Credit Sequences

 Drama Credit Sequences

What's up Cambridge! Today I will be researching credit sequences to get inspiration for mine!

The Graduate (1967)

Directed by: Mike Nichols

Benjamin Braddock just graduated college and does not know what to do with his life. While staying at his parents' house he falls for a woman and her daughter.

At first this credit sequence looked very simple to me until I rewatched it. It starts and ends with a close-up of the protagonist looking blank and off in the distance. I really like that circular arrangement. Once Benjamin is on the moving walkway belt, he is in the right third while the credits are on the left third. I thought the entire credit sequence would be like that, but when Benjamin was moving to the left third of the screen, the credits disappeared and he replaced them. The same thing happened with the suit case on the baggage carousel once his briefcase moved from the right third to the left third of the screen. The credits were in a simple black, all captial font until Benjamin was leaving the airport and it was crowded with people moving around and smiling. The font was a slightly bigger black font with a white outline. 

The credit sequence is used to start off the movie and quickly show the protagonist going from the airplane to his home. There was also diegetic sounds of a man making airport announcements and nondigetic, soft music. This illustrates the passage of time that the crew did not deem important to include in the film to carry out its purpose and gives a clear idea to the audience what stage of life the character is in. This is a great credit sequence for films with isolated characters figuring out what to do with their life because the slow pace and the simplicity of it reflects their isolation and sense of no direction really well.

Se7en (1995)

Directed by: David Fincher

Two detectives go after a serial killer who targets people that represent one fo the seven deadly sins. 

The credits aren't immediately shown. They are shown after a ticking clock and the screen turns black. This credit sequence is used to give a taste of what kind of drama this is (horror-drama) with the scream in the background, high pitched unintelligable sound effects, unsettling music. This credit sequence is a montage with close-ups of a character putting together some sort of diary/scrapbook and has black screens fade in between clips with a glitchy neon font to show credits. The title of the crew member is shown in a simple, all capital font but for the crew member's name it is a raw, handwritten font. The credits show up in different ways and different parts of the screen. Sometimes it is tilted diagnoly and other times it is slightly curved. This chaos indicates the film may also be chaotic. Sometimes, what was shown on screen matches the music. For example, at timestamp 2:03, "God" is shown on screen while the music matches it and says "you got me closer to God."

Panic Room (2002)

Directed by: David Fincher

A mother and daughter stay in their house's safe room after three men break in to search for a missing fortune.

The production company is the first credit shown. What I find really cool about this credit sequence is how the credits are floating in the air and parallel to the skyscrapers. The font is a 3D silver, all capital font that looks like it can be a sign at the top of a skyscraper. This credit sequence has establishing shots that make it clear the film is set in a city and pans across some credits. It starts out slow paced until the movie title is shown and the music becomes more more dramatic and intense with diegetic sounds of the city traffic. However, the credit sequence slows down again at the end and shows a park, rather than the city, with the voice of a woman speaking that is most likely used as a sound bridge.

Reflection

After researching these drama film sequences, I noticed a few common things. The first credit goes to the production company. Sometimes this involves showing the company logo and other times the company's name is listed on the screen. Also, just like in The Graduate and Se7en, the credits don't immediately appear. There is a short clip of, for example, a clock ticking (Se7en) shown first. After the first few credits, which are usually the production company/team, the movie title is displayed in the same font as all the other credits. Font is a key part of the credit sequences because it establishes/matches the tone of the film. In Se7en, the glitchy, handwritten font is chaotic and reflects the chaos of the film. All the credit sequences had nondiegetic music that also sets the tone of the piece and diegetic sounds, like cars passing by (Panic Room). Together, the font and music choice plays a major role in giving audiences a taste of what the film is about. Also, each credit sequence serves a different purpose, some establish setting (Panic Room), some define the type of drama the film is (Se7en), and others show the passage of time and introduce a character/their stage of life (The Graduate).

After conducting this research I learned to pay close attention to my font and music choice. I also learned to consider what diegetic sounds and sound effects I would like to include to establish setting and tone. What I really liked about these credit sequences that I would like to consider contributing to my film opening is the way the credits can be incorporated into shot to match the shot composition. For example, how in Panic Room how the credits were parallel to the skyscrapers and in The Graduate they would disappear when something approaches the left third of the screen.

Sources:

- MovieTitles. (2020, June 15). *The Graduate (1967) title sequence* [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKEhQsTWrJg

- Rotten Tomatoes. (n.d.). *The Graduate*. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/graduate

- Alderete, A. P. (2010). *Se7en intro credits* [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD7w2l88dl8

- Rotten Tomatoes. (n.d.). *Seven*. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/seven

- Just The Titles. (2019). *Panic Room (2002) – opening title sequence* [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRriTwENZ2E

- IMDb. (n.d.). *Panic Room*. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258000/