1. AS MEDIA STUDIES
FOUNDATION PORTOFOLIO
FILM OPENING SEQUENCE
CODES AND CONVENTIONS
Mila Habek

2. Introduction
 Film opening sequence is purpose of film opening to keep audience interested in continuing
watching the movie. A film opening should also have characters and genre. Directors can
manage this in different ways.
 Majority of mainstream film in order to satisfy the audience and to point out the key elements
of the film follow established genre, narrative, compositional and graphical codes and
conventions such as:
 Studio
 Titles genre
 Themes and Topics
 Establishing the genre
 Introductions of characters
 Sound
 Narrations
 Enigma
 Credits
 Flashback
 Establishing shoot
 Action and chase scene

3. Studio
A film penning sequence will always show a
logo of a company that executed the
production.
 There are 6 major studios:
• Warner Bros Pictures
 20th Century Fox
 Paramount Pictures
 Universal Pictures
 Sony Pictures
 Entertainment
 Walt Disney Studios

4. Titles
 All films have title scenes. The function of a title sequence in a
film may seem to be fairly obvious, these show the title of the
film, cast and production team that worked on a film. The titles
are graphical feature that is used to build up suspense and can
depict the genre of a film.
 It is usually clear, easily readable and visually appealing so it
attracts potential viwers.

5. Establishing the
genre
Within film openings the audience should be able to establish
the genre of a film due to key conventions to indicate the genre
to the audience for e.g. within a psychological thriller the key
convention in which will be presented to the audience
automatically would be the use of the low key lighting to create
tension, dissonant eerie music and the use of color such as
black, grey and red to suggest dominance death.

6. Establishing the characters
The establishing of characters in an opening scene of a film is one
of the key conventions in a film opening as this is where the
audience generally are introduced to the main characters as it
signifies their importance and statues within the film. In some films
the characters are not show in the opening scene because the
director that the lead character to be hidden and mysterious.
Topic/theme
The topicofthe film is introduced in the opening sequence and it is
used to give audience a sense of what is the film about without
giving away details. Along with that, it introduces the genre of the
film.

7. Narration
Narration in film is used to make
them more interesting and appealing
to the audience. It can also help the
audience get a better understanding
of the full story, as it further explains
and gives additional information
about the plot and characters. It is
an easy way of immediately
involving the audience and engaging
them into the story
Sound
In opening scenes of film there is
usually sound. non-diegetic and
diegetic sound. Non-diegetic is the
most common, it sets scene for the
audience and audience will know
what to expect. Some use diegetic
to help set the scene where actors
can hear it also

8. Enigma
Enigma codes in opening sequences are used to
intrigue the audience and create a sense o
mysterious tension. It hooks the audience from the
very beginning and makes them wonder and question
what happens later in the film, so they have a desire
to keep watching.
Credit
Credits are a graphical feature that can
be used to depict the genre of the film .
Their main purpose is for the main cast
and key production to be introduced.

9. Flashback
In some opening sequences. A seen from the past is shown. That scene is
usually of high importance for the pilot or a characters origin.
Establishing shot
One of the most important camera technique used in the film opening sequence is the extreme
long shot or establishing shot. It is used to set the scene and infom the audience where the film
is taking place.

10. Action & chase scene
If containing an action or chase scene in the opening sequence,
the film will start off with a fast pace, establishing the action
genre while intriguing the audience and making them wonder
about the events that might follow.