HW 2b - Analysis of Titles in Film Openings (DYM)

Chosen Films

The opening credits to the 2012 James Bond film 'Skyfall.' Click to play.

The first title we see is the name of the production company- this transitions to the name of the star actor, and the title of the film. From there, we get the rundown of the rest of the actors of the film, before being shown the co-producers. Then there is a lengthy segment showing blocks of people on the film team- following this is more members of the film team who are important enough to be shown alone, such as the costume designer and musicians. Finally, the producers and writers are shown, and the sequence ends on the name of the director.

The titles are mainly placed where there is space. Generally this is out of the way of characters and/or in an area with basically just one colour, often a corner, so that the text stands out, with the exception of the first few titles, up to the name of the film, which are in the centre of the screen, and a few others, such as other star actors and the director.

The opening credits to the 1984 Indiana Jones film 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.' Click to play.

The first title is that of one of the production company- the next few are also production companies. After that, the star actor is named, and then the film is named. Then the rest of the important actors are shown, followed by a long gap for the visual content, with the titles picking back up again with the writers and producers. Important members of the film team and more producers are shown, ending on the director, and then a title explaining where and when the film is set.

The titles are mostly placed in the centre of the screen, sometimes slightly to the left or right. They are all approximately the same size and given the same amount of attention, except for the film name, and also the star actor and director's names. They all stand out against the background of the film.

Comparison

The films themselves actually have a few similarities, which are somewhat reflected in their title sequences. They are both franchise action films based around the exploits of a single character, and they both have similar running orders for their titles. For example, both open with the production companies, followed by the star actor and the name of the film. They both then highlight the rest of the important actors in the film, before moving into the film crew, producers and so on. This is where some differences lie, as 'Skyfall' shows a lot of different crew-members in blocks, whereas 'The Temple of Doom' only shows some of the more high-profile crew members on their own (which 'Skyfall' also does but only after the big blocks of crew.) To top it off, both sequences end on the director, with the final title of 'The Temple of Doom' being discounted as it is part of the narrative rather than the production of the film.

Both films have different aesthetics but go about presenting their titles similarly. Each film places the titles in easy-to-see places, 'Skyfall' favouring anywhere there is space and 'The Temple of Doom' keeping everything centred. Furthermore, 'Skyfall' uses stark white blocky text to ensure it stands out, whereas 'The Temple of Doom' prefers a more stylised font in a bright orange to make it visible. These choices link into the tone of each film, which the openings as a whole also reflect; 'Skyfall' remains sombre and dark, and has an interesting almost dream-like sequence apart from any actual events of the film, and 'The Temple of Doom' has a grandoise song and dance routine that is apart from the actual narrative but segues into it.