What is the BEST Movie Title Sequence?
We sometimes start watching a movie without watching a trailer for it or having no clue what it is about. That is why we have opening title sequences. Not only do they give the audience a brief explanation of what is going to happen for an hour and half but they also give credit to some of the main people producing and acting in the film. For instance, sometimes we see actors and actress names, directors, and production companies, sometimes we only see one of those things. However, one will always see the title of the film. This is almost the welcome wagon of the film to introduce, in a more formal way, their film to the audience. So today I will be commenting and talking on 5 opening titles that I have chosen. We have some action films, some shows, and even an animated movie. This will show us how no matter what type of film or show, the opening title is always included and always essential.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Red Notice:
Red Notice is a new movie that came out on November 5th, 2021. I wanted to start with something new so that way we can maybe compare the similarities and differences of some of the older movies and shows. I really like this title sequence for several reasons. First of all it gives you a brief yet entertaining explanation for the audience of these characters' problem, which is to find Cleopatra’s third egg,(a beautiful piece of art). We have this narrator that only appears on this part explaining the history of the eggs and why was it given to her, how they are lost, how some were found and some remain lost. While the narrator is explaining the egg and its history we see several Egyptian visuals, plus old newspapers to debate the myths of the three eggs, and some pieces of older film of people trying to find the egg. These visuals are very important because they show the audience the passing of time and how the eggs have been involved with it this entire time. Moreover, when these visuals are going on the screen and the narrator is explaining it, we see how he uses positive and alluring connotations such as “majestic” or “madly enchanting.” Although this may seem as a very minor detail, the way this narrator speaks about the story is important since it makes the audience realize the luxury and enchanting life of Cleopatra and her eggs. Not only is the egg shown but other pieces of art including the couple of Cleopatra and Marc Antony. When one of these paintings are displayed on screen, it then transitions to a close up of the third egg in order to emphasize it and to let the audience know that this is our main goal. In addition, throughout this section of the opening title, we see the main actors/actresses' names pop on the screen. The font is simple ,however, their last name is in red. This creates a more dramatic effect on their name plus gives you the impression of how spies are usually called by their last names, hinting at the life of some of the characters.
Once the narrator finished the most important details about the story, we noticed that it was a video on someone’s computer. This lets the audience know that someone is interested in this egg and its history. The audience sees that we are in a lab or office sort of space, including a 3d printer that seems to be printing an egg. We then see several cuts of someone working on the egg and giving it multiple details in order to make it look more realistic. Moreover, in the office the music gradually becomes much more urgent and suspenseful, creating the overall vibe and aesthetic for the movie. Furthermore, in this section of the opening title we see credits for things such as, casting , director of photography and producers. Then we see a man walk out of the lab. However, there is mystery since the audience has not seen this man’s face. This man then turns off the light in his lab, which leads to the title coming onto the screen. The title is the same simple font, but now it is all in red creating a more dramatic feeling. Lastly, the editors put a cute little ending to the sequence by putting the explanation of what a Red Notice is and adding little details on it like fingerprints. Overall, this opening title sequence was long but it gives the audience a much more detailed explanation of what is going to happen, but without spoiling the whole movie. The visuals, the music, the mystery man, and other things play important aspects in trying to grab the viewer's attention.
Mean Girls:
Mean girls is an iconic film known for its chaotic energy and hilarious quotes. Mean Girls was released on April 30th, 2004. Although this movie title sequence is pretty simple it is great for fitting the aesthetic of the movie and getting the audience in the mood to watch. For instance, the background is crushed paper with stickers on it such as flowers, hearts, butterflies, etc. Moreover these pieces of paper and stickers are colorful. It uses colors like pink (obviously), white, purple, yellow, and light blue. This helps the audience understand the vibrant and saturated color scheme that will most likely be seen in the film. Furthermore, these colors create a youthful and playful feeling. We also see some regular paper to write notes and some more fun paper with patterns on it. The book seems as if it was a scrapbook. If you have seen the movie, then you may know about the infamous Burn Book. Essentially the popular girls in this book wrote about people who wronged them. So the opening title sequence foreshadows a big part of the film which is the Burn Book and what goes down in it.
