Conventions of an opening sequence

Within an opening sequence there is a number of differnt techniques that you can look for and comment upon, all these features should be able to be seen in every eopening sequence that you watch.

Analysis of media texts

Micro elements
- Camera (shot sizes)
- Sound (diegetic or non diegetic)
- Mise-en-sene
- Editing and special effects

Macro elements
- Connotation, meaning that is created
- Representation (action, comedy)

• Camera
  - Angles (low angles shot shows a person taller whereas a bigger shot show power)
  - Shot sizes (extreme close up, long shot or establishing shot)
  - Ariel shot (shows location)
  - Movement (Crain shot, panning, tilting, tracking, jibbing)
  - Point of view shot
  - Over the shoulder shot
• Movement
  - Dolly (which is a camera on a track and follows movement can either move forward or backward or left to right)
  - Steady cam (attached to a body suit)
  - Zoom (Hitchcock zoom, where tracking in a zooming out at the same time, which puts everything out of focus beside character)
  
• Composition
  - Framing
  -Rule of thirds
  -Depth of field (area that’s in focus at one time, normally shallow to deep)
  

Editing

• Cutting
  -Hard cuts (straight to one to another)
  -Fade out/ in (used to black at end or change in time period)
  -White fade (used in back in time or flash backs/ forwards)
  - Jump cut (anything between 30 degrees or original camera shot)
  - Shot/ reverse shot
  -Cut away (e.g. a shot of conversation but shot jumps to gun behind back, which adds information to the audience)
  - Parallel editing (story a and b running at the same time)
  - Match on action
  - Eye line matches (get the view of what the character sees)

• Transition
  - Dissolve
  - Putting a title over the top of images
  - Slow motion
  - Add colour/ light for visual effects

All of these diffenent tequnices should be seen in an opening sequence. I have looked at the film Slumg Dog Millionair to look our for these in their opening sequence.