Analysis of a Title Sequence

In class we looked at how the titling was set out in a couple of different films. Two of these films were 'The Shining' and 'Taxi Driver'. There was a massive contrast between the two in relation to their layout, their motion, and their colour scheme.

Taxi Driver had a rather long opening title sequence. The titling was unusual as it told you what actors were playing which characters. The colour scheme was very much related to fire. There was a variation between different shades of red, yellow and orange. Finally, the motion of the titling was relatively standard. The names of the characters and actors faded in and out on screen with roughly 5 second intervals so the audience would have time to read them.

The Shining had a very different title scene. The text rolled down the screen as if it was the end credits. The motion was basic and very plain. However, the colour scheme used was rather peculiar. The text was a luminous green. As the back-drop of the title sequence is just mountains and farm land, I personally believe this colour was chosen so that it made the audience think something was out of the ordinary. Why else would such a strange colour be chosen?

In conclusion, opening titles can be produced and portrayed in a variety of ways and still be very interesting. In the two films I have reviewed I think that both of the title sequences are basic, but effective.

This is a poster that advertised the film 'Taxi Driver'. As you can see the poster gives the impression that its quite an aggressive film. This was also portrayed when I was analysing the title sequence. This was due to the music and the colours and the layout of sequence.

This is a poster taken from the film 'The Shining'. Again you can see that this film is most probably violent andis intent on scaring its audience before the film has began. This is reflected in the title sequence but in a much different and more subtle way than 'Taxi Driver'. This is because the films come under different genres. 'Taxi Driver' is a thriller and 'The Shining' is a horror. So therefore the way they portray the violence in their film is varied.