For this blog, we were told to only give three examples of movies, but instead I wanted to give 3 ideas for things I could do. I think I'll end up taking a little bit of inspiration from all of these movies and techniques. But only time (and my teammates' opinions) will tell. Also, my team decided to do a western!
#1 Just a Bunch of Wicked Cool Graphics
A Fistful of Dollars
Of the credit sequences I've watched, most of them were graphics, and this one is no exception. Moving images with text next to them and music playing overtop. I skimmed a case study done by Melis Inceer from the University of Pennsylvania on credit sequences; from what I can tell, most movies have this regardless of the genre.
I referenced this credit sequence specifically because I love its use of color, just red and black. I think something limited like this is very visually interesting and could be seen as a metaphor that shadows the rest of the movie. The repetitive use of horses and guns seems to be a theme between the credit sequences of this genre, and this sequence is no exception. I mean, horses and guns everywhere! I really like it, though. The silhouettes I've found are especially powerful.
Django, Prepare a Coffin (1968)
Another coincidence like this one is Django, Peroare a Coffin's sequence, except it has more color and uses fewer silhouettes. The use of more color makes the credit sequence feel like it carries less weight and that the movie itself is a little bit more lighthearted. I really need to talk with my team about the tone of our opening. Should we choose something satirical, this should be a good route to take.#2 Vaguely Metaphorical Video and Some Text
The Big Country (1958)
As I was looking through another case study, one sentence in the conclusion stood out to me.
"...opening title sequences are becoming key elements which often set the atmosphere and introduce the audience to the film."
Essentially, a film credit should have the same look and feel as the movie it's for since it is the introduction before an introduction to the film. A great example of this is The Big Country (1958). Its opening sequence is just a lot of shots of forms of travel in the western era, horses and trains, with graphics over it. The name of the movie and the use of wide shots of terrain imply that the movie is about how big the western landscape is. The typography or images aren't unique either. Seeing as this movie was released in the golden age of western movies, I'm assuming that the opening graphic is just trying to say, "Hey! Look at me! I'm a profitable movie!" And the scores reflect this too; it has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. People like love movies.
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
Another title sequence similar to this one is For a Few Dollars More (1965). This one is a wide shot of a man on his horse in a vast western landscape, then the man gets shot off his horse, and the text begins passing in and out. The thing that caught my eye, though, is the way the graphic shows up on screen. It wiggles up from it like worms emerging from soil. I find it really memorable.
#3 Video, BOOM! (Insert Cool Match Cut with Graphic Here)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
There was only one example of this I could find, but it is still very noteworthy. There is a lot that happens in this opening, as it introduces the movie's character. One thing I'd like to point out is the way that the credit sequence combines the opening of the movie with its credits. It does a match cut just over the video itself into a drawing of the character and some text. I don't think I've seen much like it, and it makes everything feel very stylized. Only thing, should I mimic this, I'd add music and the clips to the beat of the music. That way they'd feel more impactful and intentional.CITES:
(All should be imbedded into the blog, if something fails, here are the links to everything in the order mentioned)
- https://core.ac.uk/reader/76393810
- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anna-Matamala/publication/283213303_Opening_credit_sequences_audio_describing_films_within_films/links/562f5f4508ae4742240ac56f/Opening-credit-sequences-audio-describing-films-within-films.pdf
- https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/big_country
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