Sunday, 3 November 2013
The History of the Thriller Genre
The thriller movie's aim has always been to create 'suspense, tension and excitement' for the audience.
One of the earliest thriller movies was the silent movie titled 'Safety Last!' (1923). To create the typical thriller emotions for the viewer, score seems to play a big part in this film, as well as actor performance.
Several scenes highlight this. In the first ten minutes of the film, the protagonist gets locked in the back of the van. As soon as the doors close, the score becomes dramatic, almost pleonastic to the protagonist's actions. The actor, compared to today's standards, appears to overact, however, as there is a lack of dialogue, this would be to help the audience understand clearly how the protagonist is feeling. We get several long shots of the protagonist, to see his actions, like hitting the van, showing us he's desperate to get out. We also get a close up of his face, showing us his worry. These help the viewer feel tense.
Another scene later on, the most famous scene from the film, is where the protagonist climbs a building. The scene is around 20 minutes long, but the most dramatic part is where he's near the top and hangs off the clock. The higher the protagonist climbs, the higher the notes are in the score, also the tempo increases, adding to the suspense. The score reaches a dramatic climax as the protagonist hangs off the clock. Again, close ups and long shots of the protagonist show us his terror.
Alfred Hitchcock is famous for being a pioneer in the thriller genre, his first thriller film 'The Lodger' (1927) would start his career of thriller films, creating and inventing techniques to maximise the viewer's anxiety and fear, which are used to this day.
Hitchcock's 'Rear Window' (1954) is considered one of his best films.
This scene starts with a very long cut, lasting a hole minute, then a couple of long cuts follow. The long cuts create suspense, as the viewer anticipates something to happen, due to the nature of the genre. When we cut to the point of view of the protagonist, the score stops, creating tension. The man in the apartment appears to have knives, this creates enigmas. The background noise of outside adds realism. At the end of the scene, the close up of the protagonist's face shows us that he has the same ideas as we do, making the audience feel like they are figuring it out along with the protagonist.
In this scene, sound has an important role. Your can hear the the footsteps of the antagonist climbing the stairs in the background, making the viewer tense as he gets closer with every step. Also, the phone goes off suddenly, making the viewer jump, which then makes them even more tense. A close up of the door, showing the light under it going out creates even more tension, as the viewer knows he is right outside. The low key lighting as the antagonist walks in the room, just lighting part of his face, shows the audience he is a shadowy figure and the 'bad guy'. This scene highlights the fact that small details can be just as, or even more effective at creating suspense and tension then obvious techniques.
A good film to compare older thrillers to more contemporary thrillers, and show the differences to thrillers now, would be 'Disturbia' (2007), as it is inspired by 'Rear Window'. The films shows us that there are several techniques which are still used today, and others which a clearly modern day versions of original techniques, trying to maximise the tension and suspense of the audience with technological enhancements and new ideas.
This scene uses kinetic camera work, unlike in 'Rear Window', by the cameraman and the protagonist, making the scene feel more real, making it even more tense for the viewer. The video camera used by the protagonist, when its shaky and zooms in, reveal less about what is going on then the camera in 'Rear Window' did, creating even more tension. The dramatic score, going silent when the antagonist can't be seen, and kicking back in when he returns, is similar to older thrillers, except the the score seems even more dramatic and screechy in this contemporary thriller. More and shorter cuts, and a quick dolly shot create an even faster pace, pumping the viewer with tension. The score quiets down when the protagonist looses the antagonist, but jumps right back in again when he is spotted, making the viewer jump. Overall, this scene shows us that today we still retain elements of Lloyd's and Hitchcock's work, but also have made our own improvements to create the most thrilling scenes possible.
One of the earliest thriller movies was the silent movie titled 'Safety Last!' (1923). To create the typical thriller emotions for the viewer, score seems to play a big part in this film, as well as actor performance.
Several scenes highlight this. In the first ten minutes of the film, the protagonist gets locked in the back of the van. As soon as the doors close, the score becomes dramatic, almost pleonastic to the protagonist's actions. The actor, compared to today's standards, appears to overact, however, as there is a lack of dialogue, this would be to help the audience understand clearly how the protagonist is feeling. We get several long shots of the protagonist, to see his actions, like hitting the van, showing us he's desperate to get out. We also get a close up of his face, showing us his worry. These help the viewer feel tense.
