Research Into Opening Sequences

I watched five different films from some different genres to get an idea of the generic codes and conventions for an opening sequence of a film.

Napoleon Dynamite

·         Genre: Comedy.

·         The character dresses oddly to make him look stupid.

·         The film uses very few tracking shots; they mostly use still shots with lots of cuts.

·         The film uses upbeat music from the start; this gives it a light hearted mood.

·         Its target audience is people aged 13-30.

·         They use a plain stupid character.

·         The film has a little bit of editing where it has cuts from scene to scene.

28 Days Later

·         Genre: Horror.

·         It uses a CCTV shot at the beginning to make it look like it’s a news report. The film uses tracking shots to follow the action; it also uses a little montage sequence at the beginning.

·         The film uses lots of cuts to change between scene or view.

·         Props used: riot gear, police uniforms, hospital uniforms and equipment.

·         The film uses digetic sound in the starting sequence; they also use quick paced music to match with the action when it happens.

·         Its target audience is people age 18-30

Donnie Darko

·         Genre: Thriller

·         It uses slow music at the beginning it then gets quicker and more upbeat a little way into the film.

·         Editing-uses slow motion, cuts and a voice over.

·         Its target audience is people aged 15-30

40 Year Old Virgin

·         Genre: Comedy.

·         Upbeat music from the start to give it a light hearted mood.

·         Editing-it uses cuts and writing on top of image (credits).

·         The target audience is people aged 15-40.

·         The film uses the stereotypical nerd dress.

·         They use a plain character.

Harry Brown

·         Genre: Thriller

·         The film uses digetic sound (a radio) at the start.

·         Editing-It uses cuts and blurs the image at the start.

·         Its target audience is people aged 18-40.

·         It uses hoodies, guns and knifes to show the stereotypical estate gangs.

·         It uses a quick mobile phone filmed part in the opening sequence.