Conventions of an opening sequence

The opening sequence of a film is the key part in initially showing the audience an introduction to the genre of that film. It sets the standards and base of the film that is being shown, and make the audience gain that important first impression. Throughout an opening sequence the intention is to gain an establishing shot, alongside the characters being identified through visual and audio. Therefore I have chosen two films, one being "Austin Powers; Goldmember", an action comedy, and the other being "Juno" comedy, and have taken screen grabs of the opening sequences. Doing this will enable me to gain an understanding of what makes a good opening sequence, a skill that I will need to know when completing my main coursework.

Austin Powers: Goldmember

I had chosen to analyse the opening sequence to this particular film because I feel it drastically portrays the genre of it immediately. The key conventions within this opening sequence are the audio, costumes, props and also the idea that the titles themselves arent included within the very opening.

When watching this opening sequence, the first thing that struck me was the action in the opening. The audience see what appears to be a male skydiving, therefore the audience get the impression that the film they are about to watch is pure action. This changes, however, when as shown in the fourth image, props are beginning to be introduced. The main prop that is seen within this opening sequence is the car, showing the union jack flag and a numberplate that is shown in a close up to give a sense of comedy. Knowing this prop is added so immediately to the opening sequence makes the audience aware that the initial impression of an action film that they perceived is not one hundred percent true, and that this film is also a comedy. Adding to this thought is the drastic, over dramatic action stunts that are included in the opening sequence, such as screen shots 5 and 6. Seeing that they are so overly dramatic gives a sense of being false, which also adds a sense of comedy. This is somewhat confirmed towards the end of the opening sequence, where costumes and actors are revealed. Costumes are of a comedic value and are the same as the traditional 'Austin Powers', however the actor seen is Tom Cruise, which the audience will be well aware is not the actor of this character. When the final clip of the opening sequence is revealed and it is shown as a film set up, the audience are now confirmed of the action comedy genre of this film.

The audio also plays a main part to this opening sequence. There is a slight use of dialogue towards the end of the opening sequence, adding to the 'set up' effect and not distracting the audience from the genre to be focused upon.

Juno

I thought this title sequence would be good to analyse due to the differenciation between animation and live action. It is clever in making it tie in with the opening storyline, and the jittery animation gives a clear account of the comedy genre.

One of the main conventions in this opening sequence is the use of animation. The props shown are in animation, such as the bottle of milk, which you could say represents a sense of childhood. Credits shown in the opening sequence are superimposed over the top of the existing image; which is done because the actions in the sequence is merely a girl walking down a street, therefore credits do not distract the subject. Animation itself adds a sense of childhood and naivety, something that distracts a serious tone to the film. In this case, the audience are clear that the genre is one of comedy. Also within this sequence the audience are introduced to the protagonist of the film, in this case is a young girl.