An opening sequence is the method by which cinematic films present their title, key production and cast members, utilising conceptual visuals and sound. They are key to revealing the genre of the film through the use of music, fonts and lighting. They usually consist of various production company logos, opening credits and introductory shots of the main characters.
We watched a variety of different opening sequences in order to sample the various styles of different genres and also to see how each film interpreted the concept of 'the opening sequence'.
OFFICE SPACE
At a first glance of the opening credits you can tell that this film is a comedy due to the font used. The rounded letters portray a cartoon like aspect going on to imply humorous qualities. The blue colour of the font is used ironically as it usually implies sadness, however, paired with the comical font, it does the complete opposite.
After the initial production credits, some up-beat, happy music is played with the cutting of shots in time with the beat of the song. The ideas behind both the shots and the music conflict with each other as the happy/up-beat music strongly contrasts the stressful environment of a traffic jam giving off a hint of sarcastic humour.
We like this opening sequence as we think it's clever how it shows the main characters in the same environment but showing each of their different experiences. Every aspect of it is tailored to the comedy genre and displays various humorous qualities even with minimal dialogue. We especially like the shot where the first character we see is looking out his car window to see that even an elderly man is moving at a faster pace on foot than he is in his car which is stuck in the traffic jam.
RED LIGHTS
Instead of focusing on the filmed content, Red Lights focuses more on the creative effects of editing during this title sequence. We thought that Red Lights had a very edgy approach to the bog-standard title sequence and could immediately be linked to the thriller genre via the font, shot angles, images, and colours used throughout.
The flashing lights at the very start of the sequence immediately disorientated us and set us on our toes preparing us for the content to come in addition to the dark and sinister music. The various chiaroscuro lit images changing at a rapid pace create intensity and feelings of restlessness. Another feature of this opening sequence that gives off restless connotations is how the credits move in a jerky fashion and the individual letters dislocate themselves. The colours used are perdominately black and white with the occasional flash of red lights which creates a serious tone yet the red brings that element of urgancy and danger to the table.
We love this opening sequence and are inspired by it due to the effect it has on the audience. It left us on the edge of our seats and wanting to see more which is pretty much how an effective opening sequence should be done.
Bourne Supremacy
Like many opening sequences, the production company logo is the first thing to appear before the film and then the title is shown immediately which isn't un-heard of but it is not the same as some of the other opening sequences. However a strange difference is that no credits run throughout the sequence even though we see some of the characters. After the title a very quick cut montage is played which immediately made us think that the film was part of the action genre due to its speed or possibly the thriller genre as it is very dark and the music is very downbeat and gets louder as the shots change faster.
After the montage we find out that it's flashbacks in a nightmare. The montage seemed very dream-like due to the voices echoing and the very quick changes of image or film as though they were bad memories that he didn't want to remember. The quick cuts, blurry images and overlapping movement and shots made us confused to begin with as the images didn't stay on the screen long enough for us to take into account but when it was revealed to be a nightmare we thought it was a very clever way to show the opening sequence and introduce the audience to the main character.
We really enjoyed this opening sequence as we thought it was very unique and captivating because although many films start with dreams, this opening sequence didn't give much away of the plot line as it was so fast but also did give away the genre. We like the idea of an opening sequence not revealling much in dialogue and making the audience intrigued to watch the rest of the film.
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight is an amazing action film and we could tell this from the opening sequence as it immediately revealed the genre and style of the film. Before the film, multiple production company logos are shown which also tell us that this is a big film, however throughout the opening scene we are not shown the title of the film.
The opening sequence gets straight to the point of the film unlike some of the others as it goes straight into action by shooting the window and you see all of the clowns in different places doing their part of the job. We could also tell that this film had lots of killing in it as at least 4 people were already killed, 4 minutes into the film. Although, unlike many other opening sequences, the Dark Knight doesn't focus on any main characters but it does focus on the clown mask especially when one of the men is standing at the edge of the street. We also keep hearing the name 'The Joker' as there is a lot more dialogue in this sequence than others which I think shows the film would be quite confusing if you didn't listen to it.
