Key conventions of an opening sequenceDanielle Duffy

IntroductionEvery film will have an opening sequence; the first scene that serves many purposes. In this presentation I have identified the most common conventions you might see in an opening sequence, and linked them to examples from thriller movies as it is the thriller genre my project is focused on. This research will give me an idea of what I could include in my opening sequence to make it more professional.

Informs the audience of the title of the film The style, font size and colour of text and

background is often reflective of the genre Credits showing actors and director names – this

information may be more significant to a person who has an interest in people in this business. For example; we may recognise a popular director’s name such as Hitchcock, and subsequently we may raise our expectations or be more enthusiastic to watch it if we were a fan of his work

Production logo – promotes the institution

Titles

For example…

Opening sequence for ‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999)

Dark, black background connotes fear, mystery and death

Simplistic, blue text – not much is given away about the narrative. This lack of information might link it to the mystery genre as there is a sense of unknown

Blue is believed to be the colour of the spirit; linking to supernatural themes

Are often revealed using an establishing shot Sets the scene, reveals the place where the main

events are likely to take place Common settings of thriller movies include family

homes, cities and forests May give us a clue of the events that could

happen (a film set in a busy city is likely to involve crime and action)

Settings

As seen in...

Opening sequence for ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)

The scene of a big city is shown, so we know that the movie takes place in a city – therefore we might expect that crime and action will be involved

One theory that relates to the opening sequence of a film is Syd Field’s three act structure

He designed a paradigm (image below) that he believed the majority of screenplays follow

According to Field, screenplays follow a three-act structure, meaning the standard screenplay has three parts: Setup, confrontation and resolution

Therefore the opening sequence would fit into stage 2 of his paradigm: the set up

The set-up: three act structure

Sound helps portray the genre of the film; tense music is often used to thriller to indicate suspense

Diegetic sound may include the movement of a vehicle e.g. a car or helicopter, or a scream when an attack takes place

Non-diegetic sound especially helps indicate the genre e.g. Eerie music is used in thriller to raise the tension and hint that something has happened/will happen

Sound

The storyline is usually introduced Sometimes an important action will take place (a

key event in the plot) Might include a flashback (non-linear) Narrator is sometimes used to tell the story/give

us information on previous events We will find out if the important action happened

in the past, present or will happen in the future e.g. in thrillers linked with mystery the murder will often happen beforehand

Narrative introduction

For instance...

Opening sequence for ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)

A robbery takes place as a gang of masked hooligans steal a load of money from a shop. Links to the movies’ themes of crime and the good and evil.

This is also an enigma code as the viewer does not know the identity of the villains

Main/significant characters are often featured in the scene

The event that they are involved in may tell us about them, for example their career

Relationships between the characters may be established e.g. friends, family and partners

We may get to know their personality through their decisions

Character introduction

For example...

Opening sequence for ‘Black Swan’ (2010)

In this opening scene we see the main character performing. This indicates that she is a professional ballet dancer – she is likely to be the ‘victim’ as conventionally it is woman who are in need of saving

Roland Barthes believed that in order to properly understand the narrative of a text, we need to observe it from a range of perspectives

Opening sequences will often feature enigmatic scenes that will make the viewer ask questions regarding the narrative, and to find out the answer they will have to continue watching

E.g. ‘Who is the killer?’ is a common enquiry to have after hearing of a murder in the first scene of a film

Enigma codes

ConclusionFrom conducting this task I have gained knowledge of what typical aspects are included in opening sequences. This piece of research has increased my awareness of what I could include in the thriller movie trailer I will be creating, as a trailer and opening sequence are very similar as they include many of the same conventions.