Title Sequence Clip Review

    To begin with, my favorite opening scene of the ones we have watched so far as a class is the Scream opening scene, which depicts a quiet night in a woman's household, where a flirty wrong number call turned deadly. What I found most compelling about this scene is that it establishes a pace for the movie by jumping right into the action and showing the viewer how fast the action scenes will move in the movie. I was also fascinated by the creativity in this scene because I had never seen a horror scene that was similar to this one. In addition, this scene appropriately introduced the villain as a dangerous, mysterious character who likes to have fun with his victims. I also thought the beginning of the scene was enhanced by the lettering in the title, bold red lettering beating red, to indicate the movie would be filled with bloodshed. The enhancing of the movie by these opening credits is supported by the article "First Frames: Titles in the Digital Realm," where the author praises the abilities of some to "create opening sequences that tap the heart of each film's theme and subtext," which further proves the fact that opening scenes and credits can enhance a film, and in this case the opening title adds suspense to the opening scene as one waits for the villain to strike. The visual aspects, like shadows being blown up and dim lighting in the house contribute to the eeriness in the film, and set the mood for what will happen further on in the plotline.

    The second opening scene that we watched that I enjoyed was the introduction to Space Odyssey, in which the camera pans over a dramatic space sunrise with the iconic music that accompanies this scene, which is preceded by mysterious, eerie music to create suspense as to when something will actually be shown on the screen. In 1968, the US did not have the technology to film a movie scene in space, so this scene shows early use of animation and special effects. The special effects enhance this scene because they make up this scene at it's core. The article states, "The typography and visual style created in the opening sequence can establish the mood and image system not only for the film you are about to watch, but for the poster, DVD/video packaging, web site, and all promotion and branding graphics," in reference to using special effects to better the film. This information supports the fact that the special effects enhance all of the listed parts of this film, including promotion and branding graphics, as the author states. The camera angles added suspense because there were multiple cuts between characters and space objects, and the viewer was drawn in to find out what the correlation was between these entities.

    Another introduction scene that I felt was interesting was the Jaws introduction scene, where there is a typical teen beach party late at night, and two of the teenagers, a boy and a girl, sneak away to go swim, and when the boy declines, the girl goes out deep into the water swimming. From here, the camera switches to the point of view of the shark, who is the antagonist of the film, and the shark eats the girl. My favorite part of this scene was how suspenseful the swimming of the shark to the girl was, and how the Jaws theme is incorporated into the suspense, and the viewer is left waiting to see when the music will speed up and the shark will go in for the kill. The fact that this was filmed at night and included silhouette camera angles contributed to suspense, as well as the music, for the viewer to see what these events were leading up to.

    Another introduction sequence that interested me was Apocalypse Now, which depicts an alternate reality in which the protagonist viewed his experiences in the Vietnam War as the end of the world, and the opening showed the forest burning and the military helicopters dropping Napalm, and then it fades to show the soldier in the present day trying to adjust to modern society, but unfortunately he is isolated in his home, drinking and smoking, and he is paranoid and therefore holds a gun by his bedside, which is a sad reality that most veterans live in. My favorite things about this scene were the fading in between realities of the modern world and the war to make more of a connection between the two different worlds, and that this scene made one feel sympathy for veterans that suffer like the one in the film. The slow motion camera sequences with the helicopters helped to make the viewer feel more immersed in the film, and helps the reminiscent mood of the war veteran in remembering his experiences at war.
    The final opening scene I thought was fascinating was What About Bob, which is a movie about a man with a number of phobias, which is depicted throughout this scene as he struggles to leave the house and he makes his best attempt to stay away from the walls because he is claustrophobic. What I appreciate about this scene and this movie in general is that it is very creative and lighthearted compared to the other films, and that the movie does not get too involved in the main plot solely based on the first scene, but the little variation in lighting and camera cuts in this opening sequence show the viewer that the plot will not be difficult to understand, interpret, and comprehend.

    Finally, as for my current position on selecting a short film for my project, I am still leaning towards making a magazine because I feel my words are how I best express myself, and that pictures and film can be misinterpreted. I maintain my original stance that I would rather make a magazine.