Title Sequence

The Shining
http://www.artofthetitle.com/2011/10/31/the-shining/

We are shown the names of the Production Company for the film, the supporting studio and the names of the cast members. We are also given the names of some of the crew, namely the producer, the director, the executive producer, the screen-play director and also the novel upon which the movie is based

The visuals appear to tell the audience nothing about the movie. It gives little if anything away. We are given long shots of beautiful scenery like clear calm rivers or high angle shots of secluded country roads. Whilst these may appear irrelevant to the movie, they have significant connotations to them as to what to expect in the movie. A key element of any psychological horror is creating seclusion between the victim and any form of refuge. The first scene shows a clear river with an oasis of plants and trees dead in the middle. This image may indicate the theme of seclusion that continues in the title sequence. The yellow car we follow is the only live object in the entire sequence beside a car that passes by – in the other direction. The director has clearly used very subtle indicators of loneliness and isolation to create a light element of fear in the audience. Thought the shots are very bright and undoubtedly beautiful, they are juxtaposed by the slight fear and prospect that the car is travelling to a place of no help, refuge and witnesses

The most prominent and significant element to the opening sequence is the background music. A tenor brass instrument is used initially, which appears quite neutral. It does not create any element of fear, it just carries with the rest of the sequence, but then an eerie screech accompanies it which changes the entire aura of the sequence. The atmosphere of the piece goes from calm and well relaxed to peculiar and on edge. The sound is one the audience will not be able to associate with anything besides maybe previous horror movies. The audience now has a sense of expectation and anticipation of the worst, rather than being able to appreciate the juxtaposing scenery

I personally feel this sequence is a bit weak, because it requires a lot of dissecting to really find relevance in some of the elements, such as the subject of the shots. Despite this, I feel the most effective part to it is the sound in the background. I think the sound creates the only real effect in the sequence, and brings out the potential horror elements in the rest of the sequence. Without the sound, the scenes would look quite alluring and comforting, but the moment the music is introduced the once beautiful scenery begins to possess sinister elements

With this in mind, we can use the idea of juxtaposition and strong musical influence to help design and shoot our own title sequence. Whilst this sequence gave a lot of pointers as to what not to do, it also gave a couple ideas of what we could do

#brainstorming