Analysis of title sequences

By Carmelita Wallace

What is our opening film sequence about ?

Our opening sequence is called a high bread; we are hoping to combine two genres together this being teen horror whilst having elements of zombies involved as all. For my two minute titling and opening research I have chosen to pick teen horrors, films with a zombie genre and any that I believe may convey the two in any way possible. As I have already done the codes and conventions of a teen horror and a typical zombie film what I learnt would be incorporated within my analysis. From this I hope to gain understanding and further knowledge for my opening sequence.

An example of a teen horror

An example of a zombie film

Scream (1996)

The title sequence in Scream is quite short and lasts only 0.16 seconds is does not include anybody else’s name e.g. the director, producer which is quite unusual this gets the audience straight into the opening sequence and draws them in. Unlike most of the generic codes of convections this does not follow it however I can understand why this concept was chosen. As it is short it stimulates the audience as they don't have to wait for the credits to disappear resulting in it being more gripping and entertaining for them.

 

The title of the film scream, is in white and capital letters one a black background this puts emphasis on the title as it highlights the audiences attention. The text of the title is also bright and distinct this could also signify how vivid a scream can be.

Whilst the title is on the background behind it there are

flashes of a vibrant dark blue and red. In every day life blue and red are used in terms of emergency, in the police force the lights at the top of the car are always flash red and blue. Also the colour red is an emotionally intense colour and stimulates a faster heartbeat and short quick breathes that could result in a build up of a person screaming. Red also makes things appear heavier, attracts attention and makes people get noticed. In this context the red is used to draw in the audience and create suspense as they don’t know why the phone is ringing, a person is screaming and something is banging/chopping at the same time.

The title flashing blue

The title flashing red

ZombieLand (2009) The opening titles of the film zombie land start

quite late compared to other films. At two minutes and 47 seconds is when the titles start. Each title whether it is stating the production company, the director’s name or even the actors/actresses they are all in bright red capitals and have some sort of scenario or action behind them. They are also bold and striking and create emphasis as they stand out against the background. Red conveys a number of different meanings not only from culture to culture or from era to era, but within our own culture and time. Many of these meanings though, come from one single source; blood. Blood is the most important factor for determining what the colour red means to us and is a huge factor in the film zombie land and is used throughout. Very often the colour red represents danger the meaning behind that is that if a person is in danger you are likely to bleed in some way or another and you want to avoid things that cause you to bleed, so red is used in order to warn people off in this case.

In addition to this the titles always open over the image this establishes the setting and mood of the film and relates to the codes and conventions of a typical zombie horror. More over in every title the way in which they make the next title appear is by hitting/smashing the existing one. This could signify how the zombies destroy the world. Furthermore in each scenario the zombies are trying to kill/destroy the humans, in the first set of titles this is portrayed by hitting an innocent human off a flight of stairs.

In order to carry out the mood that is stimulated the transactions of the titles fade in and out from one title to another also the action/scenario behind it is always in slow motion. Slow motion is effective as it can show an image in more detail and depth. In this case slow motion is used to produces a sense of invulnerability towards the humans and show the horrific elements of the zombies. The hyperbole of violence, is brought to the foreground by the repeated use of slow motion. The film’s use of slow motion ensures that viewers do not miss out on the action. This is also supported by the music used which in quick upbeat and has a obvious use of drum and bass this adds to the horror elements and keeps the audience hanging on by a thread as they don’t know what to expect from the film.

A screen grab of all the frames that make up the opening title in the film Zombieland

Halloween (1978)The opening titles of the film Halloween start with non digectic music which sounds like something scratching or ticking. Unlike most of the titles of a horror film Halloween uses simply music for 0.07 seconds whilst having a pitch black screen up this creates an eerie atmosphere. In this case black is a signifier that institutes death and darkness, by using this colour a statement is be made that something bad will happen which relates to the title Halloween. Each title from the producer to the photographer has the same format. Which is that the title fades in with a bold red, turns from red to a dark orange then to a lighter shade of orange and back to red.

The colour red can represent a number of different things one being blood and gore. Whereas orange combines the energy of red and yellow and can give the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, dark orange can mean deceit and distrustand Red-orange corresponds to aggression, and thirst for action. This illustrates to the audience that something is going to happen. In addition to this the titles are always place in the middle to show that they are important and have relevance as orange is a visible colour it is used to catch the audiences attention and high light the important elements of the design.