

The theme of a film is what the film is specifically about. The theme can be used in the opening scene to ease the audience and hint to the audience what the narrative will be. However some openings do not have any themes shown, thus challenging the codes and conventions and leading to the audience feeling lost and confused, this also can be used to create enigma. Also this can be used so the viewer can identify the genre. For example in ‘Love Actually’, the opening sequence has a montage of people hugging and kissing their loved one, this can be easily identifiable as the genre, however the themes of friendship and family all appear in the opening sequence.

Enigma codes are used to create to generate question and traction from the very beginning to tempt the audience. This is a key factor for having the audience interested from the start, it keeps a pending question in there heads throughout the movie that they want to know the answer to, therefore they become engrossed into the movie, consequently they engage and keep watching the film. For example in the film ‘Woman In Black’ where the little girls all jump out the edge of the window. This leaves a questions inside the viewers head that keeps them uncertain and curious to know more about why they jumped.

Within the film openings the audience should be able to distinguish what genre the film is due to conveying the key genre conventions to suggest what type of genre the film is. For e.g. within a thriller, the key conventions of the film would be the use of low lighting the use of dark colours like black and grey this connotes to ideas of death and mystery. These factors contribute to the opening but they also include something specific like a death or some element of suspense. A good example of genre conventions being shown in an opening sequence is in ‘Kill Bill’, Uma Thurman is on the floor covered in blood sweating and panting, these are all conventions of the thriller and action genre. Also as she’s laying she’s being wiped with a cloth that says “Bill”, this acts as a clue and hints to the audience that there is something they don’t which is part of the conventions for a crime film. 

 Lastly, one of the most memorable parts of an opening sequence is if it has a hook or event for the audience which entices them, the hook is an event that happens which is the beginning of a clear moment of action or serving as a small sense of what the film is going to be, having enough information to attract the viewer but not enough to give away the mystery of the whole film. A compelling hook isn’t necessarily intentionally hidings thing from the viewer, but more like avoiding synopsis which is quite dull and tedious. However having a good example of having a hook in an opening sequence is in ‘Jaws’, where the girls is swimming peacefully and suddenly she’s being pulled around the water by something that is unknown to the audience, this is an effective hook as it doesn’t merely expose all the information at once and avoids giving a brief summary of what is going to happen in the movie, which is effective to create tension and compel the viewer to keep watching

Roland Barthes enigma code theory 

Hermeneutic code, this basically refers to an element of a plot that isn’t fully explained or justified, which just simply means that the audience is given a sense of mystery and left in a question.The straightforward reasoning to this is to keep the audience engaged and guessing to what might happen which encourages to keep watching, until at the end where everything is revealed and all loose ends are tied and everybody has closure to what has happened.The other one is called the proairetic code, this is just an action that happens due to previous events and leads to more events, it doesn’t create mystery, where as it actually creates tension as it creates anticipation on what is going to happen next. The 2 codes work together and are dependent on each other to develop the story’s tension and keep the audience absorbed into the film.One example of the enigma code being used is in ‘ The birds’ a film from 1963, the visuals are simple but effective, a close up shot of birds briefly flying in the sky, this doesn’t give away too much of the movie, but addresses the title of the film at the same time.The birds are an important part in the film, however the viewer doesn’t not know this but has a vague idea that birds do play some part in the film but don’t necessarily know how, therefore this is an efficient opening as they audience like to know more about these birds and how they play a role the film. 

My opinion on conventions-

The conventions I think are the most important in an opening sequence is the sound because, I feel that sound plays a huge role to understanding the mood or feel of the movie, and if a sound or music is played it becomes quite easy to notice and also very memorable to me. If a song I enjoy plays I will most likely have an already positive option on it and therefore keep that mindset in my head whilst I watch it.the second most important convention is to introduce the protagonists and other main characters, I genuinely enjoy a movie more when I can relate to characters, having them being presented at the start really sets off my opinion for the rest of the film deciding if I’m going to be interested in it or not. Additionally if a movie has a certain actor I can identify what type of genre and themes that will occur throughout the film due to the correlation between the genre and the actor.