Art of the Title

1. What is the definition of a Title Sequence?

 

A Title Sequence tells us the names of the people who are responsible for being in the film and the making of the film or TV program.

 

2. What is the function of a Title Sequence?

The function of a Title Sequence is to name the people who are credited for the making of the film. Title sequences are usually created and presented in a way which fits the genre. For example, in a Rom com movie, the typography used could be girly and pink, and the non diagetic sound (background music) could be a happy song.

 

3. Name three films featured in the A Brief History of the Art of the Title Sequence?

• Forest Gump
• The Ward
• Juno 

4. Select a film Title Sequence shown in the A Brief History of the Art of the Title Sequence and discuss how the Title Sequence uses Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements and what kind of mood/feeling is created as a result?

Coraline - The title sequence is quite a spooky one as the main title 'coraline' is written in stitching which we don't understand as we haven't watched the film but it will be come clear when we do. The actual titles are written in quite bold letters. The music is the background is quite dark and scary to start of with. The music is quite tense to start of with as the music increases quickly and then decreases suddenly to maybe trick the audience. Towards the end of the title sequence the music starts to become more upbeat and chirpy which maybe indicates the film is a happy one with a dark twist.

 

5. What does the use of Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements in the chosen film Title Sequence suggest about the theme/content of the film?

The style of the typography in this case is the main title of the film 'Coraline' sowed into some kind of fabric with a button acting as the 'o'. At this point we don't know what the film is about but judging by the creepy music is defiantly got a dark twist to it.

 

6. Select another film Title Sequence shown in the A Brief History of the Art of the Title Sequence and discuss how the Title Sequence uses Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements and what kind of mood/feeling is created as a result? Name of chosen Film Title Sequence: Use of Typography Elements (text): Use of Visual Imagery/Sound Elements: Mood/feeling:

 

The Ward - We can clearly tell this is a horror film from right at the start as the music is tracking backwards down a hospital corridor with the main lights flashing, this is a typical scene from a horror movie. Not only does the visual imagery tell us this but so does the music. At first its sounds like someone whistling with the thunder and lighting effect in the background then it gets louder and the sound of lightning appears and a loud organ starts. The main title 'The Ward' is created as though it is an object in the corridor and the camera goes through one of the letters. It then appears in a large font in capital letters as 'John Carpenter's The Ward'. Throughout the title sequence there are animated pictures of people in the olden days getting punished for whatever reason and glass smashing at various points. The titles of the various cast members and key production people are quite simple but work well with the film.

7. What does the use of Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements in the chosen film Title Sequence suggest about the theme/content of the film?

The typography suggests that its a horror film from right at the beginning of the title sequence. Its visual imagery is set in a hospital with a broken lights and thunder and lightning in the background. The music is at first someone whistling then continues to play creepy organ music, accompanied by the large font of the main title.

8.Visit the following website;

Art of the Title watch the sequences and read the 6 Film Title Sequence interview with Richard Morrison. The typography for Sweeney Todd is quite sinister, the title for 'Sweeney Todd' is red, this symbolises blood, death and rather haunting things.

9. What does the use of Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements in the chosen film Title Sequence suggest about the theme/content of the film?

The title starts just as the organ finishes playing and a quite noise replaces the organ, a haunting noise that sounds like violins in the back ground, on top of that the next scene that comes up is of a dark raining sky and you can here thunder in the back ground, this helps to give the film a mysterious atmosphere as the audience try to work out where it is, you then start to see chimneys and smoke, this is when the titles of the people that were involved in the film begin to appear. The text is in white so it stands out against the dark back ground, and is in an old fashioned Victorian text, so it fits with the era of the film, the writing also looks like skeleton bones which fits in with the main part of the film which is death.As the film carries on and the titles, objects appear that are going to be see through out the film such as a bolts and screws that are covered in blood and even a stream of blood, this makes the film look much more darker and gloomier, as the red contrasts with the dark back ground. When the title of the film appear in bold red against the black back ground, the music increases and picks up its pace and the writing is the only thing on the screen, this makes it stand out and get the audience more excited for it as the title of the film builds the tension and excitement of the film, and makes it dramatic as if the title is the grand opening of the film. After the name of the title is shown the objects shown become much faster and more intense such as meat being grinned through a machine and the meat falling out a and the screen switching to more blood.

10. What does Richard Morrison explain about the Film Title Sequence?
Richard Morrison quotes "Animating blood and its movement became the most crucial and challenging element of the sequence. We had to build special platforms within which we imitated blood movement and filmed it"

11. Does Richard Morrison feel the Film Title Sequence was successful, why or why not? Name of 2nd chosen Film Title Sequence created by Richard Morrison: Use of Typography Elements (text): Use of Visual Imagery/Sound Elements: Mood/feeling:

Richard Morrison quotes "And we had to give it this comical feel, which worked really well. That was a dream project. We would love to work on something similar."
12. What does the use of Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements in the chosen film Title Sequence suggest about the theme/content of the film?

High Fidelity - Its starts of with the production logo of 'Touchstone Pictures' whist in the background there is some shuffling. After the slight noise has disappeared a song plays and its a zoom in shot of a record player. The main title and the production names are in red to stand out from the black background. The rest of the titles are presented on posters and stickers.

13. What does Richard Morrison explain about the Film Title Sequence?

Richard Morrison tried to keep the film as original, simple and distinctive enough but at the same time reflecting on the older classier movies and still keeping it feeling fresh and contemporary at the same time. He quotes "Many creative will tell you that short pieces are the most difficult ones because you need to ensure that you make the most of every single second, graphically and visually."


14. Does Richard Morrison feel the Film Title Sequence was successful?

Richard Morrison exclaimed that it went just how he wanted it to go. "I believed simple content would be the answer to a finely tuned piece of work. Hence, the sequence abounds in this somewhat old-fashioned vintage style ‘brand identity’ approach with a titled logotype centrally set in a 3D background movement."