Saturday 16 January 2016

Film Title Sequences



'Forrest Gump' (1994) - Directed by Robert Zemeckis




The title sequence for 1994's 'Forrest Gump' begins with the logo for the production company 'Paramount' before the actual title sequence began. The title sequence opens with the perspective of a feather falling from the sky and heading towards the main protagonist of the movie, played by Tom Hanks. Interestingly, the title sequence only displays the cast members and the essential crew members. However, towards the end, there is no introduction to the main title of the movie, which is unconventional of a title sequence.

The fonts used throughout the title sequence is very simple, with an old fashioned feel due to the fact that the typography isn't very challenging and very plain. In my opinion, I feel as though this title sequence is very normal because the films putting empathizes on the  main protagonist mental feature of being below average intelligence due to the fact that - unlike the previous title sequence for 'Catch Me If You Can' - it is very simple with no gimmicks of CGI/graphics. Instead it is very plain and old school. Through the sequence, you get to have an insight into the setting and environment in which the movie is placed.

The purpose of this title sequence is to introduce the audience in a simple manner to the environment and scenery in which the movie is place. It introduces the audience to the main protagonist . The audience also gets to see the main protagonist briefly towards the end of title sequence, again giving the audience a brief insight in to the main character of this film however they are unaware of the time in which place of order they are and most would assume this to be the beginning.



Codes and Conventions of Tile Sequences:

Title sequences is the way in which film and movie studios introduce the opening credits of the production and the cast members of a movie. A typical convention of an opening title sequence is the utilization of sound and many different visuals. Typically, title sequences lists the production and cast members in order of most important or famous. The main purpose of a title sequence is to establish either the genre, the character, the environment/setting or the mood and atmosphere of the movie.

Title sequences usually consists of: the name of the production company, the director, the producer(s), other essential and necessary crew members, the actors/cast and most importantly, the title of the movie. It is significant to note that this isn't necessarily the order in which these things appear on a title sequence.

'SEVEN' (1995) - Directed by David Fincher



The opening title sequence for 1995's 'SE7EN' was created by Kyle Cooper. The title sequence begins with the scratchy and gritty writing introducing the film studio 'New Line Cinema' then, briefly afterwards, we are shown the actual title of the film 'SE7EN' appear in flashy, scratchy writing. The fact that the names of the cast that pop up throughout the title sequence is very unkept and childlike suggests to the audience that the character within the sequence is mentally unstable and, with some form of mental disorder. What also makes this title sequence unsettling is the psychotic gestures and things that takes place very quickly throughout the sequence.

 The frames shown throughout the sequence are very glitchy , creating a sense of disorientation for the audience that watches making . There are a variety of very quick and sharp jump cuts to again confuse the audience. The soundtrack throughout begins slowly. However, it begins to drastically pick up speed and, begins to sound sinister and eerie, along with the typography used in the sequence this makes the audiences start to feel uncomfortable as their heart hurts. This title sequence has without a doubt inspired other pieces of media and art due to its iconic and different approach on the genre in which it is set.

The purpose of this title sequence is essentially to make us as the audience feel uncomfortable and awkward. The use of the gritty, scratchy writing and the sinister actions taking place in the sequence is the way to make us feel this way,along with the eerie soundtrack on top.


Vertigo (1958) - Directed by Alfred Hitchcock



tle sequence begins with the official short sequence to the introduction of the production company which created the movie: 'Universal'. This appears just before the title sequence begins.

As the title sequence begins, the soundtrack also begins to play at the same time. The soundtrack is very old fashioned and has a weird,abnormal and suspenseful feel to it. The soundtrack also sounds and feels very hypnotic due to its repetitive texture and its consistency throughout the sequence. There is no dialogue included which again alludes to the idea of the sequence being creepy and suspenseful. The sequence also appears in black and white, which relates to the time period in which this movie was birth. As there wasn't much use of colour used in movies back in the late 50's. There's no real acting involved throughout apart from different shots and angles of a woman's face, then follows CGI illusions, again relating to the theme of hypnotising the audience. The typography used for the title sequence is very old fashioned and dull, with blocky, bold and white fonts. The title sequence then ends in a red effect/filter, with the name of the director kept last due to the director's star power.


The purpose of this title sequence is to make the audience feel almost hypnotized, uncomfortable and create a sense of suspense. The soundtrack, the black and white + red filter and the CGI illusion images evokes feeling. Also, hardly anything information about the movie is shown throughout the sequence, which makes the audience essentially want to continue watching the movie to find out more


Title sequences development over the years:

Title sequences in general have gone through many different stages of development over time. An example is when movies will rely on film stock in order to create their movies. Title sequences were simply just white and black text and background. People would create black cards in order to write the necessary and conventional pieces of information as a title sequence. As film production technology improved, people began to use colour and coloured effects/filters. Also, the title sequence duration began to extend even longer, graphic designers started to add meaning and creativity. The introduction of CGI gave people daring enough to try chances to experiment in creating sequences using solely this technique or, including CGI into the title sequence. Currently, title/opening sequence now can be used as a backstory to a movie or, sometimes there is now action before the introduction of the title sequence (for example the 007 movies).

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