TITLE SEQUENCES
DAWN OF THE DEAD
Dawn of the Dead title sequence consists of many shots and types of angles. The title sequence has a focus on the colours Red, black and grey. These colours are very traditional in horror films.
The colour of red connotes blood, gore and danger whereas black connotes death and depression. The styles of the titles themselves are shown drenched in blood. The font is a bold san serif text. Blood appears to sweep the text away connoting that the film is violent and gory.
The sequences show many scenes of fighting and distress that sets a suspenseful and tense viewing for the audience. We are shown a glance of the zombies, this timing makes the title sequence look more thrilling as the audience will not know what might randomly appear after the text has shown. This increases the attention of the audience. The use of fast paced shots creates suspense.
The style of the title is bold and red to show the importance of the letters. 'Dawn and Dead" are shown in big bold letters which indicates what the film is about. The title ‘dawn of the dead’ connotes the meaning of the dead waking up. The word ‘dead’ is a depressing and dark phrase that already sets the theme of the film and provides the audience with what type of genre the film is. This engages the reader.
HOSTAGE
This title sequence relies much upon its dark and gloomy colour scheme. One of the main colours used is red; this possibly connotes blood and therefore provides viewers with an insight into the movie. The colour Black is very enigmatic. It is a mysterious colour as it is used to make shadows as well as objects that viewers find hard to imagine what they are and so creates suspense and tension for the viewer. Enigma is a common convention of the thriller genre. The black may also connote darkness, dark heartedness from the villains or even possibly a night scene. All of these contribute to the suspense that the viewer endures.
The graphic imaged backgrounds are bold with negative and positive colours being shown. The picture is not soft and easy on the eye and appears to be more aggressive and violent than films of other genres such as a romance or an adventure film. The title sequence also has an image representing a Gunman. This is also another common convention and connotes that there will definitely be violence. The angle of this image pans upwards, making the viewer feel threatened and inferior. The graphic images are similar to images of a comic novel.
A house is identified and highlighted in red; this suggests that this is the house of the target the villains wish to take hostage. The Red house connotes the aim mark of a gun. The Titles are also clearly laid out within the scenery of the background.
This film is clearly set within America, we can tell this as the houses appear to be traditionally built in an American style. The police car is very contrasting to an English police car. The Main title ‘Hostage’ reveals specs of blood showing that there will be violence and gore within the movie. The Titles sequence makes the viewer feel that someone is watching something or someone. There is a Wide variety of camera angles and shots including panning, point of view, tracking, low and high angle shots.
This title sequence clearly represents and is introducing a film of a violent and fast paced genre such as a Thriller.
ALIENS
The major way of how this title sequence creates tension is through its use of low key colours. These colours are used to replicate a night sky. This creates mystery as viewers are placed in an extra terrestrial setting. The setting is dark and unusual and so places the viewer in a feeling of false security and so viewers may become anxious and tense. This scene possibly gives the audience a spectacle of the atmosphere and scenery of space.
In the title of ‘Aliens’, the ‘I’ glows and is in contrast with the rest of the scene. This may represent the moon or an eye of an alien peering at the audience. This creates fear and suspense for the viewer. The titles are clear and presented with a bold font. This is in contrast to the background. The font colour is white and so stands out and grabs the viewer’s attention.
A similar background has been used in many of the title backdrops. Little clues have been given about the aliens themselves and do not provide the audience with any insight into what the movie will present them with. This creates suspense and false sense of security. The angles and camera shots in this title sequence have been kept constant throughout.
