Structure of Openings Lesson

There are 3 main structures to title sequences; the discrete title sequence, the title sequence wehere the titles appear over a black screen, then the film begins, and the title sequence which appears over the start of the film.

Discrete Title Sequences
Discrete title sequences are separately edited sequences that stand apart from the film opening. They are stylised and heavily edited, and they support nearly all of the opening credits and film title.


Enemy of the State (1998)

Arlington Road (1999)

Seven (1995)

Narrative Openings

The Shining (1980)

Panic Room (2002)

Credits over a blank screen


Donnie Darko (2001)

Dead Calm (1989)

Stylised Editing

I've included a fourth style of film opening which is amazingly stylised.  Here are a couple of film openings that stand out because the editing is so sophisticated. This will take a very long time in post production if you wish to attempt anything similar so you need to be well planned

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

Mezrine (2008)

Film Openings Lesson 1

Psycho (1960)
Apart from being one of the most famous thrillers of all time, Psycho uses what is known as the 'Classic Opening' at the start of the film.  We get a wide shot of a city scape, we cut to a shot of a building, then to a window in the building, then to a room in the building, where we finally meet one of the key characters of the film.  This type of classic sequence tells us a lot about the film to follow: the location, the type of area in which the film is set, the key characters, what the key character does etc.
Here is the opening to Psycho (note - it has a very stylish, and quite long title sequence before the film actually starts!)

Trainspotting (1996)
Great for introducing the characters.

One Hour Photo (2002)
Quite a slow opening but introduces character, nice (if brief) titles and shot in such a still and precise way it tells us a lot about the main character.

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

This is a very quick paced opening with quite a lot of action, a lot of edits and a very aggressive soundtrack.  The editing tells us a lot about the way the criminals work - sleek, swift and clever.

Unknown (2011)

This opening is almost a reverse of the classic opening; we start with a view out of the window, then zoom out to see the 'room' (or plane in this case) in which the protagonist is sitting. We're then plunged straight into the narrative. I've put 7 minutes ont he blog; it's worth watching and noticing all the little things that start to go wrong before the main crash. The audience are slowly drawn into the disaster.

Watching Documentary Questions & Clips

Watching Questions

Here is the 'Watching' documentary which explores the opening title sequences to films.  As an extra blogging extension exercise, you could watch this and make notes, or answer the questions above.  It will give you more ideas about how to make your own Thriller opening.
Watching Documentary Part 1

Watching Documentary Part 2

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is a term to describe the visual referencing between films. Quite literally, films 'borrow' from each other, and we as the audience may recognise certain camera angles, aspects of mise en scene, snippets of sound or methods of editing in some films that we have seen in others. Indeed, it is argued that our understanding of a film is formed by other films that we have seen. 

Below is the famous 'shower scene' from Psycho. Countless films have borrowed from this famous scene. See if you can spot the visual references in the clips that follow, but also try to think whether you were aware of them anyway.  If so, where from?

Psycho (1960)

The Stepfather (2009)

What Lies Beneath (2001)

Fatal Attraction (1987)

Succubus (student film opening)

The Roommate (2011)

Analysing Title Sequences Lesson

These sequences are to be used in the lesson where you actually look at the title seqeunce itself and analyse the order in which titles appear.
The Roommate (2011)

The Stepfather (2009)

Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

Memento (2000)

Marathon Man (1976)

Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)

Shot By Shot Remakes

Here are clips for you to use when you create your 'shot by shot remake.' You'll be asked to view one clip, to storyboard it accurately, then film it using exactly the same shots.

Reservoir Dogs (1992)



The Killers (2010)

Collateral (2004)

Juno (2007)

Foley Sound Effects

Foley sound is sound that is added to a film during post production.  It can include footsteps, the rustle of clothes, placing a glass on a table etc etc.  Take a look at this clip to see how foley sound is created.