Title Research - Mae Webb

SEVEN

Here is the video for the opening title sequence of 'Seven'.

The title sequence begins with a shot of a book with the pages turning and the name of the production company. There is non diagetic music playing which sounds quite intense as it has a heavy beat throughout.



The names appear with the beat of the sound and flicker making it look distorted. They also appear over the top of images but on a black background so you can clearly see the writing.

                                       

                                                                       

After this two names appear on a completely black background with nothing else, suggesting they are the main characters as we are forced to only focus on the names.
These names also flicker suggesting there is something dark, the music adds to this and it has a high pitch tone throughout 
making it seem eerie.





       




In between these titles there is extreme close ups of quite disturbing images creating a sinister atmosphere. There is also many shots of a persons hands but we don't ever see the persons face creating mystery.                                                                                                                                                                    

The title itself appears half way through the title sequence and is very distorted which hints that there is something sinister going on and the film will not be straightforward. It appears very small on a black background, then flicks to a bigger title and then back to the smaller one. The white on black background makes it easy to read and it stands out but also creates mystery because it does not give anything away. The actual use of the number '7' in the title highlights the fact that the number 7 is an important aspect in the film.

The titles are in a hand-written font, which fits in with the clips as we see someone writing. 
The titles are also always in the corner of the
screen when over an image to avoid covering 
it up. 






Towards the end of the title sequence there are groups of

names on a black background appearing between extreme

close up shots. This creates suspense as it only gives away so

much and the clips get shorter. This also creates enigma as not

much is revealed to the audience and the clips are only 2-3

seconds long, making them wonder what is going on and what 
the significance of the clips is.
The clips and the titles continue to flicker throughout creating more distortion and mystery.                                                            

There are a few hints of the colour red throughout the title sequence, but everything else seems to be quite dull and low key lighting so it stands out. Red is associated with blood and this hints that it may be of importance in the film.

The repetition of the book that was shown at the beginning highlights it's importance and creates enigma as the audience want to know what book it is/what it says.

At the end of the title sequence the non-diagetic music is very loud and tense as it builds up to a point. It is quite in your face and dis-jointed which is parallel to the images as the titles become more and more distorted. At the end other words also appear behind the titles on the black screen for example 'REPENT' which gives the audience an idea of what the film may entail, for example the word repent is associated with religion and God, but also with people who have committed sins.

THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES

Here is the title sequence 

• Having this at the beginning of the title sequence has a big effect because it automatically draws the audience into the film as they know there is reality in the film. There is very eerie non-diegetic sound over the clips, which has a high pitched tone throughout and sounds of fluttering and buzzing, there are also a really sinister sounding piano keys played at random moments with clashing notes which creates a very disturbing atmosphere.

• This shot is an extreme long shot, birds eye view of a town, this suggests there is something looming over the town and that perhaps something bad is going to happen. The eerie non-diagetic music continues over this shot continuing the sinister atmosphere.

• During the establishing shot a cloud comes into the frame and covers it, this is then used as a transition into the next shot as the screen goes to white and then various shots of shapes which are unclear morph into each other, creating an unknown feeling and raises questions. A graphic match is also used from this to the next shot.

• The next shot shows a worms eye view of a ceiling with two rows of lights on which is part of the graphic match from the previous shot, this makes the sequence flow as each shot cleverly transforms into the next, which suggests that one thing may lead to another in the film and there may be a series of bad events about to unfold. The camera tracks along which creates the feeling that someone is in a hospital bed being wheeled along giving the audience a feeling straight away that something bad has happened creating suspense as they don't know what. The non-diagetic sound also continues however there is a heavy breathing sound that comes in over the top which builds the tension and draws the audience in.

• A bright white flash then appears from this shot and the next shot appears, the flash may suggest death as often people who have had near death experiences say that they witnessed a bright light before, and it is often associated with death or unconsciousness. There is also then a really high pitched ringing over the non-diegetic sound which gets louder, creating an uneasy mood as it's quite a deafening sound.

• The non-diegetic sound cuts off here and the equilibrium begins and things appear normal, we see a close up of a man as he pulls the phone away from his ear and says "Jesus", turning the non-diegetic sound into diegetic sound as it's in the 'film world'. The depth of field focuses on the phone and makes the male character blurred suggesting that the phone call is of importance.

THE GAME

Here is the title sequence

The title for this film was very interesting. Firstly, writing appears revealing the film company and producer, this then breaks into lots of different puzzle pieces, which creates mystery for the audience as they do not know the reasoning behind it. Underneath this puzzle effect the title 'The Game' appears, in a very simple font with white writing on black not giving much away, the audience may then connect it with the puzzles which is a physical game. The puzzle pieces also communicate the idea that the film requires the audience to fit pieces of information together and may foreshadow that things are broken and have fallen apart. There is also non-diegetic sound over the top of the puzzle pieces breaking apart, which enhances the idea of things being broken. This also creates quite an eerie feeling.