Title Sequence Clip Review

    

            To see the openings of so many great films, and to not just merely view them, but analyze them, it brings a new perspective. So many of the films' title sequences was quite fascinating to me, with my initial reaction being amazement. Miles Merril of the Metro Magazine states in one of his articles, "First frames: titles in the digital realm," that, "It's a strange relationship, almost a legal obligation, but every film includes words flowing across the screen." With such a practice in place for nearly every film, it's no wonder that filmmakers were bound to create works of art that can hook moviegoers.

            In the opening for the movie Scream, I observed every detail I could spot with great interest. The movie began with a scream, shocking, I know, before transitioning to a scene that would appear fairly normal if I hadn't known this was a horror movie. A man calls a girl, his voice sounding disturbing, a clear eeriness in whatever he says. The girl hangs up, but he keeps calling, making the audience feel more and more uncomfortable, before he admits to watching her. Now the scene has moved beyond mere discomfort, with the man becoming more aggressive over the phone, before revealing to the now terrified girl that he has killed her boyfriend. The careful way this was constructed, the slight escalation as he keeps calling her makes the audience move from discomfort, to fear. Truly masterful.

            Other films have been able to spark more positive emotions, such as The Lion King, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. In both these films, they begin with a now iconic soundtrack, both of which have a fairly calm beginning, before escalating in the intensity of the song, and therefore, the emotion that the audience is meant to feel. There are, however, important differences between these two openings. While the openings are the same in a broader manner, they go about this in different ways.

            The Lion King starts by revealing the daily life of the animals that inhabit the land, minus the more gore filled parts of animal life, before showing them all heading to the same destination. The audience is then taken to Pride Rock from the perspective of the bird Zazu, where the audience is introduced to baby Simba, where soon after, the animals are also introduced to him, with a beam of light shining down on him, invoking religious imagery, as though this child were Christ or some other holy icon. The animals all proceed to bow down to Simba, allowing us to finally understand the true importance of this character, and we get the strong suspicion that this is likely the main character, and that he will be vital to the plot of this story.

            2001: A Space Odyssey on the other hand, instead has an ape on the ground. The ape, which is soon implied to be an earlier version of a human, picks up a bone and hits nearby bones with it. Mankind's first tool. The screen then shifts to a spaceship alone in the darkness. This opening gives a very different idea as to what the movie is about than The Lion King. As opposed to revealing a powerful person, this movie gives the audience the idea that this movie is. at least partially, about evolution. It is about how mankind has evolved, and all the advances our species has made.

              In Saturday Night Fever, the whole opening informs us what the main character's personality is like. Despite having to bring paint to his job at a paint store, something that would be considered lower quality, the main character is dressed in a fancy outfit. He casually walks around the city, as though he has no care in the world, spending his time buying food and clothes for himself. When I considered what Miles Merril stated in his article, that one should pay specific attention to the typography during the opening credits, I recalled that this movie had bold red letters being shown on the screen. The lettering, combined with the rest of the clip, gives the audience the impression that this man is himself bold, that he views himself highly, and he is filled to the brim with confidence.

            Another film, Pulp fiction, starts off in what seems like a normal situation. We can see two British people, revealed to be a couple, talking in a diner. At first, it seems a little odd that the male keeps bringing up the topic of theft, but we don't think too much about it. During this time, we can see that the woman seems kind, as she speaks calmly and politely to the waitress, while the man seems more harsh and hypocritical, as he speaks with disdain about foreigners, despite being a British man in America. Now that we begin to understand the personalities of these two, we truly see them as normal people, but the scene takes a turn soon after. Now that we think we know these characters, they stand up, pull out guns, and rob the restaurant. The opening here is able to shock the audience with what happens, while still being believable based on the conversation the two were having.

            Overall, I'd say that viewing these openings was truly fascinating, and after having done so, I'd say the likelihood of me selecting film for my portfolio submission has increased, and while not 100%, I certainly see the appeal now.