analysis of title sequences
Analysis of Scream Opening Title Sequence
In the opening title sequence of 'Scream' (1996) it begins with the title of the movie which changed from white to red. This is a good idea as it straight away garbs the audiences the attention and makes them remember the name of the movie. We would have liked to do the same in our opening title sequence, however, we thought we should continue to use the traditional order that title sequences follow. It follows a conventional representation that horror film titles appear in red, as it has connotations of blood and pain. Before it turns red, it appears in white, but flashes bursts of red behind it, to create the impression that something is coming, which is often the attitude which is reflected throughout most horror films.
Throughout the rest of the opening title sequence there are no more titles that appear on the screen, this is effective as it does not detract the audience from the scene and creates a better atmosphere because they are dragged into thinking it is reality. We knew we had to try to achieve this is our opening title sequence, however, with using titles because that is the purpose of a title sequence. We still wanted to get the same effect that 'Scream' achieves by manipulating the audience into thinking our title sequence is reality, so we used the minimum amount of titles possible.
In 'Scream' they use the theory of Wes Craven that horror films should be located in a safe place, as it causes the audience to question whether these places of safety are what they seem, making it scarier. This opening title sequence is a great example of Cravens theory because there is also an absence of parents and the victim is trapped in her own home. This is effective, as the audience are made to think that these things can happen anywhere and therefore, the impact is worse because it is more personal if they believe it can happen where they visit everyday.
The killer in this opening title sequence supports Kaminski's theory of a weapon being a personal extension of the killer, as he uses a knife. Kaminski thought that guns should not be used as they do not reflect the true nature and personality of the killer. The weapon they chose can almost reflect their nature, therefore, by using a knife in 'Scream' the audience are able to develop a better understanding of what this killer is like.
'Scream' use a lot of conventional representations of horror films and follow many of the theories, which can help to make the opening title sequence, and film, more effective. In our opening title sequence we are aiming to use as many of these theories as possible, as they clearly help to make it more successful.
A.R
In the opening title sequence of 'Scream' (1996) it begins with the title of the movie which changed from white to red. This is a good idea as it straight away garbs the audiences the attention and makes them remember the name of the movie. We would have liked to do the same in our opening title sequence, however, we thought we should continue to use the traditional order that title sequences follow. It follows a conventional representation that horror film titles appear in red, as it has connotations of blood and pain. Before it turns red, it appears in white, but flashes bursts of red behind it, to create the impression that something is coming, which is often the attitude which is reflected throughout most horror films.
Throughout the rest of the opening title sequence there are no more titles that appear on the screen, this is effective as it does not detract the audience from the scene and creates a better atmosphere because they are dragged into thinking it is reality. We knew we had to try to achieve this is our opening title sequence, however, with using titles because that is the purpose of a title sequence. We still wanted to get the same effect that 'Scream' achieves by manipulating the audience into thinking our title sequence is reality, so we used the minimum amount of titles possible.
In 'Scream' they use the theory of Wes Craven that horror films should be located in a safe place, as it causes the audience to question whether these places of safety are what they seem, making it scarier. This opening title sequence is a great example of Cravens theory because there is also an absence of parents and the victim is trapped in her own home. This is effective, as the audience are made to think that these things can happen anywhere and therefore, the impact is worse because it is more personal if they believe it can happen where they visit everyday.
The killer in this opening title sequence supports Kaminski's theory of a weapon being a personal extension of the killer, as he uses a knife. Kaminski thought that guns should not be used as they do not reflect the true nature and personality of the killer. The weapon they chose can almost reflect their nature, therefore, by using a knife in 'Scream' the audience are able to develop a better understanding of what this killer is like.
'Scream' use a lot of conventional representations of horror films and follow many of the theories, which can help to make the opening title sequence, and film, more effective. In our opening title sequence we are aiming to use as many of these theories as possible, as they clearly help to make it more successful.
A.R
In the opening sequence of The Grudge (2004) the lighting is very low key which gives the audience the feeling of fear as we usually associate the dark with scary things. We took the idea of having very little light from this opening sequence as the dark makes our audience feel afraid. In this sequence the victim is dressed in ordinary, what looks like, work clothes. We also used this as inspiration and dressed our victims in normal clothes. This made it seem mysterious and unexpected, as the audience wouldn't think that danger was going to come to someone looking so simple and normal.
S.H
S.H
The Descent (2005) opening sequence is very interesting to watch as it starts of with a conventionally represented happy family. The audience senses fear as everything seems too perfect. The use of camera shots suggests to the audience that something bad is about to happen. Not having a non-diegetic sound track really adds to the amount of fear the audience will feel as the diegetic sounds of the car breaking and crashing is more effective. The lighting suggests that nothing could go wrong as the typical horror conventions include use of low key lighting. The whole family is wearing normal neutral colours which suggests that they are the victims.
T.D
T.D
The Ring
The opening title sequence of The Ring (2002) starts with a mid shot of the girl wearing a white shirt which conveys a sense of innocence as this is a typical convention of horror, also the girl has blonde hair which is also another convention of a typical victim and this relates to teenage girls who are watching the film. The next shot is a mid shot of the tele turning on in the background which builds tension for the audience watching as we know something bad is about to happen. There is then a close up of the girls face to show fear and terror and panic the audience. After the camera pans around the corner into the living room which again creates tension as we expect something to jump out, when actually it shows a mid shot of the empty living room and the blank television.
A.M
The opening title sequence of The Ring (2002) starts with a mid shot of the girl wearing a white shirt which conveys a sense of innocence as this is a typical convention of horror, also the girl has blonde hair which is also another convention of a typical victim and this relates to teenage girls who are watching the film. The next shot is a mid shot of the tele turning on in the background which builds tension for the audience watching as we know something bad is about to happen. There is then a close up of the girls face to show fear and terror and panic the audience. After the camera pans around the corner into the living room which again creates tension as we expect something to jump out, when actually it shows a mid shot of the empty living room and the blank television.
A.M