Conventions Of An Opening Sequence

The conventions of an opening title sequence are:

- The distributors are also placed into the title of the film. They are put in here so that they can be advertised for all the work that they have done within the making of all the film.

- The main characters and actors/actoresses are also placed in the title because this is how they are introduced to the audience. It portrays to the audience who is in the film and also it will sometimes show what character the actor or actress will be playing will be playing.

Analysis of 'Brick'

'Brick' has a successful opening sequence because its use of various camera shots, its story line, the use of sound and the use of mise en scene. These help draw the viewer into the world of the film. For example the opening shot is of the main character, also it begins at the end. This means that the end is revealed before the beginning even starts. This gets the audience thinking tremendous amounts; they will be thinking about why he is there, how did he get there, what led him to the place he is at within the moment of time.

The fact that the female character is wearing the same clothes throughout this opening sequence portrays the fact that this character has not been home or not been able to change clothing throughout the films fictional time duration. This therefore gets the viewers thinking about what may have happened, what this character has been through, why the people responsible choose to do it together and who are the people involved in the murder/death of this main female character.

The constant use of the colour blue shows the genre of a thriller and the theme of sadness and sorrow. By doing this the audience have been drawn into the films genre and it also emotionally involves them by making them consume the sadness and sorrow that the characters are feeling.

Analysis of 'Double Indemnity'

The opening sequence for 'Double Indemnity' (Billy Wilder, 1944, US) is successful because the use of the fade in and out portrays the life of the person being fluent and it could highlight the main parts of his day by skipping the usual day to day actions by using the fade in and out technique. By doing this it gets the audience thinking about what this person may do between his most important times of the day.

The workmen show the fact that this person is living in a city which is wealthy because they can afford to repair and upgrade the city, by showing this it also portrays that this character is quite wealthy as he lives in a wealthy city. We also get this clue later on when he arrives at an office block late at night and he has a high status because he is known in the building.

The camera shots are also highly important in this sequence because they show the mise en scene and they show the viewer that the character is in a rush and has a high importance. This is shown by the use of low angle shots and fast paced cut shots. This gets the audience thinking about why he is rushing and how he became so important; also it gets them thinking about what he does and what position he has within that job. The camera shots also prevent the viewers from seeing the characters face at first, this makes him very mysterious creating a very eerie and suspicious atmosphere. By doing this the audience begin to think about what might happen and they gradually become part of the film.

Analysis of 'Wallander'

The opening sequences for 'Wallander' (Firewall, MacCormick, 2008, UK) is successful because it draws the viewer in by making the audience ask questions. This was accomplished by revealing certain and important pieces of the mise en scene so this makes the viewer think about where they are, why they are there and how did they get there. Also the use of clothing draws the viewer in as they want to know what sort of person the characters are. For example; a leather jacket is worn by one of the girls in the opening sequence, the viewer could use stereotyping and come to the conclusion that this girl is rebellious and goes by her own rules and no one else. By doing this the viewer then wants to carry on watching the film because they want to know if their predictions and their thoughts were accurate and correct.

The shots used in the opening sequence are vital because they help set the scene and the atmosphere for the rest of the film. In this case the camera shots are commonly close ups or extreme close ups. By using these shots the viewer can only see specific objects in the mise en scene making the audience think about what is around and where they are. The close ups are used to give little detail and to keep the viewer thinking about the situation whereas the extreme close ups show more detail so that the audience can pick up clues about the film and help them picture what could happen in the rest of the film. The opening sequence for this film is different as it starts of with the camera in a helicopter to create an establishing shot. This could have been used to give the viewer a setting in which they can now use to create the story using the clues that they will pick up within the opening sequence.The combination of the close ups, extreme close ups and the establishing shot help portray the atmosphere, mise en scene and the beginning of the plot of the story.

The colours used in the opening sequence portray the fact that the film is a thriller. The fact that they have decided to use yellow and black shows that the film will contain danger and death giving the viewer an insight to what the film will contain and how the story may progress with and end with.