What is the purpose of a title sequence and film opening?

What is a title sequence?

Title sequence is a method used in films where the films present there title, key information and actors. This is made up of both sound and visuals. Title sequence mainly includes:

-          Title

-          Production company name and logo

-          Star

-          Director

-          Casting

-          Director of photography

What makes a title sequences successful and what’s the purpose of it?

Genre

By learning the genre in the opening sequence helps the audience understand what the films going to be about and it leaves questions in the heads of the audience as they wonder what’s going to be in the film and they are tempting to watch it. The genre is normally presented to the audience by the content of the title sequence. We can learn the genre from the font used or the types of footage used. A crime genre will normally contain guns and blood. Introducing the genre is successful as its not given to us we understand the genre by seeing the contents.

Set up a narrative

When a opening sequences sets up at narrative it gives a wider understanding of what’s going to be in the film and it sets the scene. The narrative s is usually set by the setting or location being introduces. The narrative in Forest grump is set by a feather falling and it shops the surroundings, also it shows the small town its set in.

Introduces star

Introducing the main star to the audience makes the audience know who the main character is and knows that the stories going to be based around him/her. Also mentioning the star interests the audience as if its someone known such as Idris Elba there is a higher chance people will watch it. This isa useful thing as it makes the film look more professional as a high class actor is mentioned.

Title

The title of the film is used so the audience know the name of the film. Also the name of the film can give hints about the film. Also the font of the title can give us information about the film. This is usually after we see the production company name and after. This is a useful thing to include in the title sequences as it is a convention of a title sequence, without the title the audience wouldn’t know what film they are watching.

Introduces main character

Mentioning the characters is useful as it shows the cast used in the film and the audience can know who to expect in the film. Also knowing the cast of the film can give different impressions as if there’s more famous actor it can be seen as the film being better.

Draws us in?

The title sequence has to be effective so the audience is engaged and they are kept concentrated at all time. The title sequence is the first thing in the film so if its boring there is a chance people wouldn’t be interested in it. It has to bee something that’s linked to the film but interesting and engaging to watch and it has to draw the audience in. For example sky fall- James bond has small animations and its tense and fast this interests the audience as it has a lot of animations and it gives a lot of information away.

Mert Ceylan-Sevinc