Another scene later on, the most famous scene from the film, is where the protagonist climbs a building. The scene is around 20 minutes long, but the most dramatic part is where he's near the top and hangs off the clock. The higher the protagonist climbs, the higher the notes are in the score, also the tempo increases, adding to the suspense. The score reaches a dramatic climax as the protagonist hangs off the clock. Again, close ups and long shots of the protagonist show us his terror.
Alfred Hitchcock is famous for being a pioneer in the thriller genre, his first thriller film 'The Lodger' (1927) would start his career of thriller films, creating and inventing techniques to maximise the viewer's anxiety and fear, which are used to this day.
Hitchcock's 'Rear Window' (1954) is considered one of his best films.
This scene starts with a very long cut, lasting a hole minute, then a couple of long cuts follow. The long cuts create suspense, as the viewer anticipates something to happen, due to the nature of the genre. When we cut to the point of view of the protagonist, the score stops, creating tension. The man in the apartment appears to have knives, this creates enigmas. The background noise of outside adds realism. At the end of the scene, the close up of the protagonist's face shows us that he has the same ideas as we do, making the audience feel like they are figuring it out along with the protagonist.
In this scene, sound has an important role. Your can hear the the footsteps of the antagonist climbing the stairs in the background, making the viewer tense as he gets closer with every step. Also, the phone goes off suddenly, making the viewer jump, which then makes them even more tense. A close up of the door, showing the light under it going out creates even more tension, as the viewer knows he is right outside. The low key lighting as the antagonist walks in the room, just lighting part of his face, shows the audience he is a shadowy figure and the 'bad guy'. This scene highlights the fact that small details can be just as, or even more effective at creating suspense and tension then obvious techniques.
A good film to compare older thrillers to more contemporary thrillers, and show the differences to thrillers now, would be 'Disturbia' (2007), as it is inspired by 'Rear Window'. The films shows us that there are several techniques which are still used today, and others which a clearly modern day versions of original techniques, trying to maximise the tension and suspense of the audience with technological enhancements and new ideas.
This scene uses kinetic camera work, unlike in 'Rear Window', by the cameraman and the protagonist, making the scene feel more real, making it even more tense for the viewer. The video camera used by the protagonist, when its shaky and zooms in, reveal less about what is going on then the camera in 'Rear Window' did, creating even more tension. The dramatic score, going silent when the antagonist can't be seen, and kicking back in when he returns, is similar to older thrillers, except the the score seems even more dramatic and screechy in this contemporary thriller. More and shorter cuts, and a quick dolly shot create an even faster pace, pumping the viewer with tension. The score quiets down when the protagonist looses the antagonist, but jumps right back in again when he is spotted, making the viewer jump. Overall, this scene shows us that today we still retain elements of Lloyd's and Hitchcock's work, but also have made our own improvements to create the most thrilling scenes possible.
Thriller Sub genres
A thriller film is never just classed as a thriller. It will most probably be one, or several Sub genres of thriller. Here are some examples:
- Action Thriller - Majority of the focus is on action
- Conspiracy Thriller - A protagonist, usually by themselves (as they only realise the threat), must confront a powerful organisation
- Crime Thriller - Tends to be of the point of view of the criminal, as they try to allude the police, and only at the end of the film do all the pieces fit together, usually
- Disaster Thriller - A natural disaster takes place, and the protagonist(s) trys to stop it, or just save themselves from it
- Legal Thriller - Takes place in and around a courtroom, centring usually around a lawyer and a case that may end in death for the lawyer or client
- Political Thriller - Focus on a hero/heroine ensuring the stability of a government, usually previously low down
- Psychological Thriller - A mental conflict, rather than physical conflict for the protagonist
- Supernatural Thriller - The supernatural tends to be the antagonist, or the protagonists may have supernatural abilities
- Techno Thriller - Technology an important role, works either with or against the protagonist
For our own film, some genres would be easier to achieve than others. A sub genre I would like to do is a Psychological Thriller. A Psychological Thriller would be interesting to do because of the enigmas and red herrings, letting you play with the audience, and it seems to feed into other sub genres.
Looking at a scene from the Psychological Thriller film Se7en, you can see some Psychological themes.
This scene starts with a kinetic camera, making the viewer disorientated, and adding realism. Tilting up to the masses of air fresheners, this starts to raise some questions, as it isn't a normal thing to do. The dramatic drone score really makes the viewer tense, especially where it crescendos when the camera dollys backwards from the torches, into the room. The slow reveal of what's in the room increases the suspense, with long cuts. The low key lighting of the room makes the scene feel realistic and dull. Several enigmas are set up in the next few shots, like the dolly into the word SLOTH written on the wall, the photographs of the victim, the jars of their waste. Close ups of several props and the victim makes the audience fell like detectives, trying to analyse every detail to try and figure things out. When the body moves, it is followed by fast cuts and more dramatic score, making the audience terrified.
