Title Sequence Clip Review

     About every movie has a opening title sequence. According to Miles Merrill, film titles "set up the expectation of an audience." This is evident in movies such as The Lion King. The movie starts with the music loud and lively. It sets up the movie to be a joyful movie with a lesson to learn. In Apocalypse Now, the opening scene gave a sense of destruction among the calmness. In almost every movie clip we watched, there was a song to accompany the title sequence. With every song, the music set the mood of the movie. In Pulp Fiction, the upbeat music (along with the font of the letters) designed the framework of the movie. Although the introduction of each movie is the sneak peek of the movie, it does not let the audience know too much about what will happen so it does not end up spoiling it. 

    My initial impression of the clips we watched was entertained at everything I was watching. As discussions developed in the class, I realized each opening scene had a purpose. Just like Miles Merrill states, "the opening sequence can establish the mood and image system" of the film you are about to watch. This is apparent in a couple of the movie clips we watched in class. In Scream, right before any characters were introduced, the sound of a girl screaming was thrown at our faces. This outlines the story line of the movie because the audience knows that something bad will happen. Also, this opening sequence is a perfect example of foreshadowing. Because of the title, we know that the movie will not have a good, cheerful story line. Therefore, the instances where the antagonist is on the phone pointing out what happens in horror movies are foreshadowing. Another movie where the opening title sequence sets the mood is Saturday Night Fever. The upbeat disco music gave a sense of what the movie will be about, an upbeat disco movie. All of these examples all show how important the title sequence is to the impact of the film

    Based on the movie clips we watched in class, I will be selecting film as my portfolio project. I want to be able to create a  story in a couple of minutes by setting a tone and a mood. All of these movie clips were able to showcase a simple introduction yet still capture the essence of the movie. There are so many creative ways to do this. Through the music, the way the shots are filmed, and even through the fonts of the lettering, the creativity sets the mood for the audience. Choosing film as my portfolio project, will give me so much creative freedom and power to influence an audience in anyway that I can. Since I hope to go to film school, I hope that I can make the most out of this project.