The Four Main Types Of Title Sequences:
Titles on a blank screen, Titles on still images, Titles on moving images, and Titles using animation.
TITLES ON A BLANK SCREEN:
Many films use titles on a blank screen to introduce a film. It is arguably the most popular and cost effective way of creating the introduction to a film, as these titles are simple, cheap and easy to make.
Typical Conventions: The typical conventions of these titles include a typeface on a black background, occasionally with some kind of entrance effect like scrolling up the screen (Star Wars, The Shining) or zooming further out as more credits appear on screen (Pulp Fiction).
These types of titles are low budget, and the first type of title sequence to be used.
What Are The Reasons For Use?
These types of title sequences are very effective in showing the basic information about the film without being over complicated or too overwhelming at the beginning of the film. They also add an air of mystery and intrigue to the film, particularly when accompanied with music.
An example of titles on a blank screen being used to create a very visually exciting and chaotic ensemble is Into The Void, which proves simple typography, editing and music when using just titles on a blank screen can be very effective in setting the general tone and tempo of the film.
What Are The Reasons For Use?
These types of title sequences are very effective in showing the basic information about the film without being over complicated or too overwhelming at the beginning of the film. They also add an air of mystery and intrigue to the film, particularly when accompanied with music.
An example of titles on a blank screen being used to create a very visually exciting and chaotic ensemble is Into The Void, which proves simple typography, editing and music when using just titles on a blank screen can be very effective in setting the general tone and tempo of the film.
TITLES ON STILL IMAGES:
This type of title sequence is the credits and titles on screen with images accompanying them. They first came about when title credits began becoming longer and including more information about the cast and crew. The images provided a visual element the audience could focus on while the text appears on screen. If the credits are not visually or graphically intriguing like Into the Void, and just appear on screen simply like The Shining, still images can be used to maintain the viewers attention as the credits can go on for quite a while.
Typical Conventions:
The typical conventions of titles on still images include text appearing simply over an image, images on screen at the same time as text, and sometimes images and videos both being used.
What Are The Reasons For Use?
These types of openings typically give some kind of indication as to what the film is about. They will adhere to the genre and tone of the movie and so give the audience an idea of what the film is going to be like. They are also, as stated before, a nice visual aid through the credits and make the introduction more appealing.
These types of openings typically give some kind of indication as to what the film is about. They will adhere to the genre and tone of the movie and so give the audience an idea of what the film is going to be like. They are also, as stated before, a nice visual aid through the credits and make the introduction more appealing.
TITLES OVER MOVING IMAGES:
Titles over moving images are title sequences that accompany the credits with footage and video from the film, rather than a still or blank background. This is common in lots of modern films, Some examples include Rear Window and City Of God.
Typical Conventions:
Titles over moving images sequences usually have no dialogue, but are sometimes accompanied by music. They usually set the scene or offer the audience some idea of what is going to happen in the future. Rear Window includes music to parallel the camera movements while City Of God includes music and dialogue to create a fast paced and tense title sequence. The moving images in the title sequence are imperative to the audience's understanding of the film.
What Are The Reasons For Use?
These types of openings also often offer either a metaphor for the film -for example City of God uses a chicken as the metaphor and a tool to foreshadow the protagonists struggle to escape the slums- or creates a narrative thread to introduce a story, or set the tone of the film to help the audience understand a basic idea of what is going on. Rear Window creates a narrative thread through the camera panning over certain objects in the protagonists apartment and then the cast on his leg, as well as the busy apartment buildings he lives opposite. These are both effective outcomes of this type of opening sequence and are very good at capturing and informing an audience.
Typical Conventions:
Titles over moving images sequences usually have no dialogue, but are sometimes accompanied by music. They usually set the scene or offer the audience some idea of what is going to happen in the future. Rear Window includes music to parallel the camera movements while City Of God includes music and dialogue to create a fast paced and tense title sequence. The moving images in the title sequence are imperative to the audience's understanding of the film.
What Are The Reasons For Use?
These types of openings also often offer either a metaphor for the film -for example City of God uses a chicken as the metaphor and a tool to foreshadow the protagonists struggle to escape the slums- or creates a narrative thread to introduce a story, or set the tone of the film to help the audience understand a basic idea of what is going on. Rear Window creates a narrative thread through the camera panning over certain objects in the protagonists apartment and then the cast on his leg, as well as the busy apartment buildings he lives opposite. These are both effective outcomes of this type of opening sequence and are very good at capturing and informing an audience.
TITLES USING ANIMATION OR MOTION:
Some opening credits use animation to accompany the credits. It became particularily popular in the 1990's, and these types of openings are used in many films today.This is a captivating way to open a film and the style of animation can give the film a sort of identity and brand image that makes it memorable and iconic, for example The Pink Panther and James Bond.
Typical Conventions:
Animated title sequences often have very stylised editing and are always visually interesting. They can take months to perfect and can be quite expensive, however they are very effective in creating a grabbing and original title sequence.
What Are The Reasons For Use?
The animation which is used often relates to the genre of film. This gives the viewers a clear idea of the type of film they are going to watch and also adds a visually exciting element to the credits. It gives the audience something to watch, perhaps outlining a brief story, without having to focus too much as it's not a part of the main film.
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