Although films may emerge from different genres they all have similar conventions in their opening title sequences. The features of all opening title sequences include:
- Indents and credits - Indents such as "Paramount Pictures" show the institutions that own the film whilst the credits establish the actors and actresses in the film.
- Non diegetic background music - This is important because it manipulates the audience into feeling the emotions the mood of the film is supposed to set. For example the non-diegetic music used in the opening sequence of Forrest Gump is soothing and calm which reflects the context of the movie.
- Overview of plot context - By giving an overview of the storyline the audience can infer what the entire film will be about. In many openings themes of the film are hinted at in subtle ways so that the audience are curious as to how these themes will develop throughout the film.
- Introduction to characters - Most films introduce the main characters at the beginning of the film. For example the opening title sequence of the film Juno clearly distinguishes the main character by the anchoring the title beside the character "Juno"
Out of the opening sequences that I watched I found Skyfall the best one, it is an example of a narrative title sequence which tend to be my favouriteThis is because the conventions are all used subtly within the sequence, for example the theme of the movie is hinted at through the colours of red and black - red connotes blood and death whilst black connotes it a dark gloomy atmosphere, these macro features allow us to guess that the genre of the film is an action/thriller. The diegetic music dramatises the sequence and tells the audience how to react as well as guiding them through the sequence. The titles are also cleverly integrated into the action which makes the sequence look more attractive whilst at the same time making it more engaging.
