I'm Lucy, 17 years old and studying A Levels at Welling Sixth Form. Here you'll find my coursework for Media as I look at title sequences and eventually create my own.
This week we looked at receiving feedback about our film and title sequence ideas from our target audience. Our homework was to do this in the form of questionnaires. We created a questionnaire composed of 10 questions and handed it out to people that fit in our primary and secondary target audience; males and females aged 15-25.
Here are our questionnaires filled out by our target audience:
Today we were introduced to Roland Barthes, who came up with a theory that suggests a text and poses questions to the audience. He thought that all narratives share structural features that are brought together in different ways.
He came up with five enigma codes to group signifiers according to the role they play in the text:
The Hermenentic Code: The voice of truth.
This is the way the story avoids telling the truth or revealing all the facts, in order to drop clues throughout to create mystery.
The Proairetic Code: The voice of empirics.
This is the way the tension is built up and the audience is left guessing what happens next.
The Semantic Code: The voice of the person.
This is the way elements in the text can suggest a particular and often additional meaning, connoting what the story suggests.
The Symbolic Code: The voice of the symbol.
This is similar to the Semantic Code, but in a broader way. This is typically done where new meaning arises out of opposing and conflicting ideas.
The Cultural Code: The voice of knowledge.
This looks at the audience's wider cultural knowledge, morality and ideology.
Readerly and Writerly Texts
Barthes thought that most texts were 'readerly' texts. These texts' style and content are represented in the traditional linear way, meaning the audience is simply receiving the information presented to them. They attempt to give one meaning instead of multiple ones, commonly seen in advertising.
On the other hand, 'writerly' texts are the opposite and reveal the elements 'readerly' texts don't show. These texts put the audience in control, trying to determine the meaning of the text. The 'writerly' texts tend to undermine the reader's expectations.
The sequence begins with a plain white screen and black text appears in capital letters, informing us of the production company. It does not begin with a scene from the film like many title sequences usually do. This does not give much away and therefore creates suspense, fitting to the thriller genre of the film.
The text fades away and a red droplet falls in time with music. You immediately assume the droplets are blood, connoting death and violence, relating to the plot. The plain white background allows the audience to focus on the credits and droplets of blood as the colours contrast against each other.
As more important credits are shown, the pace of the music quickens and the drops keep in time with it, so more than one appear on the screen. This faster pace builds tension for the audience, possibly hinting at a chaotic plot or character.
Two droplets then splatter onto the white background, and the title of the film appears in the same font, with the second word in bold. This again hints at the plot and genre of the film.
The red droplets change to a constant red substance running, still resembling blood and adding to the tense atmosphere created by the faster music. This then cuts to the substance being drawn over a white surface, seeming to go against the idea that it is blood. However, the audience is still unsure what it is, therefore keeping the suspense.
A hand holding a large knife is lifted swiftly upwards on the screen as the name 'Christian Bale' appears, the star of the film. This suggests he is the antagonist and murderer. The knife is then slammed down to cut meat that looks like flesh, and a loud thud is heard which contrasts against the orchestral music and startles the audience. Again, this feeds into the idea of the thriller genre and foreshadows the audience will experience more shocks.
'Williem Dafoe' then appears, another well known actor and star of the film, keeping with the same font style. What seemed like blood and flesh now changes to show food, such as raspberries, clearly. This makes the audience backtrack and feel like they have let their imaginations go wild, linking to the ambiguous ending of the film.
The full plate of food is finally shown, with hands picking it up to be served. It is very neat and professional looking, hinting at the character's personality, as we find out he has OCD.
A birds eye shot shows the food is placed down on a table and the camera pans at an angle to show another meal. The audience views the meals upside down, creating disorientation.
The table shots cut to mid-shots of people eating in a restaurant and a waiter serving food. They are dressed in evening clothes and the waiter is wearing a white suit with a bow tie, showing they are wealthy and of high status. This suggests the film focuses on characters of this social background. The orchestral music continues yet changes to a happier tone. This compares the room where the food was being prepared (the kitchen) and the main part of the restaurant where people are eating, giving the idea that there is a secret and a defined separation between the two. This is because the kitchen shows emptiness and a cold feeling due to a lack of colour, besides the bright red droplets, and no people besides the hand holding the knife. In comparison, the restaurant is full of people talking and bright colours, such as pink and green.
This changes to a birds eye view of a woman cutting into a dessert. The contrasting colours of white and red reappear, connoting more blood and violence. The woman is also wearing a black evening glove, a colour associated with death.
Characters of the film are finally shown by an over the shoulder shot, starting with the star Christian Bale and his friends/work colleagues having a conversation with banter. The credits are still shown in the same font, yet as the most important names such as the production companies, director and stars have been shown, the audience are now more focused on the film rather than the credits. This allows a fluent transition from the title sequence into the beginning of the film.
Overall, it is a very effective title sequence as it plays with the minds of the audience. It constantly hints at the plot and character, yet does not make it too obvious, therefore allows you to make assumptions which you will have to watch to find out. I also like the use of colour to connote the genre and timing parts of it with music, which I would be interested in trying with my title sequence.
One of the sequences I looked at was Anatomy of a Murder (1959).
For my homework I created a powerpoint about Saul Bass and analysed this title sequence within it. I tried to incorporate Bass' style and used a Prezzi design with bold, colourful triangles.
The title sequence immediately gives a light-hearted feeling. Different plates of food are placed on brightly coloured carpets, with the titles written in sauces on the plates. The carpets hint at when the film is set, the 80s. The colours are vibrant and contrast against each other, suggesting a happy tone to the film, therefore showing it is of the comedy genre. The type of food also hints that the audience is teenagers, as it involves simple meals like chicken nuggets and school dinners.
After a few plates are placed down with a diegetic 'thunking' sound and then removed, an upbeat alternative background song begins, again suggesting the comedy genre. The carpet changes colour back to the original and a wallet is opened, staying with the same point of view shot which does not change throughout the title sequence. A diegetic velcro sound is heard when the wallet is opened. A card is pulled out, showing 'U.F.O Abduction Insurance', suggesting the main character is a geek as he conforms to the stereotype of geeks being interested and believing in aliens. Another card is shown, this time a school ID card for the main character. His appearance confirms he is a typical geek, with big glasses and curly hair. The titles for the main stars are cleverly placed on both these cards, revealing their character's personalities.
I think it's amazing how much title sequences have developed over the years. They have changed from very plain and basic old-fashioned designs like D.W. Griffith’s 'Intolerance' (1916), providing only the essential information for the audience.
Nowadays, there are various images and even whole scenes that create the title sequence. These are used to show the genre of the film, possibly hinting at the plot too. There are also many more names included, due to how films have grown and therefore more people are needed to make them.
Monsters Inc. has always been one of my favourite title sequences, even when I was younger. However, it is not until now how I realise how similar it is to the older, more traditional title sequences that show the basic information. The Monsters Inc. titles do this in a more colourful and animated way, in time with music.
The Bond title sequences are iconic. Typography that 'interacts with metaphorical imagery or to create its own world' is a great technique used for opening sequences. I feel it helps set a certain mood for the film and engages the audience.
It seems the more creative a title sequence is, the more popular it becomes. As shown by the Bond and Pink Panther series. Graphic designers played a huge part in the development of title sequences and they possibly wouldn't have allowed film makers to be as experimentative.
In conclusion, title sequences have changed drastically, but in a positive way. They are much more engaging and can be crucial to set the tone of the film. Their development means the audience and other film makers can appreciate them more; still taking note of the essential information presented, yet also of the time and effort put into them while enjoying them.