Looking at a scene from the Psychological Thriller film Se7en, you can see some Psychological themes.
This scene starts with a kinetic camera, making the viewer disorientated, and adding realism. Tilting up to the masses of air fresheners, this starts to raise some questions, as it isn't a normal thing to do. The dramatic drone score really makes the viewer tense, especially where it crescendos when the camera dollys backwards from the torches, into the room. The slow reveal of what's in the room increases the suspense, with long cuts. The low key lighting of the room makes the scene feel realistic and dull. Several enigmas are set up in the next few shots, like the dolly into the word SLOTH written on the wall, the photographs of the victim, the jars of their waste. Close ups of several props and the victim makes the audience fell like detectives, trying to analyse every detail to try and figure things out. When the body moves, it is followed by fast cuts and more dramatic score, making the audience terrified.
Saturday, 2 November 2013
Thriller analysis of different sub genre
This opening sequence is in a different sub genre compared to the two that i have already analyzed, this movie is more of a social-realism/ crime sub genre of thriller and it is titled London to Brighton.
Right at the beginning of the scene we can established that something bad has just happened and that the girls are at risk of someone or something, we can see that the young protagonist girl is in pain and scared. We also begin to see the two girls relationship, the older is looking after and providing for the younger, which is demonstrated by the older woman getting the food and the money for the train. Very early on the audience will be asking questions like why is there a young girl with an old woman? Why is she wearing makeup? Why does the older one have a bruise? why are they both so dirty? What are they doing so early in the morning? These are enigmas which are creating mystery and a drive to want to find out whats happening felt by the audience. The narrative seems to be just dropped in the middle of the story with out a propper introduction and scene setting, this is used in thriller plots sometimes so that the audience find out pieces of the puzzle bit by bit later on and fit them all together at the end, this is done through flashbacks and discovering.
A non linear narrative is present- it begins to abruptly; we slowly learn about the characters and the possible antagonist with references to him like "what about that man Derrick?" or "what will that man do?" We realise the older woman is caring and helpful but also that she sells herself which might be and oxymoron because we would expect her character to be low in terms of moral standards and selfishness, which is a connotation of her character, however she is not. We can pick out numerous details from the diallogue, like the girl is expecting money for something she must have done "what about my money?" the audience judge the characters and because the young girl wants money and is with effectively a prostitute, then certain thoughts may be going through peoples minds. At this point in the narrative, we have the opposite of dramatic irony and narrative withholding because the characters know more than us. Another example of judgement is towards the girl, she is so young and up to no good, people may be thinking where are her parents? She is also frightened of something most likely the man Derrick for reasons which we don't know yet. The camera shots are kinetic and moving all the time which suggests panic and rush, further augmented by the elliptical edits which condense time down time very quickly and also add a feeling of hurry, a lot happens in the 3 minutes those feelings are absorbed in the narrative which then reflects out as tension. Finally we get the film title right at the end of the introduction with some asynchronous screaming in the back ground setting a sort of depressing tone.
This analysis has also given me good idea's especially in the use of enigma's, me and my partner have decided to layer our opening sequence with enigma's so that the audience will try and figure out what and why some things happen, for example in our opening sequence we will have one of the main characters underground with a candle, this will lead the audience to possibly think why is he there? We will then reveal this enigma by the character recording and studying signs and symbols to figure out his own enigma, which will also lead to another enigma and another and so on, so that the audience will always be tense trying to crack the code of what is actually happening.
Conventions and analysis of opening sequence and thriller + enigma's.
