Title Sequence Clip Review

  When I would watch films, the first thing I would always see is the opening sequence, most of the time with opening titles. There would be some exceptions where there would be no opening credits to the film. I had always overlooked the importance of the details in sequences until last week when we looked at and analyzed some opening sequences to films. Having looked at these sequences, I realize the importance that they can play in the film. According to the article "First Frames: Titles in the Digital Realm" by Miles Merrill, "The typography and visual style created in the opening sequence can establish the mood...". This is demonstrated in Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) as the footage of the war in Vietnam overlapping a smoking man, combined with the opening credits and the song "this is the end my friend" help illustrate the mood of the story and the personality of the main character, a man who has shellshock. In Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993), a similar method of setting the mood is present, in which students are shown in the opening sequence, some are smoking pot while "Emotion" by Aerosmith Plays. Combined with the title of the film, the viewer can infer that the film will probably be about drugs. In Guy Hamilton's "Goldfinger" (1964), the sudden entrance of the opening credits later combined with the sudden betrayal by the lovely woman by having a man attack Bond creates a mood of suspense. The article also states that "an opening titles sequence generally engages with the big themes of the film and looks at overarching themes and metaphors of the film" (Merrill, 2004). In 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968), the playing of Johann Strauss's "and thus spoke Zarathustra" with the appearing of the Earth and panning over to the ape learning how to use a tool helps establish the theme of humankind's evolution and compare it to that of a marvelous fanfare. In The Lion King (Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers, 1994), the playing of Zimmer's "circle of life" accompanying the flocking of animals to pride rock to witness the christening of Simba presents a theme of unity and order, and uses Simba as a metaphor for hope for the future. Having watched these sequences, I am not sure whether or not I would do a movie for my project. I have yet to critically examine other media before I can come to a decision. If I find film openings to be he most appealing form of project, then I will consider.