Saul Bass Title Sequence Analysis

Seconds (1966) 

First of all, there is an extreme close up shot of an eye, we see the eye looking around creating a sense of panic; the eye is then obscured reinforcing the sense of panic. The camera then moves to a shot of the persons lips, and 'Seconds' appears, creating the sense of time running out. The camera moves, and it shows the extreme close up shot of the insides of the persons mouth, which is darkness, but could suggest that the film has an input of science towards it. There are more shots of the persons facial features similarly reinforcing science to the film.

There is a shot of a mans face which has been edited to make it look very obscure, possibly to inform the audience that he is the 'bad' person within the film. He is looking down at the camera giving them a sense of authority and presents a dangerous aspect towards them, as if he is examining somebody, introducing the genre of thriller to the film.

There is a shot of a person's face with something over their face, as if it has been bandaged up, this reinforces a sense of thriller as it is quite disturbing. It also suggests that the person has been 'examined' as previously stated, introducing both genres of science and thriller.
There is then a birds eye view of people walking around, creating a sense of innocence towards the people.

The music within the title sequence is very intense, and reinforces the genre of thriller as it creates the feeling that something bad is going to occur within the film. The typography within the film is very basic; this could be to draw the attention more towards the images rather then the text within the sequence.

The title sequence sets up what is going to happen within the film; it insinuates that it is going to be a thriller film and that there is some sort of science fiction involved too. Also, from the music, its created that the film would consist of intense moments.

Blue Valentine Analysis

Blue Valentine Opening Sequence The genre of the film is constructed with it being set as a prologue; it shows the audience the relationship the couple had, and this portrays the genre as romance. The music begins before anything visual is shown, but the first shot is of the couple hugging, and there are effects of fireworks over them. As previously stated, the sequence is a prologue and it shows the audience shots of the couple being together. There is not as such any elements of narrative implied in the sequence except the bond of the couple is shown. One could say this has been done because when the audience watches the film they reflect back on the opening sequence, and it portrays a before and after effect.

The majority of the shots are two shots, but the individual shots are close up and also long shots; I think this has been done to show the intimacy between the couple and it reinforces the genre as romance. We see the sequence as if one of two is reminiscing on their past, which gives an insight to ‘before’ for the audience. The sequence shows different shots of the couple, together and individually, but with no narrative to it, as previously stated, I think this is to give the effect of remembering happy memories, and it suggests that it is no longer like that. Between the shots includes the effects of fireworks, which has an impact on the kind of relationship that it is, or was. The pace of the edit is fairly slow through out the whole sequence, each shot lasting about the same, possibly suggesting the remembering of that moment. The genre of the music is indie/folk, and the specific song chosen has an affect on the audiences view.

Although the sequence shows the couple being together, and it seems as if they are in a state of bliss, but when researching into the music is portrays a different view. The song: “It's a fear, it is near. the shape becomes ever clear. It bares teeth, extra sharp, that'll cut you in the heart. It attacks really quick, try and fight it with a stick. it's no use, give it up, this is life and this is love. You are my alligator” The sequence shows that although you can be happy in love, as shown in the shots, the song informs that it will not last and that it is painful, an alligator being a metaphor for the harshness of love. This clarifies to the audience possibly what is going to happen within the film, the opening sequence consisting of the happiness within a relationship, the song insinuating what is going to happen, and the film consisting of remembering what was, and the evident ending of a relationship. I think that the music within this has a great effect on the audience, and it allows people universally to reflect on personal situations within their own lives.

The first text introduced into the sequence is white and bold; this could associate with a possible purity, relating to the first stages of love. When the title is include, effects are included to give it a explosive, fiery effect, simply stating love to be like fire, and explosive and to an extent, painful. All the texts are in capitals, making it stand out to the audience, again reinforcing the harshness of the relationship.

The first shot in the sequence shows the couple hugging, but you cannot see their faces and the next is again of them, but the girl in front of the boy and an effect is included again, which similarly makes their faces harder to see. Before the text ‘blue valentine’ is shown there is a shot of the two kissing each other on the floor, and then the text is shown with the effects included. This reinforces the connotations of the intimate relationship, which is also visualized as explosive and dark. This is then followed by a series of shots of the couple together in an intimate way again reinforcing their relationship beforehand. The point that there are only shots of the couple could suggest that the pair feel as if they are in the world together, they only recognize each others presence similarly reinforcing the intimacy, playfulness and impulsiveness of their relationship previously. The ending shot is of a young girl followed by darkness, this could imply that the couple had a child and it could also suggest that the relationship has resulted in the ending of the happiness to some extent.

Lesson: The Game (notes)

The Game 

Setting: 
From the Title Sequence -

• countryside
• summer
• 60's-70's 
• birthday party 

Themes: 

• Drama
• Crime
• Identity - father figure 

Style: 

• dull colours 
• prologue 
• music - classical, slow, represents loneliness from the piano
• clips - memories
• slow editing, reminiscent
• editing - puzzles, relates to the title 'the game' - is there are puzzle he has to fit? is it to do with his childhood? creates an enigma for the audience 
• old fashioned 

Narrative 

• Game - life 
• His childhood has had an impact on his current life  

- he regrets something from his childhood 

- something dramatic in his childhood has happened which has had an affect on his life

- loneliness of his childhood? 

