What should opening sequences achieve?

• introduce the characters, location & time
• engage and captivate the audience
• show the core themes and signify the genre
• introduce the narrative structure
• generic conventions to satisfy audience expectations of genre/director/actors
• establish iconography that will continue throughout the film
• be able to dictate the pace of the film
• credits/titles
• soundtrack that establishes the genre and mood and creates a sound that is recognisable as that film (with motifs that will be used throughout the film)
• give clues that will relate to the future story