Conventions of an opening sequence

The purpose of an opening sequence is to entice the viewer into watching the rest of the film, it does this by creating a hook, be this visual or plot related the viewer must be interested in the film. It is also meant to introduce the plot line of the film, it does this by introducing; characters, setting and the beginnings of a story. In a thriller film usually mystery is created by the opening sequence, this is done in our opening sequence in the use of flashback, however we have had feedback that we might be creating to much mystery and we have confused the viewers, this is a risk that filmakers take in creating mystery in the very first scene.

The conventions of an opening sequence apply to four main areas; cinematography, editing sound and mise-en-scene. Cinematography is used in that establishing shots are usually used in opening sequences, this is due to the fact that they introduce a setting very well, and therefore help to convey the main purpose of an opening sequence. Pans are also frequently used throughout the opening sequence as they can achieve a very broad look of the scene for the viewer.

Mise-en-scene is a key part in most opening sequences, they are used in two different ways, the first way is to create a very calm enviroment for the viewer to indulge in, this lulls them into a false sense of security and adds to the tension to be created later on in the film. The second way is to throw the audience to the story head on, usually by showing the end first, this way can be risky as it could reveal to much of the story or confuse the viewer. However in psychological thrillers it could connote the main characters detached mental state.

Editing comes in the form of titles which are frequently used in the opening sequences of films, they are there to give credit to those who worked on the film. However they could also be used to show off the actors/actressess in the film, this could be a hook in the film, as a famous actor could make it more successful. These titles also show the producers which tells alot about the film, weither they be big or small the films producers could define the target audience of the film.

The sound used in an opening sequence is usually very ominous (especially in a thriller one) this connotes that there will be horrific events coming up in the film, this manages to acheive one of the aims of an opening sequence, which is to make the genre/main themes very clear. Another thing that sound does is dialogue, which makes aspects of the characters very clear, this can make the viewer make up their minds about specific characters, this causes an instant interest in our film.