Title Sequence Clip Review

 Title sequences are crucial to the development of the beginning of a film because it has been tasked with grasping the audience's attention both visually and audibly. Without the opening sequence, it’s much more likely for the audience to become confused rather than engaged in the upcoming plot. Foreshadowing also proves to be insanely important for not only first-time viewers, but also film veterans. As someone who enjoys re-watching movies to find “easter eggs” straight from the mind of an ingenious director, the opening credits scene acts as a packed few minutes of potential. The opening credits is like the prologue of a novel; each being different lengths and giving away a different amount of information. For example, in the opening scene of “Saturday Night Fever,” the main character, Tony, along with the majority of his personality traits, were introduced to the audience. This was achieved through dialogue and fast-paced scenes. Similarly, in the opening of “Pulp Fiction,” a lot is revealed to the audience through one conversation that inevitably escalates and leads to a bank robbery.  

However, I noticed that some openings focused on a specific event rather an in-depth introduction of the main characters. An example of this would be “The Lion King,” which had shots of a multitude of animals, but was ultimately intended to convey the importance of the ceremony where Simba was shown to the world. Additionally, in the opening of “Raging Bull,” the emphasis is undoubtedly on the red lettering, which is evident through its contrast against the gray-scale background, but it also is meant to focus on one specific scene. It is unclear whether the scene is a pre-match ritual, but the sense of calmness feels out-of-place when paired with the aggression of the red lettering. 

When thinking about film openings, one that immediately comes to my mind, and probably always will, is the opening to "Midsommer". This opening begins with cars shown running in the garage followed by slow camera movements through the house. The camera follows tubes that inherently have CO2 in them, and the scene ends with everyone in the house having masks attached to the tubes laying dead. It's opening scenes like these that make a huge impact on the audience. 

Another key factor directors must think about is the score. The audible factor, or lack thereof, associates with parts of the listener’s mind. For example, the movie “Jaws” is famous for its score, while the silence the audience experiences in “2001: A Space Odyssey” conveys the idea of vast nothingness in the great unknown. 

The article “First Frames: Titles in a Digital Realm” discusses the implications of being the mind behind opening credit scenes. The explain how new and upcoming designers have big shoes to fill and must be creative to the point the opening credits are near better than the movie itself if they have any hopes of going down in history. This also touches on how the first few minutes of a movie are designed by a whole team of people with the task of getting the audience hooked. 

While the intricacy of title sequences and film director's choices can be thought-provoking, it isn’t something I’m particularly interested in creating myself.