This sequence is normally an expositional scene with either an obvious important plot point or an event which is seemingly minor but whose significance will later in the film become apparent.
The James Bond franchise has become well known for elaborate high-concept pre-credit sequences, sometimes over ten minutes in length.
(Such series as Captain Kangaroo, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, the first incarnation of The Twilight Zone, I Love Lucy, and the Disney anthology television series did not.)
Their famous sound effect will close the pre-credit after each episode's victim is discovered.
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