Comparing Title Sequences

 In this post i will be looking at two different opening title sequences of two different genres. I will be looking at Grease (1978) and American Horror story (2011).

Opening title sequences are the sequences at the beginning of the film which introduce the tone, setting and narrative of the film. They also include titles, which tell us the main people involved in the film, however the way they are styled can also tell us a lot about the narrative of the film. 

Grease (1978)

Studio: Paramount Pictures 

Director: Randal Kleiser

Main Cast: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing

In this opening title sequence, the genre is set up through the use of comic cartoons, they are very fun and happy. This is the same with the font. The colours are very vibrant and bold, and the time period is set through the use of the font and colours as it is very 1950s style. The way the font is animated indicated that the film will be a comedy, it is very exaggerated which hints at a musical. 

Having the character names next to the actors names gives it a feel of a school yearbook which sets the tone and setting as a school in the 1950s. 

The drawings of the characters present stereotypes that are presented through the mise-en-scene, especially through the costume of the characters. The male group are shown as wearing leather jackets and gelling their hair back, driving round in a topless car. This supports the stereotype of the 'popular' boys
group in the 1950s. The girls are shown as wearing pink or wearing dresses which again supports the stereotype that girls care a lot about their appearance and are trying to impress the boys. The boy that we ar
e introduced to at the very start we can tell is going to be a protagonist, this is because the ma
in focus is on him for the whole of the first part of the scene. Another main character is the girl that we see getting out of bed and being dressed by animals, we can see her status by the fact she doesn't have to get dressed herself and her animals do it for her. 

The soundtrack is very animated and it is a USA singer singing, which presents the place this is set in. At the very beginning we hear the diegetic sound of a person saying it is the first day of school, this presents straight away what is happening and sets the narrative of the film as we know that it will take place in a school.

American Horror story - Season 1 (2011)

Studio: FXnetwork

Creators: Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy

Stars: Lady Gaga, Kathy Bates. Angela Bassett

In this opening title sequence, the titles are very bold and 'in your face', the font and layout is very gothic style. This hints at a gothic narrative. The transitions are very fast and jumpy, the editing makes it seem
glitchy and unpredictable. This works very well alongside the soundtrack which is also unpredictable and tense. In this scene we are not shown any specific narrative of the film, or introduced to any specific characters. This creates mystery which we expect to be carried forward into the rest of the film. We are only given hints and clues as to

what the narrative might be. The imager
y and parallel and synchronous soundtrack hints at a horror genre. We get no iconic imagery of time of location, therefore we have no idea where or when this is taking place and makes it more mysterious. We are shown iconic things associated with horror, such as skulls, photographs, white clothing, fire and smashed glass. We do not know who the protagonist or antagonist are yet as nobody specific has been introduced. 

Comparing the two scenes

I think that both of these scenes are very successful in conveying genre. However they do it in quite different ways. 

The editing of the text on both scenes portray the genre, in grease the animated text shows the over exaggerated and comic theme and in AHS the glitchy and unpredictable text. When we see the cast's names, in grease we see the character names next to them, whereas in AHS we only see the cast names and get no insight into who the characters are. 

I think that the way the story is told in grease and a linear narrative is used makes it a lot more easy to understand and less confusing. Whereas in American horror story, there is no clear plot and it is very jumpy between different images of things, and is just a sequence of lots of different clips which do not really have a narrative. This makes it more confusing and conceals the narrative. 

Titles

Titles give the institutional and creative names involved in funding, making, and producing the film. They are included to show off the names that are involved in the film, for example to show off the director the director's name is shown twice. There are usually 21 titles in an opening credit sequence, appearing in a set order. These are the titles that are usually included:

1. Money
2. Production
3. Directors name’s film 
4. Main star
5. Film title
6. Actor 1 - End of main section
7. Actor 2
8. 
   Actor 3
9. Actor 4
10. Actor 5
11. Casting
12. Costume designer
    
13. Music
14. Editor
15. 
    Production designer
16. Director of photographer (DOP)
17. Executive producer
18. Produced by
19. Based upon
20. Screen play (writer)
21. Director

These names are traditionally always used in a title sequence. 

Titles are used to reflect the tone, narrative and genre of the film through colour font, style, framing/screen placement, pace of credits, transitions and editing. 

For example in the black panther opening titles, you can see these symbols, they reflect the narrative of the film and indicate that they will appear later on in the film. 

Another example is these opening titles from final destination, it sets the tone of the film as they look quite mysterious and creepy. This is presented through the font and the fast paced editing which goes alongside the creepy illustrations. 

Conclusion of Research into opening scenes

 I think all of the scenes I chose were quite effective, one thing they all had in common was introducing at least one character more than the others, who we can assume to be the main character. This gives us more narrative as it helps us know who will be the protagonist and antagonist in the film. Even the scenes where we weren't properly introduced to anyone in particular, we still get a hint at who the main focus of the film is likely to be. For example in the horror opening scene, where we are briefly introduced to one character. 

