Main Task - Post 1 - Conventions of an opening sequence

When it comes to opening sequence there are a lot of conventions that you would expect to see in them. In any genre, the same conventions are likely to appear. Be that the name of the film, the cast/crew members, or a background to the film itself. I will look at two opening sequences from two different genres during this task.

Below are a list of conventions that I would expect to see in an opening sequence.

• The films title
• The production company's name
• Details of the cast and crew
• An overview of the setting for the film
• Information regarding the mood and tone of the film
• The theme tune/soundtrack for the film
• An introduction to the main character and supporting actors
• Codes and conventions that would appear in the genre of film, for example I would expect to see explosions in an action opening sequence.

Batman - The Dark Knight Rises
The first opening sequence that I watched was the recent Batman movie 'The Dark Knight Rises'

• The first convention of an opening sequence that I noticed was the productions company's name and logo, this is important because it lets the audience know what company produced the film.

• The second convention that I noticed was various names of the cast and crew appearing in the opening sequence, the person behind the film is usually first to appear seeing as that person (in this case Christopher Nolan) thought of the film.

• Another convention that I noticed was that the general idea of the opening sequence was that it was based around the idea of mystery and clue solving. This is a good idea as the film is about batman who takes on the role of a superhero and detective. In this shot we notice the Batman logo and also the place of setting (Gothan City).

Here is the actual opening sequence for the film 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Forest Gump

The second opening sequence that I watched was 'Forest Gump'

• The first convention that I noticed was the production company responsible for the film, it shows Paramounts name clearly and also its logo. This is important as it clearly shows the audience what company produced the film.

• The second convention that I noticed was the name of the person who directed the film. This is important as it lets the audience watching know who is responsible for the film that they are about to see.

• The third convention is similar to the second, in that this one lets the audience know who is in the film, in this case it is Tom Hanks who stars as Forest Gump.

• Here we see Tom Hanks as Forest for the first time, the camera floats down and pans across to him sitting on a bench, this convention introduces us to him and the film.

Here is the actual opening sequence for the film 'Forest Gump'