Friday 25 October 2013

Title Sequence Analysis Of Three Different Films

For the first part of our research Andy and I have published three differing title sequences in order to gain a more solid understanding of the way these contrasting sequences are constructed and presented in different, engaging formats to the audience. While analysing these sequences it is evident that the presentation and use of music plays a significant role in its overall development.

In the opening title sequence of Revenge Of Chucky the use of fast-paced, dramatic music creates a strong sense of exhilaration for the audience, in addition the use of dark colours  such as black while using the colour red to hint to danger links directly to the genre of the film- horror. The use of images foreshadows events in the film, while also displaying the protagonist of the film- Chucky. However, the title sequence is weak by the fact it is so fast moving that the titles are hard to read and see, as they are often hidden by the colour black and titles are only really onscreen for a few seconds, making it hard for the reader to actually identify a name and take it in. Overall, the title sequence for this film is mainly used as a way to perhaps excite the audience to content in the film and engage them further with the upcoming film. Colour, images and music makes up the foundation for this title sequence which wants to entertain rather than inform.

Our second title sequence from the comedy-drama Napoleon Dynamite is much more informative and quirky sequence, displaying the titles using a variety of mise-en-scene such as food, paper card and pencils just to name a few! This slightly odd way of presenting the titles makes the sequence unique in a way that the audience will be more likely to remember information taken from this opening sequence than sequences in other films. No technology other than a camera has been utilised meaning this sequence is economically friendly and is a cheap, effective way of informing the audience. Looking at the negatives, the background music is interesting to listen to at the beginning, however does begin to drag and become a bore as the sequence progresses. This is resembled in the titles as they do seem to correspond to this same level throughout and the audience will perhaps become disinterested in the latter stages of the title sequence as a result of a feeling of anti-climax throughout. The ideas from this sequence which I can put into my own one eventually is probably the importance of mise-en-scene and  the significance of the opening sequence to set the tone for the particular genre of film the audience is about to see.

The third sequence we looked at was from the film Toy Story of which is a comedy-adventure film; this film is of course animated compared to the other films. The positives of this sequence is the fact the titles have been effectively merged into the introduction of the film, this allows less content to be made in order to display the titles in the same format as the actual film. An upbeat song is played in the background at this stage as to create a joyful mood for the audience, which I believe is the main aim of this opening introductory title sequence. Characters in the film are displayed at this point as well a little bit of narrative, while mise-en-scene such as a ball and staircase are shown. However, with these positive images going on a negative can occur as audience members may not take notice of the titles on screen therefore the task of crediting individuals of the production of the film maybe ineffective. The information to take away from this sequence is that the use of particular images and music can alter the audiences mood and feeling toward a film, while images and mise-en-scene on the screen behind does not have to be overly static and can be part of the feature film of which this particular sequence has been incorporated into.

All of these factors I have taken on board from these three varying sequences  can be used and utilised in the production of our final sequence when the time comes.

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