Minute44 - Dan Schonhaar

That’s how the saying goes and I’m inclined to believe it. Get someone hooked early and you’ll have ‘em for the duration. I believe this translates to cinema as well. Opening credits, although they may seem like a formality, are absolutely key in forming a person’s opinion of a movie. Sure, the movie itself might be so good or so bad that the person’s impression of the opening credits doesn’t count for much but I think they are few and far between. I tend to find that if I’m impressed with the opening credits of a film I will be much more receptive to the rest of it’s duration. there are three main components in a title sequence; Typography, Visuals and Music/Audio. The key, it seems, is knowing how to apply them in the correct proportions. The best opening sequences apply the three components in a way that best suits the movie. I’ll show you three of my favourite ever title sequences each of which uses one of these components to a greater degree than the other two.

An absolutely fundamental part to any opening credits sequence are the credits themselves. Some movies forego the cast and crew credits and simply show a title but these are rare. Most movies show the title, Director, main cast and main production crew in their opening credits. Typography is very very important in achieving a successful sequence. A perfect example of where the typography proved to be the dominant feature in the sequence is Panic Room (2002) where the credits were rendered in 3D and worked into the camera shots of the cityscape. Through clever use of CGI the words seemed to slot between buildings, cast shadows and even have shadows cast upon them by other objects in the shot. The result is superb and it remains one of my all time favourite opening credit sequences.

See the opening title sequence of Panic Room.

Now for use of visuals. I don’t think you need to look much further than Ridley Scott’s Alien to see a perfect example of how an opening credit sequence can set the mood for the whole movie. Created by legendary titles man Saul Bass, these credits were even given a nod in the opening sequences in the two following sequels Aliens and Alien3 although not to the same effect. The bleak emptiness of space is the main theme in this movie (as the tag line “In space no one can hear you scream” suggests) and a basic title sequence depicing deep space served it perfectly.

See the opening title sequence of Alien.

The third very important factor in a successful opening sequence is music. Some movies don’t use any at all and, indeed this can have as much of an effect as using a full orchestra. I think a perfect example of the right music being chosen to reflect a movie was seen in the opening sequence for Sydney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon. Those of you who regularly read my blog will know that Dog Day’ is one of my all time favourite moves and the opening titles are no exception. Although the music doesn’t really reflect the sequence of events that take place in the move, it suits perfectly the mood of that time period, the early 70s. The song was Amoreena by Elton John and it has a very care-free, uplifting feel to it. This same mood is a sort of undertone to the whole film. The lead character’s homosexuality isn’t down-played, nor is it particularly pointed out… it just is, and the opening song (indeed the only song in the movie) kind of reflects this mood.

See the opening title sequence of Dog Day Afternoon.

Those three, very different opening sequences illustrate how the use of one of the main three components over the others can help make the titles a true part of the film, just as worthy of praise as the feature itself. I’d love to hear what everyone thinks of the examples I’ve given here and what your favourite title sequences are.

Until next time.

Dan