Reviewing Past Opening Sequences; Exemplar Work.

As the time draws nearer to begin filming, I took the time to look at some past AS opening sequences. I hoped that this would help me to gain an insight into what criteria the examiners will be marking our opening sequence against. 

After watching 3 different opening sequences, of 3 separate genres, it soon became apparent that the criteria is much stricter, and more detailed than first anticipated. Ability is marked as either showing:

-Minimal Evidence.
-Basic Ability.

-Proficient.

OR
-Excellent. 

Examiners review many aspects of opening sequence, including "using titles, sound with images, and editing appropriately" "controlled use of the camera" "variety of shot distance" and "making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions, and other effects". 

In light of this; acting as an examiner, I then watched each sequence, marking them each individually against the specification. This again, helped me to distinguish the "do's and don'ts" to consider when creating an opening sequence such as;
-If a zoom is to be successful, it must fulfill it's job, and not 'ponder' in between close-up and mid-shot.
-Varying shot length and distance is an important factor in determining whether or not the viewer engages with the sequence.
-Maintaining a continuous theme in terms of opening titles and credits is something which is very well received by examiners, and is worth spending a substantial (yet appropriate) amount of time 'perfecting.'
After reviewing the opening sequences I then graded them, taking into account the fact that technology has advanced since the time the videos were made (2009), and the specification determined.