Inception Title Sequence

 

I looked at a title sequence for Inception and noted down the times, words and their roles. I noticed that a lot of actors were focused on, which suggests that this is a type of film where they can rely on the actors names to attract a target audience who are a fan of the actor; such as Leonardo Dicaprio or Joseph Gordon-Levitt.     

The simplistic black screen and white font show the main focus is on the names and animations. There is a lot of red colouring throughout the sequence suggesting danger and death. The title sequence tells us it's genre is an action, thriller and hints there is a psychological twist in the film from the annimations which morph and change throughout.

I really like the simplistic font they have used at the begining and would consider using something similar in my opening sequence.

Crave (2012) Title Sequence

I watched the opening sequence of 'Crave' on art of the title, http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/crave/
I wrote down the time and the name that came up during the opening and what job each person had eg the producer or an actor.
I really liked the way the annimation created an eery, scary effect with the non diegetic music and dark lighting.


The font reflects the horror/thriller genre of the film, letting the audience know instantly it is a scary film. The black and orange colours and harsh, irratic font create an uncomforting atmosphere which is very effective.
I learnt from this that the directors name sometimes comes first on the credits. However on certain films the production company comes first followed by the list of other financiers. I will remember this for my own title sequence when I film in January. Especially important to note the list of names included are not limited to just the actors.

Developed plot of narritive action for our thriller

Our idea now opens with a couple parking up in a car in a car park. We then see fast/short cuts of a person dressed in black. The cuts reveal parts of his identity but do not reveal all, i.e., half of his face in shadows or his feet walking. It shows that he is in a deserted building walking up flights of stairs. It will then cut between the two different scenes to establish the contrast between the two atmospheres surrounding them. The couple are happy with jolly music playing on the radio although the woman seems to be on edge but still enjoying each other’s company whereas the man in black will be eerie and will come across as a villain type character.

The car park resembles where we saw the man in black walking around. We see the man send a text saying 'all set?’ It then cuts to the lady in the car who checks her phone but we do not see what it says. The man in black opens a case he was carrying and pulls out a gun. It then cuts to the couple getting a lot closer. We see an over the shoulder shot of the man's gun pointing at the couple in the car. As the couple are about to kiss, we see the woman send a text saying 'set'. As she looks into his eyes we see her shed a tear and then the man she is with gets shot in the back of the head by the man in black.

 

Shot by shot list.

• Two shot.

• Mid shot from behind

• Close up of man holding brief case

• S ide shot of woman in the car (shows anxiety).

• Dutch angle of man moving up stairs

• High angle shot over man in car (venerable).

• Wide/establishing shot of mysterious man entering top floor of car park

• Close up of woman getting her phone from bag.

• Over the shoulder shot of mysterious man typing a text saying 'all set?'

• Medium shot of her checking phone.

•  Various close ups of mysterious man undoing the brief case and pulling out a gun.

• Two shot of couple getting closer

• Close up of woman sending a text saying 'set' as she leans in to kiss the man

• Over the shoulder shot of gun pointing at the couple in the car.

• Close up of the couple face to face to show that there is a tear falling from the woman’s eye.

• A mid shot from behind the lady shows the couple in focus and the surroundings unfocused.  Couple become unfocused as the surrounding become focused and sharp which reveals the  mysterious man standing in the background pointing his gun.

· Two shot from behind to show man is dead with his head flopped on her shoulder and she is splattered with blood

·  Close up two shot of her moving his head away and saying ‘I’m sorry’

Prop list.

• A gun
• Two mobile phones (preferably blackberries)
• A car
• Briefcase (to hold the gun)

Costume.

• Woman: Mainly dressed in red (modern)
• Partner: Casual clothing (shirt)
• Murderer: Dressed all in black and along black coat

Vertigo opening credits

The extreme close up of the woman's face in black and white suggests hidden identity and not showing the whole picture. The panning upwards reveals more of her face and uncovers her character more. The extreme close up of her eyes darting around shows her anxiety and uncertainty, when the screen turns red and the music deepens creating tension and a sense of danger, her eye widens suggesting she is seeing something unpleasant. The swirls inside her eye take over the screen and seem hypnotic and connotes the swirls are going deeper and deeper into her thoughts.

Kyle Cooper's work

Se7en
I really like this opening as the music is the main focus, creating anxiety and uncertainty.
The fast paced extreme close ups of disturbing images create an unnerving response and hide the man's identity, intriguing the audience. The lighting is dull and effective suggesting a cold, eerie atmosphere.
The font is very effective, with the handwritten words and scratched text that unpredictably appears on the screen. It is visually interesting as the font appears vertically and horizontally, revealing parts of the writing.

Our thriller's target audience

I made a survey and interviewed people on their views of thrillers, and found out information we have used to improve our thriller opening idea. I found that males watch films that they find exciting and their favourite genre was often thriller. However most girls watch films with actors they find attractive and films which their friends had recommended or had an appealing trailer. 

Kyle Cooper

Kyle Cooper was born in 1962, and is a modern designer of motion picture title sequences. He studied as a graphic designer at Yale and then worked as a creative director at R/GA. He also created the title sequence for the 1995 American crime film Se7en, raising the bar creatively.

In 1996, he co-founded Imaginary Forces however he wanted to focus more on his creative work, so left Imaginary Forces. In 2003, Cooper founded the creative agency Prologue, and continued to create film and game title sequences, such as 'The Mummy' 'Braveheart' and 'The Orphan'.