The Incredibles Title Sequence Analysis

The Incredibles Title Sequence is an animation, that also continues with animation throughout the film, this instantly implies to the audience that the film is a action adventure, superhero film; it also reinforces the codes and conventions of the genre. The use of the colours within the title sequence similarly reinforce this too. The use of bright colours such as red, orange and yellow. The colour red indicates with danger, insinuating that within the narrative the superheroes will be faced with some sort of conflict, which also is held within the codes and conventions. The colour yellow can be indicated with a sense of joy and cheerfulness, associating it with the target audience of a younger age. Lastly, the colour orange can be associated with happiness, and when looked into, it can be seen that orange can represent optimism and motivation which could be a important aspect held within the film.
The use of instrumental music is important because there is no lyrics, which holds no importance to the narrative. The music is fast paced and varies in tones, this sticks to the codes and conventions because it is exciting and implies the action within the film. The shots within the title sequence relate to the music too. The shots cut quickly between each other and they consist of animated shots where an individual is fighting and it shows the typical shapes that are within a comic book. Also with in the shots, there are hints of each characters super power giving the audience and insight of the character outline. Within the sequence there is a shot where it is as if the sequence is a video game, this similarly indicates that the film is action adventure superhero but it also could suggest the target audience for the film; video games are typically associated with the younger audience.
With in the title sequence there are hints of the narrative, showing the characters and there powers, and also showing the typical villain with in the film which sticks to the codes and conventions of an action adventure super hero film where there are the typical characters within; and it also indicates the typical todorov narrative within the film too.
There is a lot of text with in the title sequence, the first showing 'The Incredibles' which is capitalised and bold; showing the superiority of them and one could say sticks to typical connotations of a superhero film. All of the typography holds the same font and is bold, reinforcing that it is a superhero film. One could say that the use of bold could imply strength with associates with a superhero power of a character; it could also suggest from the bold that they cannot be defeated, and could reflect that at the end they do in fact defeat the villain.

Article

• "They have always served a greater purpose than themselves: to move the overarching story forward." - I think this is a interesting quote from the article. In my opinion it is very true; it speaks about the title having a bigger meaning then just introducing the film. It doesn't just introduce characters or show who made the film, but has a 'greater purpose' which sets up the story line of the film. It subtly hints of aspects which will be in the film and sometimes slightly portrays the narrative of the film itself. 

• "we see the emergence of typography that seeks to match letterforms with the subject matter and even the zeitgeist" & "It could be argued that typography lost importance in this era of title design." - This too is an interesting statement regarding the typography of title sequences. The typography within a title sequence is very important regarding the genre of a film. If someone was to see the name of the film only, with the typography, analysing it can set up the whole theme that would be held in the film. The typography itself does 'match' the narrative and genre of the film; which I think is very important for audiences. 

• "As movies grew more popular, their titles evolved." - When reflecting on title sequences in the past, to nowadays, we notice how much titles have 'evolved.' We know that in modern day societies technology allows film makers to be a lot more creative with in title sequences, but it is very important to reminisce on previous titles. I find it really fascinating to see how much title sequences have changed over the years. It's also important to notice that each new film that is released, holds an aspect in the title that is unique in itself and to the movie. 

• "Experimentation on the fringes, where title sequences really thrive, have led to all kinds of innovation in what a title can be and how it can serve the story and the director’s intent." - As I previously stated, the title sequence can have more meaning behind it then what people actually think. But not only does it 'serve the story' it shows the 'director's intent'; I find the director's intent also very interesting. One could say that the title sequence could be a very prominent aspect to the director of the film. This is because it holds a lot of information within it, and it is important to give a certain amount of information that excites the audience but also builds tension for the ending of the film. 

• "But the measure of a title design’s quality is the same now as it was in the silent era. Whatever function they perform, titles remain an essential part of film." - Last of all, I find this quote from the article very important, as it summarises all thoughts. I think that it suggests that although technology in modern days is a lot more advanced, the meaning behind each individual title sequence holds similar effort put into it. It also summarises that no matter the 'quality' of the title, each one has had similar effort put into it, and the design of it has been similarly analysed and questioned as to what it will portray to the audience. It also states it's 'essential' in a film, which is true; without a title sequence it would not set up anything before the film; reinforcing that it is 'essential.'

Zombie land analysis

Firstly in the Title Sequence of ‘Zombie land’ we are introduced with a man falling from a building, in slow motion, and we are introduced with the music. It seems to be from a rock genre which gives the first impression that the film is horror or action. This is because it seems to involve violence which is stereotypically associated with horror or action films.

We then see a mid shot of a man covered in blood, where blood is spewing from his mouth, stating to the audience that it is in fact a horror film. There is a long shot of two women, one whom is dressed in pink and white, showing the connotations of a woman and portraying her as innocent, this is then reinforced because she is being chased by another woman dressed in darker clothing and who is also covered in blood.

There is a man wearing a sign ‘the end is near’ and ‘zombies’ running (still in slow motion) towards him. The sign insinuates that in fact ‘the end is near’ and this is reinforced by the fear shown on his face because we assume he is going to be attacked. There is a wide shot where a car is on fire, and dark smoke coming from it the dark colours similarly suggesting violence as black is usually associated with this. There is a long shot of a bride and groom at their wedding, and the typical innocence and purity connotations of a bride are ruined when we see that she is covered in blood; one might suggest this is shown as being very sinister reinforcing the typical connotations of a horror film. We see a woman running without a top, showing her to be naked, possibly inferring that the film is associated with nudity and sex.

All of the typography throughout the title sequence is written in capitals and in red, red usually associated with danger, this also reinforces the genre of horror. The end of the sequence shows a blood splatter on the screen, followed by a man falling through which then leads into darkness. One could say that this is sinister, and the darkness could associate that there is no hope.

When linking all elements together, ‘violence, nudity, blood and rock music’, it would usually be viewed as holding typical inhumane connotations of a horror film.