Title Research

Analysing title sequence from horror film of our chosen sub-genre -

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2010/02/22/the-thing/

- We are shown the names of the Production Company for the film and supporting studio, in this case - Universal Pictures and Turnman Foster Company Production. We are also shown the names of the main crew -  i.e Production designer, composer, D.O.P, assistant producer, screenwriter and director as well as the name of the main cast.
- The fonts used give quite a mixed up/confusing feel - all the letters are varying sizes and we see the words forming as though their being put together from something else to create a new thing. Its got quite a messy look to it and isnt particularly clear despite it being in white to contrast against the dark background.
- The visuals are very unclear - we see more shapes and shadows rather than actual images so it doesnt particularly let anything pass in terms of clues about the plot. The use of shadows is quite typical of this subgenre as the main foucs of psychological horrors is that the threat often isnt seen, instead- just the effects of the threat. All the images are very unlcear - some not focussed and very dark  -they arent lit in a way that allows us to see the image clearly. The ECUs make us really try and focus on the images but its very hard to decipher, leading us to want to watch the film and discover the plot and threat. At one point we see the shadow of fingers reaching out, however it loks very alien - its not a natural proportion as the fingers are much too long, so this gives us a clue about a possible threat.
- I think the use of quite unclear images works quite well in this case - it makes the viewer want to keep watching to uncover these images and what their seeing and i think that technique could work well in our film. I think the way the font and typography of the insitutional and cast/crew information can reflect and add to the storyline is really interesting and i hope to use a similar idea for our own title sequence. I think the title sequence is really important in setting the tone and feel of the film so i think getting ideas from sequences like this is coming in really useful in helping us with our own designs and ideas.


Catherine Middleton