We really liked this opening sequence because it didn't mess about with intriguing images at the beginning and it went straight into the action, however the dialogue still explained what was happening.
We watched a variety of different opening sequences in order to sample the various styles of different genres and also to see how each film interpreted the concept of 'the opening sequence'.
OFFICE SPACE
At a first glance of the opening credits you can tell that this film is a comedy due to the font used. The rounded letters portray a cartoon like aspect going on to imply humorous qualities. The blue colour of the font is used ironically as it usually implies sadness, however, paired with the comical font, it does the complete opposite.
After the initial production credits, some up-beat, happy music is played with the cutting of shots in time with the beat of the song. The ideas behind both the shots and the music conflict with each other as the happy/up-beat music strongly contrasts the stressful environment of a traffic jam giving off a hint of sarcastic humour.
We like this opening sequence as we think it's clever how it shows the main characters in the same environment but showing each of their different experiences. Every aspect of it is tailored to the comedy genre and displays various humorous qualities even with minimal dialogue. We especially like the shot where the first character we see is looking out his car window to see that even an elderly man is moving at a faster pace on foot than he is in his car which is stuck in the traffic jam.
RED LIGHTS
Instead of focusing on the filmed content, Red Lights focuses more on the creative effects of editing during this title sequence. We thought that Red Lights had a very edgy approach to the bog-standard title sequence and could immediately be linked to the thriller genre via the font, shot angles, images, and colours used throughout.
The flashing lights at the very start of the sequence immediately disorientated us and set us on our toes preparing us for the content to come in addition to the dark and sinister music. The various chiaroscuro lit images changing at a rapid pace create intensity and feelings of restlessness. Another feature of this opening sequence that gives off restless connotations is how the credits move in a jerky fashion and the individual letters dislocate themselves. The colours used are perdominately black and white with the occasional flash of red lights which creates a serious tone yet the red brings that element of urgancy and danger to the table.
We love this opening sequence and are inspired by it due to the effect it has on the audience. It left us on the edge of our seats and wanting to see more which is pretty much how an effective opening sequence should be done.
Bourne Supremacy
Like many opening sequences, the production company logo is the first thing to appear before the film and then the title is shown immediately which isn't un-heard of but it is not the same as some of the other opening sequences. However a strange difference is that no credits run throughout the sequence even though we see some of the characters. After the title a very quick cut montage is played which immediately made us think that the film was part of the action genre due to its speed or possibly the thriller genre as it is very dark and the music is very downbeat and gets louder as the shots change faster.
After the montage we find out that it's flashbacks in a nightmare. The montage seemed very dream-like due to the voices echoing and the very quick changes of image or film as though they were bad memories that he didn't want to remember. The quick cuts, blurry images and overlapping movement and shots made us confused to begin with as the images didn't stay on the screen long enough for us to take into account but when it was revealed to be a nightmare we thought it was a very clever way to show the opening sequence and introduce the audience to the main character.
We really enjoyed this opening sequence as we thought it was very unique and captivating because although many films start with dreams, this opening sequence didn't give much away of the plot line as it was so fast but also did give away the genre. We like the idea of an opening sequence not revealling much in dialogue and making the audience intrigued to watch the rest of the film.
The Dark Knight is an amazing action film and we could tell this from the opening sequence as it immediately revealed the genre and style of the film. Before the film, multiple production company logos are shown which also tell us that this is a big film, however throughout the opening scene we are not shown the title of the film. The opening sequence gets straight to the point of the film unlike some of the others as it goes straight into action by shooting the window and you see all of the clowns in different places doing their part of the job. We could also tell that this film had lots of killing in it as at least 4 people were already killed, 4 minutes into the film. Although, unlike many other opening sequences, the Dark Knight doesn't focus on any main characters but it does focus on the clown mask especially when one of the men is standing at the edge of the street. We also keep hearing the name 'The Joker' as there is a lot more dialogue in this sequence than others which I think shows the film would be quite confusing if you didn't listen to it.
We really liked this opening sequence because it didn't mess about with intriguing images at the beginning and it went straight into the action, however the dialogue still explained what was happening.
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