In addition, we see how they introduce the actors, actresses and the title. The production company and the title of the movie are immediately introduced. They are written in a font that is more messier that way it looks more like someone wrote it. We can also tell that the pieces of paper that these words are on are cut because we can see that it is uneven. This makes it feel more real and as if it was their Burn Book. Moreover, the actors and actresses are presented with a picture of them as their characters. The picture of their characters is then taped onto the paper with their name under it. This is a cute and efficient way of introducing the cast to an audience. Another little detail we see are the kiss marks which are like the official stamp or mark of the Burn Book. Lastly, the music played an important role too. It gives you very teenage angst but also fits into the songs that were made in the 2000’s. The kiss marks, the pieces of crushed paper, the music are all essential factors to create a good opening sequence. We may not know exactly what is going on in the film but we can definitely get a vibe and a brief idea of what is about to occur. This doesn't spoil the movie but doesn’t leave the audience completely clueless.
Monsters Inc.:
We all know and love the adorable film of Monster Inc. With the cutest monsters and the cutest child on screen it is hard to not enjoy this film. Monster Inc. was released November 2nd, 2001. (I’m feeling old) Anyways, Monsters Inc has a great movie title sequence and I believe it is perfect for children. Primarily, We obviously see the Disney pictures logo and the iconic lamp jump on the I on pixar, but we all know that already. So we see a black screen, but with vibrant and fun colors. Also something I notice is usually the colors on the screen would match or definitely have a palette. The fun and vibrant colors come from these doors, as we know is the MAIN thing in this movie. We see a formation of doors from different shapes to then see the door open. When this door opens, the audience can see little things such as a kid's clothing, toys, a bat, basketball, etc. The door then closes abruptly and opens again, but this time with a monster growling at you. This 10 second clip already explains pretty much the whole base for the movie. After this, we see multiple doors on the screen forming shapes and formations. In one of those formations the doors line up and when the doors open it spells out “Walt Disney Presents.” However, the “P” is an eyeball of a monster. That simple yet so nice and fun way of introducing the film is great for a child since it depends on the fun visuals going on the screen to catch the attention of a child.
Furthermore, an important detail is the music. This song has stuck to many of us over the years and it brings us these fun memories we had. A good song is necessary for any film, but in a film like this it is important because the children will remember it wanting them to watch it. The music in this sequence is uplifting and calm. It reminds me of elevator music or corporation music which is ironic since they work in a company. More for audio effects, at some points we do hear children screaming, which makes sense since these big scary monsters have shown up in their room. We then see a monster write with a piece of chalk. That chalk then cuts into a graphic match to a door which then spills out the word “Pixar.” Moreover, while the door is spilling the letters out it matches the beat of the music making this a part much more visually appealing. Next, we see a monster eat the letters to a collage of doors. In the center of the collage of doors we see monsters spelling out the title. The font of the title is a simple bubble font. Nowadays, this gives it an older look, while back then it probably wasn't. Another important detail in the title is that the “M” in monster has an eye in it. Lastly, you see a door open and the viewer essentially goes into it, almost in a way of introducing you to the world of Monsters INC. Overall, the vibrant colors, the uplifting music, the children screaming, and the little monsters are reasons why so many of us remember this movie.
The 100 (Season 2):
The 100 is one of my favorite shows and one of my favorite seasons is season 2. This season was released on October 22, 2014. So let's start. Immediately, we see the title. The title is in this gray ashy color. This color gives it a futuristic feeling however at the same time a rustic and beaten down look. Another important thing we see in the title, is that the two zeros have collided. This can represent several things, whether it be the physical collision of them and the earth when arriving to the ground or the collision and issues between the main characters and the problems that are waiting to face them. Most of the time the title sequence is the same for each season however little details will be added or taken out to make sure it represents their present location. Behind the title we see a mountain. If you watch the show, you know this mountain has resources that the group has been wanting since day 1, however, later on we find out that there is a big issue inside of the mountain. Moreover, we see locations and landmarks that correlate with this season such as the tower in Polis, the ark falling, and the forests. Not only do we see these landmarks, but we see other ones that are not in the show, for example a sunken Statue of liberty, an old/abandoned amusement park, and other old monuments. Moreover, we see the ark, which is their spaceship and original home, exploding and falling onto earth. These little details are not important to someone who hasn't watched the show but once you understand what is going on you see these correlations.
