1. Georgina Saunders
Compare and Contrast 4 Title Sequences.
The majority of title sequences are at the start of the film so they have to keep the attention of the
audience. I looked at four different genres of film; thriller, comedy/romance, action and horror. All the title
sequences I looked at had a separate sequence to the film, unlike some that use the introduction to show
the credits. I think having a separate title is more affective as it allows the producer time to give subtle hints
about the rest of the film.
Each of the four sequences I studied introduced the main actors that were in the film, this is a method of
selling the film to you as people will watch something if well known actors are featured in them, as they
have a good reputation which leads people to believe the film will be worth watching. As they cannot tell
you the storyline in the opening credits this is a clever method of drawing in audiences and keeping their
attention.
Mise-en–scene is used in the creation of all the title sequence. Establishing the setting is important for a title
sequence as it is part of introducing the film. In “Fragile” there are sly hints, such as the medicine bottle, to
show the film revolved around a hospital and before the title sequence we saw a doctor treating a patient,
the lack of information about the setting suggests that it is unimportant and thrillers focus more on the story
line. The same is seen in “It’s a boy girl thing” as the visual effects and real life part of the sequence only
show a tree and two houses. We see no wider setting via the camera shots, but combined with the sound we
can tell the film is set in America due to their accents. The whole of the title sequence for “Panic Room” is
about the setting, we see no characters but various shots of New York buildings. This changes for “The Dark
Knight” as the audience is already aware of the setting as Batman is an established character. The
iconography of these helps to establish the genre as certain elements of mise-en-scene are seen across all
films of the same genre.
“It’s a boy girl thing” is the only film to introduce characters in the title sequence so technically the only film
to use costume. The male character is dancing around in his boxes, so showing his chest. This is signifying the
target audience is females, as they would be attracted to his physique. This links directly to the genre of the
film, as romances are targeted at the female population, as the aim is to appeal to their emotive sides. The
props shown in the background are important in the title sequences for every genre. In “Fragile” the image
of the ballerina is important as it is the first hint of colour used in the title sequence. A ballerina fits in well
with the title as they are fragile dancers who are careful and move gracefully, this does not fit with the genre
of the film but offers a relaxing feeling and a hope that everything will be okay. These two films use the
colour pink in similar ways as “it’s a boy girls thing” uses it as a stereotype of a girl and “Fragile” uses it to
show a weakness in females, as the ballerina is broken and dirty, this signifies that thrillers are not for the
faint hearted, which stereotypically is females.
Cinematography is used in all of the sequences, as it is the use of a camera so is a key piece of equipment in
filming. The rule of thirds is an important composition in all of the sequences. “The Dark Knight” uses it in all
of the shots. Batman is shown to the left of the screen and the joker is shown on the right, this signifies the
different sides they are on. When the final shot it shown of the red bat it is in the middle of the shot it
signifies they are joining forces, but the text being on the right suggest their methods follow those of the
Joker. Similarly, “It’s a boy girl thing” also uses the rule of thirds to show a divide. During the title sequence
the boy and girl are split by a tree, to signify a difference in the sexes. The male in the film follows the
traditional roles of having physical strength, sexual attractiveness and is able to manipulate the female. The
female is similar in following her gender roles, such as having academic success and is showing emotions as
she is not getting her own way and is unable to study. A different method is used in “Fragile” to show the
different genres as it uses mostly close up shots, but still incorporate the rule of thirds into the sequence. All
of the shots have a shallow focus so the rule of thirds is hugely important in making the shots look more
interesting as there is nothing in the back ground; this makes the image bleak and miserable to establish the
genre of the film. “Panic Room” takes this further and breaks the rule of thirds, but the angels of the frames

2. Georgina Saunders
are changed to make it more interesting, unlike the other sequences. The establishing shot illustrates a wide
view of the setting and the following shots show close up views of the city. It also signifies how unique the
film will be.
The editing of title sequences is very important, the four I looked at always jumped to different images as
they rolled through the credits, this means the editing has to make this interesting. In “Panic Room” the title
sequence is made up of mainly still shows, and also pan shots, they are wiped together quickly to keep the
pace of the sequence moving, whilst building up tension. Expansion of time is shown in “It’s a boy girl thing”
but the way the stick cartoons grown up and get bigger. The activities they are doing also reflect their age,
until they have grown to the age they shown to be in the film. An over the shoulder shot is used to illustrate
a conversation, although this is seen in most films, they make it interesting but having the conversation out
of windows from different houses. The expressions shown on their faces show how they feel about the
conversation and the male obviously knows that what he is doing is annoying and how easily he can annoy
the female. Towards the end of the opening sequence the editing merges the visual effects and real life
together, to signify how the cartoon characters reflect the life of a real actor in the film. “Fragile” uses more
interesting techniques in the editing such as superimposition to illustrate the same shot but from a different
angle and to merge them together, this adds to the creepy feeling of the sequence as it shows no breaks,
with signifies there is no wait out of the horror. The title sequence for “The Dark Knight” uses mainly visual
effects, the most effective part is the added graphite of the joker symbol over the other playing cards, as this
gives the feeling he cannot be avoided and builds up the tension of his plan for this film. The shots become
closer up as the sequence continues to show how the danger is getting closer and closer and that the film is
getting closer and closer.
The sound sets the mood of film, although it is not normally part of the sequence but only back ground
music it helps to establish the genre of the film. In romance films, music from the charts is normally used to
attract more viewers. In “It’s a boy girl thing” there is gentle incidental music playing, until we are shown the
males room when it switches to loud upbeat music, to again illustrate the differences between males and
females. During the visual effects there is synchronous sound, such as the screwing up of paper, to match
what the figures are doing. This contrasts to the other three title sequences that use a sound bride as the
shot changes. “It’s a boy girl thing” is also the only sequence that uses dialogue. Although “Fragile” starts the
titles with a boy screaming to set the mood for the film, this continues as the music is creepy and puts you
on edge. The music is quite gentle and consists or two tones, the first being made on the violin to give a
bleak ton, low notes are used to create this mood. This is mixed with the high notes of a piano, to give the
music a happier feel, although this is less noticeable than the violins so is suggesting a power struggle
between happiness and gloom in the film. All the sequences I have looked at had incidental music so the
titles were not playing in silence. Both “Panic Room” and “The Dark Knight” use the music to build suspense
and the music becomes more dramatic as the image in the frame changes which foreshadows danger. In the
middle of “The Dark Knight” sequence you can hear a clock ticking to signify a time limit and the need to
hurry. The ticking takes over and becomes the main sound to signify how important the time limit is, and
there could be massive consequences if it is not met.
The title sequences are vital in a film as they normally introduce the film. If they use mise-en-scene,
cinematography, editing and sound effectively then the audience will start watching the film with a positive
frame of mind and expect great things from the film. The opening credits have an important job of setting
the atmosphere and fitting in with the genre of the film. All of the film sequences I studied did this
effectively and their use of iconography helped to establish the films genre. Before the title sequence begins,
you are shown the company logo of who produce the film; this is also effective as it sets the quality of the
film before it has even begun.