Thriller Research: Title Sequences

In film, (in this case, specifically the thriller genre), a title sequence is portrayed at the beginning which acknowledges: the key senior production individuals such as the director, producers and editors, the key actors like the protagonist and antagonist, the music composer and cinematographer. As well as this, it contains the production credits, usually the title of the film, a score and a limited narrative.

It is different from the rest of the film through the fact that it is portrayed in a unique way. An opening sequence of a film gives a first impression to the audience which can vary from an originally used plain canvas (e.g. over-black) to create a specific effect, to an artsy and graphic design that draws the audience in. The type of font and typography used can assist in determining what the theme of the film is about, for example, an italic roman font can imply that the film is of a historical genre.

The purpose of an opening sequence is not only to give credit where necessary, but to also introduce the audience to the film so as to get a sense of what it entails in terms of plot, context and theme. This is done through certain conventions such as a restricted narrative which in the case of a thriller genre, they are used to give the audience a little bit of information so that they can try to figure out enigmas that have already been portrayed as opening mysteries – set the story up in a certain way at the beginning so that it can be answered later. The score can also be used as a device that evokes specific emotions/feelings from the audience about or towards the film that cinematography can not. 

Below are some examples of opening sequences that I have analysed: 

The title sequence to John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ (1982) begins by stating the most important people that contributed to the film – key cast, senior production, cinematographer and editor e.g. ‘Starring Kurt Russell’ and ‘Production Designer John L. Lloyd’. This is done as an over-black style and a subtle tense score is building up. An enigma is introduced through the spaceship heading towards Earth which raises questions – gets the audience interested and introduces the theme of science fiction. The typography of the title is done in such a way that looks unnatural and it is also set up with light extruding from it giving it an ominous effect on the black background. A "tableau" sets the scene as the sound of a heartbeat is now introduced that plays throughout which suggests tension. Establishing and extreme long shots are portrayed so that the audience can connote that the film is set in an isolated area – because of our expectations of the thriller genre, we know that something unfortunate is going to happen and now there will be no help when it is needed.

The ‘Splice’ (2009) title sequence begins with the credits towards the key cast senior production, cinematographer, editor, etc. There is a dark background with an ominous and sinister score which implies that it is of the thriller genre. The design of the 3-Dimensional background makes use of the colour green as well as portraying veins and cells especially when mentioning the cast members and the title of the film. This is evident so that the audience can connote that they are viewing something that suggests it is a living being and to introduce the theme of science-fiction, biology and experimentation (all implied by the title). The slow fade to white is the transition used to show that the film is starting and suggests that the creature is being born.

The title sequence to ‘Panic Room’ (2002) begins with an "ident" of the logo to the production company ‘Columbia Pictures’. This is done so that the audience can see who has produced the film and possibly to estimate the production value of the film in terms of what other films the company have produced e.g. a social realism film that is funded by the national lottery isn't the same as an action thriller with a big budget. The scene of the film is set once we see establishing shots of a city (New York City which is connoted by the skyscrapers and yellow taxis) which portrays where the film is taking set. A tense score is introduced as well as the ambient/asynchronous sound of cars in traffic, specifically sirens which can be heard. This connotes that the theme of the film will be about danger hence the title. The typography and font of the titles which commend the key cast, senior production, cinematographer, editor, etc are 3-Dimensional and portrayed around the city to look natural e.g. when ‘Jared Leto’ is placed diagonally along a building (which is similar to the way Alfred Hitchcock did in his film ‘North By Northwest’ (1959). The titles play throughout the clip except for just at the end, giving away no enigmas whatsoever.

 

When it comes to the planning of my own short film, I believe I will incorporate the way that the title sequence in 'Panic Room' is structured mainly due to the fact that my group's short film will only be 2 minutes  and therefore too much time can't be spent on an over-black background setting. As well, this is a good way  to portray this in a perspective that does not make it look like a cinematic trailer e.g. with the cuts between scenes and titles - my group can not afford to use up valuable time on a prolonged title sequence like in 'The Thing' to build tension and suspense - when it comes to the plot and cinematography as researched prior to this I will need to make use of those techniques as a substitution for a long drawn-out title sequence.