We start of with an ident of vertigo films over black followed by the fundee's 'UK film Council' and 'The National Lottery', the next section is also about the above with a difference of the presence of a presents which begins the focus and attention on the film, following this is a "Steel Mill Pictures & Wellington films Production. The typography is simple and readable with basic font, iconography likewise, in a way this builds tension, the vagueness creates a feeling of suspense and mystery as to what is about to happen, which further exploited by no use of score, this is making the audience settle down and turn their minds towards the film. Of course during those titles only important information and main credits are displayed, unlike some older movies that have credits appearing at the start. We see a tableau: "London 3:07 am" which begins laying down narrative, creating story and clarifying location plus time, suspense is low, already at this some of the audience may begin to wonder why its set so early because 3:07 is not a usual time for things to be happening. Right at the beginning of the scene we can established that something bad has just happened and that the girls are at risk of someone or something, we can see that the young protagonist girl is in pain and scared. We also begin to see the two girls relationship, the older is looking after and providing for the younger, which is demonstrated by the older woman getting the food and the money for the train. Very early on the audience will be asking questions like why is there a young girl with an old woman? Why is she wearing makeup? Why does the older one have a bruise? why are they both so dirty? What are they doing so early in the morning? These are enigmas which are creating mystery and a drive to want to find out whats happening felt by the audience. The narrative seems to be just dropped in the middle of the story with out a propper introduction and scene setting, this is used in thriller plots sometimes so that the audience find out pieces of the puzzle bit by bit later on and fit them all together at the end, this is done through flashbacks and discovering.
A non linear narrative is present- it begins to abruptly; we slowly learn about the characters and the possible antagonist with references to him like "what about that man Derrick?" or "what will that man do?" We realise the older woman is caring and helpful but also that she sells herself which might be and oxymoron because we would expect her character to be low in terms of moral standards and selfishness, which is a connotation of her character, however she is not. We can pick out numerous details from the diallogue, like the girl is expecting money for something she must have done "what about my money?" the audience judge the characters and because the young girl wants money and is with effectively a prostitute, then certain thoughts may be going through peoples minds. At this point in the narrative, we have the opposite of dramatic irony and narrative withholding because the characters know more than us. Another example of judgement is towards the girl, she is so young and up to no good, people may be thinking where are her parents? She is also frightened of something most likely the man Derrick for reasons which we don't know yet. The camera shots are kinetic and moving all the time which suggests panic and rush, further augmented by the elliptical edits which condense time down time very quickly and also add a feeling of hurry, a lot happens in the 3 minutes those feelings are absorbed in the narrative which then reflects out as tension. Finally we get the film title right at the end of the introduction with some asynchronous screaming in the back ground setting a sort of depressing tone.
This analysis has also given me good idea's especially in the use of enigma's, me and my partner have decided to layer our opening sequence with enigma's so that the audience will try and figure out what and why some things happen, for example in our opening sequence we will have one of the main characters underground with a candle, this will lead the audience to possibly think why is he there? We will then reveal this enigma by the character recording and studying signs and symbols to figure out his own enigma, which will also lead to another enigma and another and so on, so that the audience will always be tense trying to crack the code of what is actually happening.
Friday, 1 November 2013
Thriller Conventions and key concepts.
Conventions
Thriller as a genre Thrillers are usually regarded as being full of suspense, tension and excitement, they are the main emotional elements that play a role on the audiences mood. Thrillers often use a high level of anticipation and a lot of expectation, uncertainty, surprise and anxiety. Another very common element in the thriller genre are the buildups, peaks and lulls of suspense, at some points the score, diagetic sounds, mise en scene, cinematography and editing are very slow, the build up in suspense gradually, until there is a sudden shocking moment with heightened everything and more adrenaline building which gradually calms; thrillers have multiple peaks and lulls sometimes in very short spaces of each other.
There are several techniques in thrillers that make them what they are
-Prolonged cross cutting
-Quick cutting montages
-Quick cutting
-Very long shots
-Close ups/ extreme close ups
-Extreme zoom shots
-Use of profile or silhouette
-Dramatic tense or foreboding scores
-Use of enigma codes -Use of action codes
-Use of dramatic irony
-Red herrings
The codes and conventions signify what we expect in a genre, thrillers have very particular conventions which if broken could easily be presumed as a different genre, as Theresa Perkins said, ’’It can be difficult to see where one genre ends and another begins’’ due to the very fine lines between each genres the conventions help us identify a thriller, ofcourse its still very complex. A common theme however is of characters being placed in menacing situations from which escape seems impossible, with the menace often being abstract, uncertain or shadowy.
Common character types are:
-Criminals
-Fugitives
-Stalkers
-Assasins
-Innocent victims caught up in events.
-Police
-Femme Fatale
Common themes include:
-Terrorism
-Political conspiracy
-Espionage
-Pursuits
-Dangerous obsessions
-Psychological crime
-Oppressive but unseen supernatural occurances.