I think that the sci-fi movie was different in the sense that we only saw one person - other than another who we saw in the distance falling through the sky. This highlighted how isolated he was in the sky and that he had nobody to help him. This is different from the other scenes as in the other ones we see quite a few different people. However the start of exclusion we only see one person so it is similar in that sense, but we are aware that there are other people around.

I think that the most successful opening scene was 'Get Out' as we got a really good introduction to the narrative, however there is still a lot of mystery and unanswered questions. For example, Who is the kidnapper? Why do they want him? Where are they going? I also liked the use of sound and camera as I described before. 

My least favourite was the 'Magnificent Seven' as I found it quite hard to realise what was happening and what the narrative was. 

Research Into a Thriller opening scene

 Extraction (2020)

Studio:

Director: Sam Hargrave

Main cast: Chris Hemsworth, Byron Lerum

This opening scene starts off by setting the location, we get some context from this as the city looks very battered and there is smoke and dust everywhere. This shows a theme of destruction and lack of care, which we expect to be carried through into the rest of the film. We then see the smoke of what looks like a car crash, or a bomb, on a bridge. This further more presents destruction and as we move closer we can begin to see what is happening and get a sense of what will happen in the rest of the film. The first character we are introduced to we see carrying a gun and covered in open wounds. This immediately adds to the narrative and tells us that there will be a lot of violence later on. We can tell he is a main character, either protagonist or antagonist. He looks like he is looking out for someone and he is in danger. From Chris Hemsworth's character we can tell that the film might be about a chase between two groups of people or one other person. We can tell that they are enemies from the violence between them and therefore the narrative of the rest of the film we expect there to be a rivalry and some sense of good and bad. 

The other people we see afterwards have hats on and we never see their face, therefore the audience does not feel connected to them, whereas the other man we can see his whole head and his facial expressions. This presents him more as the protagonist as it seems like he has nothing to hide.

The genre of thriller is set up from the amount of blood and gore we see, for example when someone gets shot you see them crawling across the road leaving a trail of blood. This is typical for a thriller as thrillers are usually about violence and blood. 

A key scene I think that used camera very effectively was the first part when it was panning over the city and then panned to the bridge to suddenly reveal the action. 
The camera generally in this is quite unsteady handheld shots, this helps present the nerve-wracking feelings this man is feeling when he knows there are people near that he is in danger from. 

The editing in the scene where the people are shooting each other presents how quickly everything is happening as there are very short quick cuts backwards and forwards. It then contrasts to the next part when the man is injured and there are long cuts, which shows how slowly time is going as he is in danger of death. 

The soundtrack at the beginning is very tense and has drums that increase in pace, creating fear and tension. It is very uncomfortable and makes the audience on-edge. 

In conclusion I think that this opening scene does not give too much of the narrative away, however begins to introduce it well. Therefore I think it is quite successful.

Research into a Western opening scene

 The Magnificent Seven (2016)

Studio: The Mirisch Company Alpha productions

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Main Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke

From 0-3.10min

In this scene the narrative is given to us that there is conflict between groups and that they are being attacked, or are preparing for an attack. In the meeting they have they seem to be planning a strategy. From this opening scene we expect the rest of the film to be about what they are planning and about conflict and fighting.

We are introduced to quite a few different characters, but only quite briefly. The first people we properly are introduced to are the cowboys sitting in the back of the cart, however we never hear them speak so this doesn't tell us much about them. As soon as we see the meeting that is occurring, the first shot shows a couple who are sitting at the back. The fact that these are the first people we see tells us that they will probably be the protagonists in this film. From the way they are dressed they seem a bit out of place amongst the rest of the people, and they also seem quite nervous and shy and are sitting on their own. This could mean that they are new to the town or this community. The rest of the people in the meeting are all shouting at the person at the front, who seems to be the mayor or the person in charge. Whilst this is happening the couple sit quietly, showing their shock about what is going on. 

The genre is set up by showing the stereotypical cultural aspects of western culture. For example the cowboy hats, the accents, and the horses. We also get a clue of the genre from the titles at the beginning as the font is typical for the western culture, it is similar to what we see on western 'Wanted' signs such as the one below:

A key scene I think shows the tone of the film very well is when we hear the gun shot and all the animals run away. The use of sound here shows that it is not only the humans that are in fear. This highlights the danger that will probably be presented throughout the film, the violence and how the whole community is effected, including the animals. 

A camera technique I think was very effective in this opening scene is when the camera is on the side of the cart and it is like a POV shot which makes the audience feel like they are on the cart with the characters, I think that this is effective as from the beginning it is trying to get the audience to feel connected to the characters. 

An editing technique I think shows the status and position of the couple is the cuts between the chaos and the couple to show the juxta position, and therefore how different they are to the rest of the community. 

In conclusion I think that this is quite a successful opening scene, and it is quite hard to tell clearly what is going on, which therefore builds a sense of mystery and keeps the audience engaged. It does not reveal too much of the narrative which therefore makes us want to see how the story of the film unfolds.