Title Sequences and Opening Scenes

We have decided that we are going to create the first two minutes title sequence of crime and gangster thriller.  Our reason for doing this is that we feel, and our surgery information shows, that the majority of people would like to see this genre in preference to others.  We also feel that this is the right decision as there are not many gangster films out at the moment.  This is a variation on what the industry is producing today.

I have researched three title sequences of our chosen genre to understand how the films use repetition, variation and familiarity.  I have watched The Godfather, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and The Departed.  The familiarity between all three is that the camera work is mostly at eye level with the characters that they are following, the shot choices or majority close up to mid shots and finally, the tracking and panning are some of the most used motions in the title sequence.  All of this has been used so that the audience connects with the characters.  However, there is still ambiguity and the unknown about these characters from the lack of information that the visual representation gives.

The editing in these films is all continuity edited and, except for the Godfather, are fast paced films.  The majority of transitions are cuts which give the sense of speed and time passing without having to see it second by second.  This is also known as a "cheat cut". The effects on the audience is that they are gripped and are interested immediately the film starts.

The main sound in all three is a monologue which allows the audience to connect with the characters and the plot early on in the film.  These monologues range from The Godfather being diegetic to Lock, Stock having both diegetic and non-diegetic to The Departed only having non-diegetic.  All of them have some sort of music in the title sequences the main style is Rock, giving the film a punchy edge and followed by an action sequence.

The mis-en-scene for each film is very different, not having a traditional costume, props or location for each.  However, the lighting, on the whole, is low key making them very moody, sinister and dark.  The colour of the films is also very dark, not having much colour at all.  All of this adds a feeling of unknown and mystery, as the audience can not see everything that is happening because of how dark and unlit the opening sequence is.  This also creates intrigue.

Every film that I have watched for our genre uses white text over a black background, which creates the feeling of the unknown as this aspect of white font is not usually seen as we normally read black print.

I feel that we need to take some of these key elements into our title sequence to keep the repitition and familiarity from other films.  We should keep the monologue from the main character as it creates interest for the audience.  I also feel that we should keep the low key lighting and mid to close up shots for the same reason.  However, I would like to add variation in the aspect of the text, as I feel this needs to be revitalised and refreshed.