Similarities between opening sequences

In class we have been talking much about opening sequences and the creation of them. Everyone in the class got to show on off there favourite scene and explain what they think about it and so on. There were a big mix between different scenes and a mix between both horror and thriller, some were really gore and some were just psychological but some were not really scary at all. What I mean is that some opening title sequences are not made to create to much tension more to reveal what the story line is about and to introduce the characters in the movie.

One opening scene that I really liked was the opening sequence for “Kill Bill” I wasn’t any titles in it so it was just an opening title sequences but you could easily make it as an title sequence. They used some good techniques such as black and white to show that it’s past time, close-ups to show the emotions and details well but also in the end of the sequence the man shoots the girl in the middle of an sentence which is a really unexpected move and a good way to surprise and scare the audience.

Link: Kill Bill opening scene

(Kill Bill opening scene)

One opening sequence that we look at was really looking like the opening scene of “The shinning” showing that after thirty years we still use the same methods. The movie is called the “crimson river” and when the opening title sequence begins they are following a car driving on country road while the titles are being shown, exactly the same as they do in the opening scene of the shinning. But you can at the same time see that there is a different between them seeing the time difference between the movies. The tiles are different and the positions of them, also the car shows that they take place in different decades.

I linked the both opening title sequences below for you to take a look for you self and see what you think about it.

Link: The crimson river opening title sequence

Link: The shinning opening title sequence

The history of horror and its genre

The history of horror and thrillers goes quite a long way back in time and it developed in small steps and is now what it is today.

It all began in 1925 when the Phantom of the opera was released and it was all classical but no sound and black and white. Later around 1929 the film Dracula was released which was made under a more cheaper production due to the wall street crises but still made a big success. Dracula was shown as more gracious and became more accepted among the population. Dracula was also one of the first horror movies with sound and was described as the new super horror film, which was much thanks to the supernatural and mystery in the movie.

A man to thank for the special effects and the good makeup was a man called “Lon Chaney”. He spend many hours of recreations ideas for the perfect look, he planed everything in detail and was very précis. He came up with different ideas such as turn up noses with the help of a string, a glass eye that was used in one of the movie which was actually put in front of a normal eye.

After Dracula a new movie was created shortly after and was released as Frankenstein which was played by a man called Boris Karloff. This created a big interest for horror movies but this movie was band in some states in America because of a child being thrown into a river. But after these specific films, Dracula and Frankenstein a new innovation of ideas started throughout the companies in the industry. And it was clear that monsters and special effects were the big thing and something that the audience craved for. There for also a movie called mystery of the wax museum which was produced in 1933 how also became a success.

Many of these films has been recreated both just some shortly years after but also modern versions. This shows how the classics actually have made an impact on the industry for example was there now a new release of the mystery of the wax museum a few years ago called the wax museum. So even though the industry is today filled with horrors and thrillers its actually the classics the most of us remember and is also influencing most of the movies made today.

The creation of title sequences

There is a range of different opening sequences out there in the big pile of movies and therefore there is also a lot of people working with creating just title sequences. I’m going to tell you about two famous title sequence creators that have had a big impact on media.

The first guy is named Kyle Cooper and is a modern designer and has done so many famous opening scenes, commercial clips and so on. This guy is amazing and really focus on the fact that it always action happening and in the end everything is often linked together. Kyle Cooper now has his own company called “prologue” which he started around 2003. The list above is just some of the famous works he have done
- Spider man 1&2
- Seven
- the incredible hulk
- superman returns
- The orphan

And much more is will give you guys a link with a video showing most of his famous work which is four minutes long. Kyle Cooper is described as having had a big impact on the industry and thanks to his success and great work his is being compared to a man named Saul Bass which is the other man I was intending on telling you about.
Link: Kyle Cooper and some of his work                     
(Picture of Kyle Cooper)

Saul Bass died in 1996 and is seen as a ledged in the industry and is best known of his animation of openings sequences. And has work with famous people such as Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick and many others. This man has designed many logos for different companies such as continental airlines and A&T which are known worldwide.

Saul Bass had his breakthrough by doing the title sequence to “the man with the golden arm” and after that many of his works got famous worldwide. Some other work he has done is:
- Around the world in eighty days
-Psycho
- Ocean’s eleven

And many other there is a big list of movies which he has made the title sequence to and most of them you probably have seen.
(Picture Saul Bass)

Ghost Ship opening scene

This is one of my favorit opening scenes
Link: Ghost Ship opening scene
The film is a horror film that involves ghosts and myths and is also mysterious and was released. In the beginning it is all about what has happened on the ship years before so basically no one in the beginning are a important character except for the little girl how is later a ghost when we see her again.