While the audience is seeing all these locations, the actors and actresses names are passing by the screen with pretty simple and slim fonts. On the other hand, not only does the audience see the locations but they also see these plans or almost blueprint-like details. For instance, you may see a mountain but then you will get a closeup in the mountain with red and white lines explaining what is there or pinpoint how many miles. These little details provide more information about what is going to occur. Most of these shots throughout this sequence are crane shots or birds eye view, although they are edited and artificially made. This helps the audience have a bigger scope of where these people are. In addition the music provides a sense of urgency but adventure, which is what mainly happens in this series. Lastly, the producer's name is put on the screen. As compared to the other movie's opening title sequence, I believe that this is probably one of the worse ones because if you have not watched the show or have no idea what it is about, you can't really have an idea what is going on. However, since it is a show you usually get a sneak peak of what is going to happen beforehand and then you see the opening title sequence, which would help someone much more. (Still my favorite though!)
Jurassic World:
This is also one of my favorite films! Not only because it is funny but the connection I had to it since I grew up watching the Jurassic park films. I finally had a movie that I could go and watch in theaters. Jurassic World was released on June 12, 2015. So to start the fun yet terrifying journey, we see a beige screen that when it zooms out becomes an egg. During this, the audience can hear this eerie and suspenseful music. However, at the same time the viewer hears a crack and can also see it. Right after this we see “Universal Pictures and Amblin entertainment presents.” This is the same font as the previous Jurassic park movies, however, instead of being black and red it is now gray and blackl. I believe that this keeps the tradition of the older movie, but the gray creates a modern look resembling that it is new. We then start to hear a slight heart beat which gradually becomes louder and louder. The egg is zoomed out to show the audience the dinosaur is trying to claw its way out of the egg.
We finally see the title. The title is the same font and color as the previous stuff, however, when the title appears the music becomes louder and stronger. In Addition, we see another egg crack and start to hear growling and animal-like noises. The camera then closes up on the original egg, We finally see this eerie, orange and yellow eye of this dinosaur. When we see this eye the heartbeat becomes much louder and rapid. At the same time the eye is getting closer to the audience. I believe that the heartbeat is an important factor to include since later on in the film the debate is whether to treat these creatures that once roamed our planet as living things or as an attraction in an amusement park. The heartbeat truly emphasizes that they are alive and should be treated as living creatures should be. The last thing we see is the eye fade out to white and hear a dinosaur growling. This opening title sequence is pretty simple and efficient. I believe that they can make it like this since so many people know the series of Jurassic park and know what it is about, however, for someone who doesn't know anything, I also believe it is good. They obviously know it is about dinosaurs and you can tell that they are being artificially made. All in all, I believe the opening title sequence is good for fans of the series and newcomers.
Overall, I saw the major differences but also the similarities between all opening title sequences, even if it was an animated film, an action movie, or a show. Some similarities are that they will always have music to fit the story and get the audience in the mood to watch this type of film. Moreover, the title is always included (DUH!) Some differences are that we see the actors names and producers, while others are much more colorful, some are in the story while others are non diegetic. The length of the sequence is also very important; some were less than a minute while others were 3 minutes. It just depends how much the director and crew want to reveal before starting the film. While sometimes these sequences are just really the title of the movie and others are part of the film, they can hook in the audience into watching the film no matter what. Overall my top three are Jurassic World, Monsters Inc, and Red notice. To me they are the most appealing. Comment down below which ones you like the most or any of your favorite movie title sequences! Have a great day and see you next time!
-Love, Lucy <3
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