RESEARCH- Blog Post 9- categories of film openings

Film Openings

I have looked at different title sequences and have taken detailed notes on the four main title sequences:

1. Titles on a blank screen

Titles on a blank screen are one of the oldest title opening. They are usually low budget and offer a simple, uncomplicated way to include institutional information.
Some examples of films that use this techniques are Psycho and Pulp Fiction. Here are examples:

As you can see in the 'psycho' image, the very bold text makes the title effective.








Here also, it is very bold. However, I don't like the fact that these title openings are plain as it looks like the film is going to be boring.






2. Titles on still images

Titles on still images are more elaborate than simple white text.This makes the film opening more interesting than titles on a black screen. Titles on still images usually start getting a sense of the genre. As the credits start getting longer, the still images are put in, this makes the opening more detailed and tells the audience more. A combination of different media such as music is required.
The name of the studio and the film creators are almost always shown right in the beginning because in the contracts, it states that the studio and companies need to be accredited before the actual film begins.

Wimbledon has a really effective title sequence as the music edits to the beat. Also, the titles moving across every time we heard the sound of a tennis ball relates to tennis.










3. Titles over moving images

It incorporates credits and titles with the moving images. The images are usually behind the titles and there is usually sounds/music however there is no dialogue. Titles over moving images usually have a metaphoric theme. They also often introduce the tone and storyline of the film giving a little narrative.





Two examples of films that have moving images as their title openings are Rear Window and Cicade De Deus (City of Gods.)

In Rear Window, the bars in the window is a metaphor of how trapped the guy living there is. City of Gods also has a metaphoric theme.

4. Titles using animations or motion

The titles are animated texts and become a part of the whole film. Animations/motion requires a lot of digital technology and takes a long time to make.  An example of a film that effectively uses this technique is Casino Royale. The graphics are related to the theme and setting that the film was taking place in (Casino.)







Another example is Catch Me If You Can. Personally, I really liked how it all looked seamless with the graphic lines which I thought was effective. Also, I thought the music really suited the title sequence.










Favourite type of title sequence

My favourite type of title sequence is titles over moving images. I think that the moving images without any dialogue can be really effective as it can leave the audience guessing what the characters are saying.  It includes the narrative as well as a metaphor but also no dialogue so that the audience get a feel of what the film is going to be like.

Here is an example of a title sequence that has titles over moving images. This film, City of Gods has a metaphorical theme to it. The suffering chickens represent how hard life is on the streets.