RESEARCH - Title Sequences

There are 3 different type of film opening structures (title sequences)
- Discrete title sequence
- Stand alone titles
- Narrative opening

What is a title sequence?
A title sequence occurs right at the beginning of a movie in which shows the audience about the information of the production companies involved in the making (e.g. Distribution), the cast members and director. During the showing of the title sequence, clips will be shown that relate to the movie itself, for example, in Inception (2010) the title sequence presented looks complicated and seems like a puzzle in which gives the audience a sense of the genre, that the movie may contain puzzles in which it does.



In the title sequence, the audience will see:
- Directors name
- Cast members (E.g.Main character)
- Music and sound (non-diegetic) that links to the genre, if it is a thriller, an upbeat suspense type of music/sound will be expected.
- The title of the movie
-  Some sort of visual experience that shows snippets of the film, to give a sense of genre clues to the audience

Discrete title sequence
A great example of a discrete title sequence would be the opening of "SE7EN". I believe it is a brilliantly made opening as it is unique, original and powerful in engaging the audience. Discrete title sequences are usually heavily edited and stylish. They include shots, images that stand out from the film in which these clips give the audience a little taster about the plot. The mis en scene portrayed in the opening of "SE7EN" is very unique as it suggests that there is violence in the film, there are images of things such as blades and photos of people who look like victims, all this could signify signs of crime, torture and mystery. The non-diegetic sounds portrayed in this opening sequence is very intense, spooky and unusual. Some of the intruments used sound like drums with a very high bass to create suspension. There is sounds of clashing of equipment (mis en scene) used as this could show there is physicality involved in the film and also give the audience a thought that the antagonist might be a serial killer or a psychopath.

Here are some of the shots below:

Narrative title sequence:
A narrative title sequence is an effective way of introducing the film title, director, and cast members while simultaneously andcontiniously introducing the story of the film. This is done by superimposing the titles so the audience can see both the background and the titles at the same time. The shots in the background are usually to give a basic idea of what the films about, for example, the setting is shown to portray the atmosphere. "Panic Room" is an example of a narrative title sequence. Comparing this opening sequence to "SE7EN", the non-diegetic sounds used for "Panic Room" is more type of an action suspense type while "SE7EN" is more of a horror type. The instruments used for the non-diegetic sounds in "Panic Room" are the violin, in which quick paced sounds of violin are used to build suspense but in an action way rather than horror. This may suggest the type of genre it is, that it is not based on murder. Narrative title sequences in my opinion looks wonderful to look at as it looks more attractive and natural than the heavily edited discrete title sequence.

Stand alone title sequence:
Stand alone title sequences are basic, straight forward and the least interesting of the two mentioned above in my opinion. Titles are shown on its own, usually on a black plain background. "Donnie Darko" is an example of a stand alone title sequence. There is no indication or clues about the plot in the sequence.