Thriller as a genre Thrillers are usually regarded as being full of suspense, tension and excitement, they are the main emotional elements that play a role on the audiences mood. Thrillers often use a high level of anticipation and a lot of expectation, uncertainty, surprise and anxiety. Another very common element in the thriller genre are the buildups, peaks and lulls of suspense, at some points the score, diagetic sounds, mise en scene, cinematography and editing are very slow, the build up in suspense gradually, until there is a sudden shocking moment with heightened everything and more adrenaline building which gradually calms; thrillers have multiple peaks and lulls sometimes in very short spaces of each other.
-Prolonged cross cutting
-Quick cutting montages
-Quick cutting
-Very long shots
-Close ups/ extreme close ups
-Extreme zoom shots
-Use of profile or silhouette
-Dramatic tense or foreboding scores
-Use of enigma codes -Use of action codes
-Use of dramatic irony
-Red herrings
The codes and conventions signify what we expect in a genre, thrillers have very particular conventions which if broken could easily be presumed as a different genre, as Theresa Perkins said, ’’It can be difficult to see where one genre ends and another begins’’ due to the very fine lines between each genres the conventions help us identify a thriller, ofcourse its still very complex. A common theme however is of characters being placed in menacing situations from which escape seems impossible, with the menace often being abstract, uncertain or shadowy.
Common character types are:
-Criminals
-Fugitives
-Stalkers
-Assasins
-Innocent victims caught up in events.
-Police
-Femme Fatale
Common themes include:
-Terrorism
-Political conspiracy
-Espionage
-Pursuits
-Dangerous obsessions
-Psychological crime
-Oppressive but unseen supernatural occurances.
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
History of thrillers
History of thrillers:
The most prominent figure involved in the
thriller genre was Alfred Hitchcock, he didn’t start of making thriller films
and in those days the term thriller hadn’t been used, however the first of his
films we consider a thriller is “The lodger” a jack the ripper type story with
suspense, this film was released in 1926. The next one he did in 1929 was a
film called “Blackmail” this was notable for being his and Britains first sound
film. From then on Hitchock focused mainly on producing thrillers and had
several hits including “Psycho
In the 1950’s Hitchcock still continued to produce adding “Technicolour”
to his collection. He produced more
classic films like “Strangers on a Train”
in 1951 which was about two train passangers who both staged a battle of wits
and traded murders with each other. Slowly there came about non-Hitchcock
thrillers such as “Niagara” in 1953 by Henry Hathaway, this movie starred the
famous Marilyn Monroe who played a wife trying to kill her husband.
In the 1960 more and more thrillers where being created, one
by Roman Polanski released in 1965 called “Repulsion” was about a young woman
who was getting progressively crazy. A violent wave of thrillers came during
the 1970-1980 era, notably Hitchcocks “Frenzy”, “Dressed to Kill” and “Blow Out”
Over the course of film history more creative techniques (e.g vertigo shot by Alfred Hitchcock), cinematography and editing has created the movies of our day, which unlike the movies from 70 years ago spend colossal amounts of money to set up, direct and produce some now a day blockbusters. Thriller films are ever more planned and prepared to give the most thrilling experience possible, as hacking into the psychology of emotions while viewing films, has enabled now a day movies to be more enthralling.
Recently more animation films have been created due to advances in graphic technology, along with insane special effects that we now have the technology for. This has added greatly to the possibilities that thriller films can have now in the present.
David Ziolkowski
Thursday, 24 October 2013
thriller analysis old
Analysis of an old thriller opening sequence.
The opening sequence that i have analysed is from an early
silent movie called ‘The Bat’ which is a very early silent film based on a
broadway play, produced by Roland west in 1926.
The opening sequence at first starts of with a black and
white screen with the film title and producers name displayed over a grey
background, the typography is rather standard but a little bit spooky. There
are no idents, funding titles or tableaus, this conveys what films where like
in the 1920s era. Next there is a large list of important figures in the
production of the film with some common titles like ‘photographer’ and ‘score
director’ but also some uncommon ones that i'm not familiar with like
‘continuity’ and ‘settings.’ There is score however, which I suspect would be
played live when the footage was rolling-it is tense and vibrant, starting of
calm and progressing to violins and church organs which give it a very distinct
feel of early horror. The next screen we see is of the ‘players'-actors I
assume, which shows a lengthy list of about 15 different names and their
characters. There is then something I have never seen before in a film, a slide
which say's “Can you keep a secret? Don't reveal the identity of “The Bat”.
