Hey there Cambridge!
After analyzing film openings, now it is time to look at another aspect of film openings that are strategically planned: the credit sequences.
The opening credits are not just about shouting out what the crew did, but strategy as well. What font will the credits appear in? What order? What color? Will it be centered?
Today, I will be analyzing the opening credits to three thriller films: Drive (2011), Outbreak (1995), and Panic Room (2002).
BACKGROUND
Opening credits are meant to shoutout the people who contributed to the production of a film. They include director, producer, writer, cinematographer, editor, major actors, and other important titles. After doing some research, I learned some crucial information to consider when planning out and designing the opening credits sequence, like how text should not be on top of important details/elements of a shot and must stay on the screen sufficiently enough for the audience to read. More importantly, color and font create mood, and the first few seconds of a film opening are not always the right time to commence with the credits. I more interestingly learned that most opening credits presented on a moving background have music playing and not usually much dialogue at the moment.
THRILLER #1: Drive (2011)
Description: A film stuntman gets in trouble with gangsters when he served as a gateway driver for his neighbor's husband robbery a pawn shop.
Analysis: The credits are hot pink in a calligraphy font. The main actor and then film title appear first. All text fades in and out to the next one as it is presented on the right side of the screen. This color and font choice honestly make the film so much less thriller-like. It was most likely designed that way to develop a chill vibe amidst the mystery in the film. It also acts like a new approach to market the film, so it looks more than just a suspenseful, mysterious film. At the end of the film opening, the credit sequence is centered on the screen. Usually, the credit appears to the side of the character pictured. When there was no person, the text would be centered. This suggests that the most important element of the film opening's shots was the character. The credits were placed strategically so the audience can focus on the main character and his depressive, dark mood.
THRILLER #2: Outbreak (1995)
Description: Doctors struggle to find a cure for the Motaba virus. Coming from Africa, it is now spreading amongst people in a small California town.
Analysis: The credits are cyan with a black outline. They appear in the center of the screen then fade away. This, along with the military music, gives off a dangerous, lets-get-right-into-the-action type of vibe, which is supported by the numerous long shots of explosions and fires and military music. I found it interesting that the credits were centered, but the main action was happening around it (because usually the action happens in the center while the credits work around it). The opening credits are displayed for four minutes in total, where three minutes of that is a whole tracking shot going through a medical research institute and showing the researchers do their lab work. The credits appear to be in the same style, but are centered in the bottom-half of the screen. By this point, though, the credits fade in and out since this and upcoming shots are slower and calmer. Then later, once again, the credits appeared in the center of the screen while the setting was inside of a house. I was also confused as to why the text was centered here since this is when the whole story is about to start. Although, I believe the placement of the credits are meant to direct the viewers' attention. It was closer to the bottom of the screen when showing the labs so that focus is directed to the background of the film's conflict/plot (of doctors trying to find a cure for the Motaba virus). While in other settings, the credits never covered any main element, so it was set in the center as the action was around it.
THRILLER #3: Panic Room (2002)
Description: A divorced mother and her daughter seek safety in their new house's safe room when three guys broke in to find a missing fortune.
Analysis: This one is interesting because the font was 3D and white and shown in different angles over a city, similar to a bold Times New Roman font. The credits looked like they were a part of the city. The font itself set the mood for this film: city-life, power, wealth. It definitely does this to show off the city setting and how big, powerful, and large New York City is. The credits being centered or covering a major building directs viewers' attention towards how grand and expensive the city is.
REFLECTION: I actually learned so much about credit sequences by analyzing the ones above. First off, the research I wrote above was super valid when I found out that usually there is music over moving backgrounds of a credit scene. All three film openings were like that. Usually, I thought credit sequences were placed in the bottom or to the side of the screen, but looks like it makes sense for it to be centered with the main elements around it sometimes too. It was cool to see how each font and its color helped develop the film's mood (or in Drive (2011)'s case, a marketing tactic?). This analysis gave me insight into what is involved when planning a credit sequence and makes film openings much more interesting to think about. It also acted as a reminder as to what I am getting into when I design and strategize my credit sequence.
MORE RESOURCES:
Movie Opening Credits: How to Make a Great Title Sequence
How to Conceive and Create an Iconic TV Title Sequence
ScriptMother - Blog - 10 Opening Credits Sequences That Will Help Improve You
10 Thrillers with Incredible Openings Scenes
CITATIONS:
Opening Credits. (2022, February 25). Mechanism Digital. https://www.mechanismdigital.com/post/opening-creditsJohn, & John. (2012, April 19). The art of titles. John August. https://johnaugust.com/2012/planning-for-opening-titles
Inceer, M. (2007). An Analysis of the Opening Credit Sequence in Film [Senior Thesis, University of Pennsylvania]. https://repository.upenn.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/e963c7fc-0758-41f9-a62f-6e06e1e48a66/content
How to Order Movie Credits: Guide to Opening and End Credits. (2021, June 7). MasterClass. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-order-movie-credits#3Wmq4ONMKic671LpNVJco6
Drive (2011) ⭐ 7.8 | Action, Drama. (2011, September 16). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/
Drive. (n.d.). https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/drive/
Outbreak (1995) ⭐ 6.6 | Action, drama, Thriller. (1995, March 10). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114069/
Outbreak. (2014, December 21). https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/outbreak/
Panic Room (2002) ⭐ 6.8 | Crime, Drama, Thriller. (2002, March 29). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258000/
Panic room. (2016, November 29). https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/panic-room/
Yours Truly,
Macie 💗
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