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1. FILM OPENING CODES AND
CONVENTIONS
Matthew Heyns

2. The Main Conventions
• The purpose of opening sequences in films is to sell the movie and make target
audiences want to watch the rest of the film. To achieve this film openings will
follow the main points I discuss below.
• Distinctiveness – Film openings need something that set that movie apart from the
others. This is because no target audience would be willing to watch a movie that
is the same as other films. Therefore, in the opening sequences it is important all
the scenes shown are captivating and unlike any other movies.
• Spectacle – Opening sequences will show scenes that attract the target audience.
These scenes can include things like; explosions, fast cars, loud diegetic/ non
diegetic sounds, bold colours and bold words. Often spectacle will indicate what
genre this movie is. Instead of telling the target audience the genre, successful
opening sequences will show the viewers the genre just by the scenes shown on
the screen.
• Loyalty – Often many viewers have a certain loyalty to certain actors, actress or
directors. Presenting these names people have loyalty to will already make
viewers want to watch the whole movie. Opening sequences will often show what
other movies these actors or directors have made. This is because if that movie
was spectacular, audiences will believe that this movie will be amazing as well.

3. Art of the Title
Art of the title is an online publication dedicated to title sequence design,
spanning the film, television, conference and video game industries. The
publication is both an educational and historic resource and a contemporary
publication, focusing on the creative process behind the design of title
sequences.
I recently studied various title sequences using Art of the Title in order to gain
an improved understanding of codes and conventions. These consisted of
Good Omens, Climax and The Politician

5. Narrative Codes
• As the purpose of an opening sequence is to be captivating and
unique it is important, they follow two different types of narrative
codes. Both codes have different functions with the idea of reaching
the same purpose every opening sequence desires, which is to draw
the audience into watching the rest of the film. This concept
developed by Roland Barthes is key to the success of an open
sequence, which is why you will see these codes integrated in almost
every opening sequence.
• There are two main types of narrative code; enigma and action. Both
are manipulated differently in opening sequences to make the
audience want to carrying watching the movie.

6. What is Enigma?
• The sole purpose of enigma is to make the audience curious. Enigma
usually plays on the viewers interpretation of that opening sequence,
making them wonder who, why and what?
• This is an effective way to hook the viewer into wanting to watch the
whole movie as viewers will find themselves wanting to know the
answers to the questions revealed in the opening sequence.
• The reason why I think this narrative code is called enigma is
because in WW2 the Germans sent their messages in codes that only
they could understand; the enigma code. However, eventually the
code was broken due to perseverance and interpretation of the code.
Therefore, I think this is very similar to an open sequence using the
enigma narrative code because as a viewer if you watch the whole
movie, eventually all the answers that the audience were curious to
know will be revealed.

7. Sound Codes
• There are two different types of sound; diegetic and non-diegetic.
• Diegetic sounds are sounds that you expect to hear in correlation with
what is happening on screen. For example if a chair was to fall over,
you would expect there to be some sort of bang. Diegetic sounds will
often give you a greater insight on the personality of each character.
This is because if you hear a character talking to another character
you can form an opinion on how each character is represented
through their speech.
• However, non-diegetic sounds are sounds that aren’t there, often
added in when editing. This can be as simple as a song being played
when on screen is a view of a city skyline. Non-diegetic sounds are
very helpful for determining a genre. This is because if a song is very
upbeat and happy, it is obvious you are not watching a horror movie.
Non-diegetic sounds are used to reflect the mood of the opening
sequence.

8. Titles
• Titles are an effective way to make sure the viewer knows the
actors and the director.
• When a viewer sees a name, they are fond of they often form a
certain loyalty to that actor or director. Therefore, the audience
will be more likely to want to watch the rest of the movie as they
trust that name.
• Titles also credit any of the organizations involved in creating the
movie, therefore creating recognition to that certain company