Future audiences will fully enjoy this mystery play if left to find out for
themselves.” Thats effectively saying don't spoil the film for anyone who hasn't
seen it, which is very unique and useful.
The first image we get is of two shining lights and a black
background, which creates suspense already, as the screen brightens the two lights
form a bats eyes and the rest of its body, the bat is rather scary, this fades
to a scenic view of possibly New York which has connotations of a large, policed, economic city, with a full moon out which also adds to
the suspense in making it scary as it has connotations of darkness, uncertainty and fright. The next shot is another written slide, which
sets the story and possible enigma’s. The man sitting down is very bland, and
creepy as seen by his acting of his eyes rolling around, the audience would be
looking trying to understand what is about to happen and what to expect, so a
level of anticipation is produced. All the actors are dressed in the clothes of
that time, the police uniform seems very militaristic. The camera shots and
angles are very basic, there are many medium shots and little edits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc8JsaCwn4I
I have also analysed (Collateral 2004) with Tom cruise.
There are two shots happening at the same time showing where the two characters are and them on their way to meet each other, this is very effective for the story. There are simple swipe transitions to show the lapse of time which stops the shots from getting dull. Typography is also very different and unique with a gold colour and thin font. The score isn't to fast paced, but not to relaxed, its relatively upbeat and pleasant, could definately entrance the viewer ready for the main events of the film. Simple but effective and to the point,
How this might influence my movie?
I most of all have learnt the importance of score during the title sequence, i am considering wether to make the whole project just a stand alone title sequence, with both titles and action sequences that don't reveal to much but are also tense.
Opening Sequence conventions
Right at the beginning of a title sequence you will usually get the idents, funding titles, production companies and then a list of the most important roles in creating the film usually including the director, producer, executive producer, top billing actors. Sometimes in some films as seen in one of the early James Bond's the whole list of people involved in the production is displayed including not so prioritised camera men, lighting, make up, and other less profound roles. Sometimes the title sequence will also tell a story and set the mood.
The purpose of an opening sequence is to put people in the zone of the movie, play with their emotions and introduce them to the characters, its also a good place for red herrings to be popped up. Essentially, the intro is designed to draw all attention onto the screen in an immersion of the films world; titles have the exact same effect, however there is a limit on what exactly you should do for a title sequence, however they do also serve the role to generate focus of the audience onto the screen, done through careful selection of score, typography and iconography. Mise en scene, cinematography are less common but are still used in mini stand alone sequences. The score in particular is important as it is the most influential in setting the mood, it can be played through out idents, funding titles and tableau's which means that the audiences mood can be altered with out any actual visual material.
Each opening sequence is significantly different and can create a different type of mood depending on how it is structured and how the score is used.
I have also analysed (Collateral 2004) with Tom cruise.
There are two shots happening at the same time showing where the two characters are and them on their way to meet each other, this is very effective for the story. There are simple swipe transitions to show the lapse of time which stops the shots from getting dull. Typography is also very different and unique with a gold colour and thin font. The score isn't to fast paced, but not to relaxed, its relatively upbeat and pleasant, could definately entrance the viewer ready for the main events of the film. Simple but effective and to the point,
How this might influence my movie?
I most of all have learnt the importance of score during the title sequence, i am considering wether to make the whole project just a stand alone title sequence, with both titles and action sequences that don't reveal to much but are also tense.
Opening Sequence conventions
Right at the beginning of a title sequence you will usually get the idents, funding titles, production companies and then a list of the most important roles in creating the film usually including the director, producer, executive producer, top billing actors. Sometimes in some films as seen in one of the early James Bond's the whole list of people involved in the production is displayed including not so prioritised camera men, lighting, make up, and other less profound roles. Sometimes the title sequence will also tell a story and set the mood.
The purpose of an opening sequence is to put people in the zone of the movie, play with their emotions and introduce them to the characters, its also a good place for red herrings to be popped up. Essentially, the intro is designed to draw all attention onto the screen in an immersion of the films world; titles have the exact same effect, however there is a limit on what exactly you should do for a title sequence, however they do also serve the role to generate focus of the audience onto the screen, done through careful selection of score, typography and iconography. Mise en scene, cinematography are less common but are still used in mini stand alone sequences. The score in particular is important as it is the most influential in setting the mood, it can be played through out idents, funding titles and tableau's which means that the audiences mood can be altered with out any actual visual material.
Each opening sequence is significantly different and can create a different type of mood depending on how it is structured and how the score is used.
David Ziolkowski
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