One thing that is really important to this scene is the music, it really creates the mood of the whole beginning of the movie. They are using different kind of shots, in the beginning there is a helicopter shot to show the position and surroundings and the boat itself. After that there are different kinds of close-up and mid shots used. The camera is giving the little girl privileged of camera time showing that she is one of the important characters and there is even a point of view shot watching the man she is dancing with die.

I like this scene because of the totally unexpected things that is about to happened and that the atmosphere is very different from what you expect it to be in a horror movie. Everything is happy and calm and when then later everybody gets killed it is just really unsuspected.  But what I think is good is that you are in a way not waiting for the action it just comes right away.

This kind of scene would be hard to do with the equipment we have but detail shots and close-ups that there are using is techniques to remember. Also to remember is how important it is depending on which sound you are using and what it does to the audience.

Opening sequence

For next week I’m suppose to write about a opening scene of a horror or a thriller that I like. What I’m also is looking for is techniques that my group and I may have the possibility to imply in our opening scene. By looking through a couple of opening title scenes I realized what actually caches my interest in the different scenes and what I find most effective.

The first scene I looked at was the opening scene of “the shining”.
The opening title scene of the shinning was basic if you just look at what is shown in the scene; a car driving along the road and at the same time as the surroundings is shown. But I and my group could never do something like this. What I mean is that the whole opening scene is filmed from a helicopter which we don’t really have a possibility to use.

I didn’t really like this scene even though it was beautiful film because it really didn’t give anything away of the story not even a single character the only thing that is reviled is that time is passing by. The good thing about it is that it makes you curios of where the car is going but not really anything else.

Link: Opening scene, the shining

The next sequence I looked at was one of the ones that I really liked which was the opening scene of “seven”. It really sets you into this creepy mood and the music is one of the best used sounds I think. The sound starts off with this quite background music then small sound bridges of horrifying sounds are added. The graphics is also really well shown and it looks smooth and not disturbing the action and the graphics also likes like a child’s handwriting making it more creepy and realistic.

Through out the whole sequence they are only using extreme close-ups giving away a bit of the story but not anything of the character. This is a great and easy way to get a big impact on your audience and is something that I and my group could use when doing out project. Every little thing that is shown throughout the sequence are giving small clues about a person that is obsessed with different things and you also make a conclusion that he’s going to be the reason for any killings or action in the movie.  This really makes you stay and want to watch the whole movie and that is exactly what I think a opening sequence should be doing.

Link: Opening scene, seven

I looked through many other openings sequences from films as “dead mans shoes”, “twenty eight weeks later” and “final call” the very different from each other and used a lot of different teqniqes to learn from.

But the one I choose to tell about was the opening title scene from a movie called “Ghost ship”. I like this scene because of the totally unexpected things that is about to happened and that the atmosphere is very different from what you expect it to be. Everything is like happy and calm and when then later everybody gets killed it is a kind of chocking.  But what I think is good is that you are in a way not waiting for the action it just comes right away.

I also like that this is actually past time even though you don’t get that right away because after this there is a time difference of maybe teen-twenty years.

Even though they are using techniques as helicopter and so on the kind of close-up shots and shots showing details is great thing we could use for our opening scene. When watching for a great opening scene I’m looking for things that I think is scary but it’s also those kinds of things that make me interested in a movie like teasers, calm and relaxing and a lot of close-up and details shots. A more detailed analyze of ghost ship will also be published.
Link: Opening scen, Ghost ship

Horror and thriller board

By the red dividing line you can see the difference between the thriller and horror genre.
To explain thriller movies with pictures is not easy so I will link the trailer from disturbia which i think explains the thriller genre pretty well. Because a thriller can not be described by pictures with blod it is much more complicated. Thrillers are more about the physcological and reflect the reality quite well.

Link: Disturia trailer

Mood Board

To get a good idea for a thriller you can always start by taking your own fears.
I'm scared of a lot of things but her i some of them

-Conspiracy
-Broken bones

-Bones sticking out

-Tortures

-Claustrophobic

-Silence

-Old food and flies

-Flashback

- Weird eyes

Below is a good movie that i things contains many of the things i think is uncomfterbal to whatch.

Link: Frozen movie trailer

Another movie I think contais a lot of things like flashback, old food and so on is the movie a linked below
Link:Ghost Ship opening scene