"Breakfast at Tiffany's" Opening Sequence

This is my favourite example of a film opening. I think it follows all the codes and conventions of moving image and creates an endearing yet intriguing beginning to the story.
The clip begins with an establishing shot, showing the audience the location. When the lady arrives at her destination, the camera does an almost over the shoulder shot, tilting up toward Tiffany's. It suggests that she is amazed, in awe and mesmerised by this place, and we, as an audience, want to find out what is so wonderful about this place. The shot shows the word Tiffany's and we gather from the title that it is a very important aspect to this movie so we want to know what’s going to happens and why. As she walks, the camera tilts down showing us her entire outfit. Towards the end, there are some more establishing shots, to again set the scene, and show us what is around this "magical" place. At the very end when she is in the hallway, the camera looks down on her, to suggest the room is very small and cramped, a world away from the grand majestic Tiffany’s.

There is a soundtrack played over the entire sequence, which is very endearing. It is a well-known song, adds a sense of luxury and tranquillity. It's smooth and almost glamorous and reflects what is happening in the scene.

This film completely follows all the typical codes and conventions of moving image, with the movie company and all the credits rolling throughout the scene. I particularly like that they have the perfect balance with enough going on screen so it's not boring, but not too much that the credits seem like they're blocking the story.

The mise en scene in this sequence is amazing and is all in keeping with the genre and tone of the scene. She is wearing a very glamorous dress, is appears she is wealthy with her jewellery and clothing. She seems completely at home outside Tiffany’s until she brings out a paper bag with a cake of some sort and a drink in a polystyrene cup. This massively us as the audience off, because you'd imagine from what we know about her that she wouldn't be eating finger food, out in public without any tables or chairs or anything. This leads us to question what and why is she doing that. It essentially sets the whole theme for the film. The taxis are very reflective of the time period, and everything is very authentic and typical "New York"!