Codes and conventions of opening sequences.

Discovering the rules of opening sequences:

We watched and studied a wide variety of different opening sequences, in order to learn and explore the key conventions needed. From our thorough research we were able to discover what we needed to incorporate in order to produce a successful and systematic beginning to our film. 

We found these to be the typical codes and conventions:

(All of which were present throughout the array of opening sequences)

The introduction of...

The Narrative function was always introduced through many elements of the mis en scene 

(The basic plot line was presented to us, through use of cinematography - sound/dialogue, mis en scene, music, costume, relationships and so on). 

For example: 

One of the opening we researched, 'Legally Blonde', introduced the storyline by using, bright, warm, high key lighting to create the typical 'romantic comedy' feel, making it upbeat and positive. The non-diegetic music playing 'perfect day' created a sense of perfection in the key character, and her life, indicating that something would perhaps occur to interrupt this 'perfect' typical, queen bee's reign of popularity and that a hook would probably soon appear. The flourishing colour of pink also gave away many hints at the type of character the protagonist would be, and indicated many connotations of a ditzy, girly, 'blonde' ethos. From all this we gaged from the first three minutes that 'Legally Blonde' would have a typical chick flick narrative, because of all these key conventions we associate with this genre (found within openings).

Establish the: Location,Genre,Characters,main characters,themes etc 

All the sequences, helped to set up a parallel atmosphere to their films genre by establishing the location. This establishment helped to present their main characters in either  very natural,parallel  settings or extremely incongruous ones. This enabled the audience to easily decipher the surrounding context, and the kinds of characters or themes that may be associated with that location. The expectations for what may happen in the rest of the film are also set up in the opening,

For example:

In 'Saturday night Fever' the establishment of a busy city location, helped us to piece together the type of life the protagonist may lead, the train rushing by made us think about how he may be quite spontaneous, or may wish to leave or venture further than the city. The pizza parlour presented perhaps a lower/working class character, and the 'hire' shop again presented the idea he may be strapped for cash, or trying to pretend to look like or be somebody who is only dream able. The protagonists character is built up by... his egotistic attitude and 'swagger' as he struts down the street, comparing himself to others, i.e.: when he spots similar pair of shoes in the shop window, and gives across an impression that his are better or that he's in style or on top of all the trends, additionally he acts as if he can bag all of the ladies, but fails, which again gives us a clear impression of his overly confident persona. 

The upbeat non-diegetic soundtrack and garish costume design give us an indication of that the film is a 'music' 'drama' type of film. The variety of camera shots and angels also helped to introduce characters, for example the low angle shots, indicated the high status to which he believes he holds or attempts to put across to other characters. The Point Of View shots and camera movement when he was interacting with women also helped hint at his values and personal interests. The shots of his feet additionally gave indications of the 'disco'/'dance' type genre/narrative line. 

We found that opening sequences rarely incorporated:

- Little dialogue (often speech was limited or brief, and the settings gave away more information that the snippets of conversation, as the opening sequence is designed to hint at the plot, not to reveal it in the first three minutes). 

Most of the sequences we looked at either incorporated the use of...

-Monatge or continuity editing, to either created a wrap of time and action into the first 3 minutes or to show parallel action at once in order to build enigma or suspense, especially within the horror/thriller/ganger/action adventure genres

had credits giving names of those involved in the production or acting of the film - either interspersed between the action, presented before the action, or after the action. 

-Set the time and context of the film, by use of typically connectable mis en scene (costume,hair,makeup etc) or the use of typical settings or clues at current linkable events.