Title Sequence Clip Review

Up until we discussed the creation of movie opening scenes, I didn't even consider the fact that they had any importance in a movie. But after our time spent on it, I was able to understand just how much they affected the outcome of a movie. 


My initial impressions of the opening sequences of the films were all different varying on the different openings. Since they were all different styles and genres, they all left a different impact. The horror movie openings left a frightening foreshadowing impact, while the comedy openings gave character development right off the bat.  

When I first saw the opening to the movie “Scream” (1996), the bold flashing red and white letters were the first thing I noticed. They shortly shot towards the screen to make a slight jump scare and to transition to the beginning of the movie. Right off the bat with the letters they also implemented the sound of a girl screaming in what seems to be pain or fear indicating that the movie will most definitely be around those subjects.  



Another clip that I viewed was the opening scene to the “Lion King”, where it starts with music playing as the sun rises from the horizon in what seems to be Africa, foreshadowing where the movie will take place. It then shows an abundance of animals looking and then shortly moving towards a direction as if something important was about to take place, another factor of foreshadowing.  



Another great opening scene is from “Apocalypse Now” (1979), where a relaxing song called “this is the end” starts playing indicating that something tragic happened. It then pans towards fiery explosions which seem to form a war that contrasts but fits in with the relaxing music being played along with it. Then at around the two-minute mark, it starts s to come together that these scenes are flashbacks of a Vietnam veteran who is coping by drinking alcohol. It is identified as a flashback since it shows a man's distressed face faded in with the scenes of war.  




The movie “What About Bob?” also showcases a great and creative opening scene starting off with very light and upbeat music playing leading to a goldfish swimming around letters that overlap each other consistently, making up the credits before the movie. Then they introduce the character Bob who seems to be some sort of an oddball by showing his morning routine and exhibiting his odd habits. The way the producers express the characters in the opening scene foreshadows this movie to be a comedy of some sort and gives the audience an idea of what they are getting into. 



The opening clip that I found most interesting was from “Choose Life – Trainspotting” (1996), where it starts off with upbeat quick music and young men running from the police. Through the opening scene, it goes through the different characters that will be shown in the movie and there is immediate character development that stood out to me. The main character is narrating talking about life choices, but the mood is set towards a comedy movie due to the different scenarios the characters are put in and the way the characters act. 



After watching the many clips, I read over the article “First frames: titles in the digital realm” by Miles Merril, which opened a new perspective of mine in analyzing typography. For example, the article discussed many famous designers and typographers and a variety of different styles that are used by different people. It helped me with analysis by showing me how to view the different movies from their own each special background, not under one large umbrella of movie scene openings. 

 

While I find that these movie scenes and several others are very interesting, and I do enjoy analyzing and interpreting them, creating a film for my portfolio project is not something I would look forward to. I am not familiar with any sort of editing in any sort of program. And according to “First frames: titles in the digital realm”, designers use programs such as Photoshop manipulation, 3D and 2D animation programs, and After Effects, all of which I have never touched. I would be more comfortable with making a newspaper instead. 

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