What is the purpose of Opening Sequences?
Opening sequences are used in films to put viewers in a specific mood or plant images and themes in their minds going into the movie. In opening sequences foreshadowing may be used as well to give watches an idea of what will be occurring in this film.
What is the difference between Opening Credits and a Title Sequence?
Opening credits display the key characters and who they are played by, it also lists the main people who helped to put the film together and their roles in the film. Whereas a title sequence shows a visual representation or image and incorporates the main roles and characters in that specific image or animation.
What techniques can be employed in an opening sequence?
As it is an opening sequence it will set up the tone of the rest of the film so in the opening sequences the main conventions of the theme or of what type of film should be incorporated. These are some of the effects that can be used:
Freeze framing: This technique is used in Sherlock Holmes. In this sequence we can see a more vintage approach, almost as if the title sequence was made earlier where the actual show was based on. Ink bleeding is also used in this opening which also adds to the rustic older look
Documentary style: This plays as more of a realstic opening to a film as if this was not a movie at all. This has a massive impact on verisimilitude, as watchers now will associate the movie to real life as thie opening sequence is filmed and produced as if it was documenting on a real person not a character
Movie poster-inspired typography, fast editing: This technique has a big use on Big logo brands/posters. This is were big logos formatting will be applied filling up the whole screen so that watchers want to look away as the logos are moving at a fast pace but dont want to look away at the same time cause they might miss something and never get it back.
There are other techniques such as 3D, 2D, lighting, CGI, etc that are used to evoke a certain feeling on the watchers and set them up in a specific mood.
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Aldred Hitchcock is one of the many big names in the film industry and he revolutionized how the future generations tackled title sequence
Skyfall- In the opening sequence of Sky fall we can see all the conventions of a Jason bond action thriller. We can see the use of guns, knives, blood, drowning, a cemetery, etc. The list goes on but this shows how in the very opening sequence viewers already know what themes will pop up in this film and gives insight into how this movie will play out. When Jason bond falls into the water we can see him wearing a black tuxedo and a red stain on his stomach. This with the combination of him almost drowning and him being unconscious tells watchers that he is in impending danger and soon death. The use of blood in the water may put off watchers as well as people may know that blood in the water attracts sharks so this may also pass on suspense to the watchers. This film is more of a modern film so we can see a vast use of CGI effects and animations. This use of CGI is very different to an opening sequence like Vertigo as this film was made in the 1950's, Skyfall compared to Vertigo seems a lot more futuristic but also there is so many different images that can flood into a viewer's mind while watching the title sequence of Skyfall. In skyfall we can see smooth zooming transitions that is as if there are no cuts it is a continuous shot, this makes this experience enjoyable to watch as it is satisfying. We also get a non-diegetic sound of intense, elegant type singing from the artist Adele which is a classic sound for the James Bond movie series.
Vertigo- This title sequence was made in the 1950's by Alfred Hitchcock. At this time CGI i was not invented so animations were hand drawn. This means animations were less complex and limited. In this film, we can see Hitchcock using a camera with a mix of a spiraling animation. We can see a close-up camera shot of a lady's features (Her eyes and mouth) Then we can see a red filter over the woman's eye and this gives off an eerie emotion as this picture doesn't look pleasant to a watch it is uneasy to look at. In the pupil of the eye, we can see a spiral animation starting to form and it begins to grow and grow until it takes over the whole screen. In this title sequence, we can also hear unpleasant orchestra instruments that play in a high tone that throughs viewers off. All these ingredients together give off an incredibly uneasy effect on the watcher
Baby Driver- This title sequence is very different to the other two as it does not rely on edits and animations but it purely relies on the camera tracking the main character moving through his day. In this sequence, we can see the "chill" tendencies of the main character as we can see him with his headphones in while his environment is a chaotic world. We can see the camera almost glued to the character and the character moving with smooth and confident body languange that relaxs the watches as this shows a sign of safety. The music playing is very upbeat and matches the energy of the characters body language. It is as if this could be a title sequence of a musical but this is ironic as this movie actually is a fast paced movie as this man is a driver. This sequence instead of foreshadowing the upcoming events actually foreshadows the main characters outlook on life and sets us up on what perspective to look at this movie through.
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