The purpose of a film opening is to establish the genre, introduce characters, and set the tone for the audience. It does this through symbolic codes, editing techniques, colors, fonts, logos of production companies, and non-diegetic music. The opening credits identify the cast and crew while the title sequence is the introductory video. It aims to attract the audience by hinting at the story, problems, and intrigue to come.

1. The Purpose of a Film Opening
Transcript of The Purpose of a Title Sequence
The Purpose of a Title Sequence
Genre
From the opening titles of a film or TV show you can identify the genre. This can be
done due to the:
Symbolic Codes used
The Colors used
The Editing Techniques
Font
etc.
For example from the techniques used in the opening sequence below you can tell
that the genre of the show is likely to be comedy.
What is the difference between credits and an opening sequence?
Opening credits are simply the words and text included in the opening, whether it is
the cast peoples names or the name of the Film/TV show.
The sequence however is the actual opening video, separated from the main action
of the film.
Why are they there?
To credit the cast and crew involved in the production of the Film/TV show and give
them recognition for their work.
It can show the importance and status of the people that worked on the film.
It can also give the genre convention for the Film/TV show so that people watching
have an idea of what the Film/TV show will be like and include.
Institution
Film Titles almost always incorporate the logo of a company that has aided them.
This advertises the company and is why there are so many recognizable company
logos
They can also establish an expectation for the audience as to what the film would be
like, for example, if you see a Warner bros logo, it's most likely the film will have a
lighter tone (depending on how the logo is shown)
The 'with' 'and' Actors
'With' is often used in credits to signify actors that are recognizable but are no longer
box office draws
'And' is a step up from 'with' and is used for bigger stars, yet is still low in billing
order.
For example:

2. The Purpose of a Film Opening
In some cases these institutions edit their logos to suit the genre of the film for
example, universal studios may make their logo black and white for a darker film.
Institution Examples
Billing Order
The billing refers to the order in which the actors involved in the films names are
presented and where they come, whether it is before the movie title or after.
What usually happens in a film opening?
Conventions Majority of film openings start with certain conventions regarding less of their
genre. These consist of: 1. Studio/Production Company Logo 2. Titles (of the cast and crew)
3. Genre 4. Themes and Topics 5. Establishing the Genre 6. Introduction of characters 7.
Action /Events 8. Sound (specially non-diegetic music and sound effects plus contrapuntal
sound) 9. Narrations and Text 10.Enigma.
Why are the titles important?
The most important thing that the opening of a film must accomplish is to establish a tone so
that the audience fall into the same mood as the film they are watching. It doesn€ ™t have to
be a big budget explosive opening in order to grab the audience€ ™s attention and
sometimes an over the top opening like this risks upending the structure of the film with a
sense of where do we go from here? Usually the most successful film openings bring a well
developed sense of intrigue that will leave you settled into your seat desperate to know more
about the story and the characters that are going to occupy your time for the next one and a
half to two hours. If it is particularly inventive there will be some dramatic foreshadowing that
will enable to hint you at the problems that are going to occur throughout the story. Today
I€ ™m following a slightly different format for the Importance of series and I€ ™m going to talk
about film openings using examples of the most impactful from the perspective of each
genre. So I hope that I have you hooked you with my article opening and now without let€ ™s
further ado let€ ™s get analysing some masterful film beginnings.
How can the film opening help to attract an audience?
The title sequence also promotes the actors and the director of the film. The sequence can
also give the audience an idea of the genre.
Furthermore, the title sequence also promotes institutional values of a film. For example, the
production and distribution of the film (Warner Brothers, Universal)
The purpose of a film opening is similar to a title sequence as credits and some titles are
included.