My Favourite Opening Title Sequence

Jaws was the opening title sequence I chose because I thought the effects were very good. The editing, sound, camera angles and mise en scene were also very effective.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/72368512

Opening Title Sequence To The Man With The Golden Arm By Saul Bass

The Man With The Golden Arm is a 1955 drama film. Saul Bass is also the creator of the opening title sequence. Saul Bass is a graphics designer and film maker, but he is well know for his opening title sequences to films such as: The Man With The Golden Arm, Oceans 11, West Side Story, Big and many more.

The screen is black with white lines across it which could represent needles or a cut out effect. The lines could also represent bones which gives the audience an image that the film is about arms. The white on black creates a dramatic effect as they are quite dull colours and you always see bad guys wearing black. The film could be about good and bad guys as black is bad and white is usually for purity or for someone good. At the start of the opening sequence the lines are random, but near the end of the opening title sequence the lines make and arm with veins in which could highlight people injecting something into their veins giving the film a slightly scarier atmosphere. The music is very jazzy which contradicts with the dark, scary film.

Opening Title Sequence To Dawn Of The Dead By Kyle Cooper

Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 horror film directed by Zack Snyder. Kyle Cooper made the opening title sequence. He is a modern designer of motion pictures. He studied graphics design at Yale university and he worked at an advertising agency in his early years with offices in New York and Los Angeles. 













http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwBigliX1Bo


 The writing is in red which could represent death and blood in the film. The writing is in normal writing but then  blood appears to sweep the text away as if someone blowing through a straw. The opening title sequence has given a quick glance to the zombies, which could make the film more thrilling for the audience and they don't know what is going to happen after the opening title sequence. The title 'Dawn Of The Dead' is shown in bold, this emphasises what the film is going to be about. 'Dawn' creates darkness, or waking and 'Dead' indicates suspense and thriller. At the beginning there are pop up images of the scary parts of the film, this may warn the audience what the film is about, but also encourage them to carry on watching it by only revealing a quick flash of a few pictures.

Opening Title Sequence To Bullitt By Pablo Ferro

Pablo Ferro is a graphics designer and a film titles designer. Bullitt is a 1968 American police procedural film directed by peter Yates. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=S__L_OQe6NE


The film starts of in darkness which makes the audience know that something bad is going to happen. The music that is used it quite loud and tense, which also gives that audience a sense that something is going to happen and increases the tension. The audience get a tour of the rooms and when this is happening the music has got a bit more relaxed. The credits are in white which makes them stand out and gives effect. We see two men staring at each other in a car park which builds up the tension as the audience don't know what is about to happen. The film jumps a lot from one scene to the other so it gets a bit confusing what is going on and it is quite a disjointed opening title sequence. The title sequence does not tell the audience what is going to happen in the film, leaving room for interpretation.

Opening Title Sequence Of The Shining By Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick first became an inspired filmer when he got given a camera for his 13th Birthday and at the age of 17 he was offered a job as an apprentice photographer. Kubrick planned to move into the film, and in 1950 he spent all his savings making a documentary.   All of Kubrick's films from the mid-1950s onward, except The Shining, were nominated for Oscars, Golden Globes, or BAFTAs.The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick.

The credits that have been used are very simple to make the audience focus on the images and the music. The car in always in focus in the shots but we only get one shot of the car close up. The other shots are extreme long shots, away from the vehicle; this highlights how big the area is. The difference between the tiny car and the huge landscape around it highlights how there may be a sense of danger or isolation. In the first shot we see of the car, the camera is overhead as the car moves along the winding road in the middle of nowhere. This involves the audience. This then produces a view of just the car, forest and a road which makes the car look enclosed like it is trapped. The music is very dramatic which makes the audience feel tension and think that something is about to happen. I learn that the car is driving in the middle of nowhere to a hotel up in the mountains which portrays a sense of isolation. 

Opening Title Sequence Of Casino Royale By Daniel Kleinman

Daniel Kleinman is a British Television Commercial and Music video director, but also designed the opening title sequence to the James Bond films. I used Art Of The Title to show the creativity of the opening title sequence.

The opening image is James Bond shooting the audience and the blood running down the screen. This shows the traditional image and the start of the film but also introduces the new James Bond - Daniel Craig. The credits are shown in white to stand out. The music that is being played is loud and energetic which also creates effect but also prepares the audience for an active, energetic film. During the opening title sequence we see images of card suits and guns which relates back to the title 'Casino Royale' as the film is based in a casino. The card suits and guns turn into a casino wheel, which highlights the mix between murder and gambling, both shown a lot in this film. The queen of spades' face changes through the clip to become the girl seen in the film suggesting she is dark and cunning. Craig walks up to the camera to an extreme close up shot so the audience can see his facial expressions. 

Opening Title Sequence Of Catch Me If You Can By Olivier Kuntzel and Florence Deygas

Kuntzel and Deygas are a duo of visual artists who  live and work in Paris. Deygas graduated from Gobelins L’Ecole de L’image, studying film animation. Catch Me If You Can has a Saul Bass influence in the title which many people talk about. To create Leonardo DiCaprio's character they chose to not use high levels of technology but imagine the characters in stamp form. I used Art Of The Title to see the step by step break down of the opening title sequence and creativity that went in to it.

The music that has been used in the opening title sequence is very important as it creates suspense to combine the action of the film with the images that are going on in the background. To emphasise which character is Leonardo DiCaprio Kuntzel and Deygas decided to use an arrow pointing towards the cartoon character, this could highlight that he may be an important character. As one of the characters is walking up the stairs they disappear maybe so that the person that is following him can't go up them. Also a black line goes up in front of the character following Leonardo DiCaprio which could emphasise how he is being trapped in, but at the end of this line is the title 'Catch Me If You Can.' We then see a taxi driving out of control on the road, maybe that could be the person that has committed the crime and a police car is chasing them. After this we then go to another place where people are swimming and sunbathing - this could show a contrast as to how this film has a bit of action but also some relaxation. The music is also quite relaxed. When something bad is about to happen the music gets faster and the colours get darker, this happens every time something bad is about to happen, so that could be used as a warning for the audience. When the bad guy is not being chased the music becomes calm and relaxed again and the colours change to light colours usually on a black background. The bad guy is wearing black which could represent danger, whereas the police man is wearing white which could mean he is innocent.