The Art of the Title Sequence

The Art of the Title Sequence

The title sequence of a film is used to show many different things about the overall film. These are:

• The name of the film
• An understanding of the tone or atmosphere of the film
• Narrative information
• Introduce some or all of the characters
• A sense of the films genre
• Actors, directors and production company name are introduced
• Establish the location

There are four different types of title sequence used in most Hollywood films. they are as follows:

•  Discrete- Is like a mini film before the film and helps to get the audience into the mood of the film but not tell you what the film is about. It can give you a idea of the tone and the genre of the movie. A 'discrete' opening sequence also is often animated and includes a lot of editing work. Examples are Se7ven or The girl with the dragon tattoo. Another example is the opening of Spiderman which is an animated short film of the boy who is Spiderman actually becoming the superhero and various different things he does and villains he fights.  
• Traditional- A very good example for a traditional title sequence is the one of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Although there is a slightly stylised element in form of the grey lines moving through the screen, we have a black background with white titles in front. Another good example is the title sequence of The Sixth Sense. This features a plain black background with white titles fading in and out for the first about two minutes.
• Straight into the film- A film that goes straight into the story and doesn't have an extra title sequence. A very good example for that is the title sequence of Wes Craven's Scream. There are no titles at all and the film starts directly into the action. This type of title sequence is far less commonplace and is more likely seen in action or horror. Another example of where it is used is in The Usual Suspects which goes straight into the story line for the film.
• The stylised opening sequence- A stylised title sequence is a combination of straight into it and discrete. The opening of the film starts straight into the action and then followed by a 'discrete' title sequence. The best and most famous example for that are the James Bond openings. This type is often used in stylish action films such as Casino Royale or Mesrine.