Title Sequence Analysis

I have decided to analyse the title sequence of the film ‘Red Lights’

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/red-lights/

As soon as the title sequence begins, the music and sound gives you an idea straight away of what the genre of film is. When the music starts quite high, they use spotlights over the screen with letters flying all over but when the music goes low and as soon as the pitch changes an actor’s name is made with the letters. That name begins to dissolve a letter at a time whilst the music is still in a low tone creating suspense.

You can see the spotlight and lettering flying about.

There is no image in the background showing that he is a main character.



 On the second name shown, it shows a spotlight shining onto the name which allows you to see a shadow of two arms. The names are shown in a type writer effect but not from left to right, the letters are mixed up and you only know what the name says when all the letters are there. The name dissolves in the same way with random letters disappearing first.

When the name of the film is shown a couple of the spot lights turn red which makes the title stand out more as the title is ‘Red Lights’ The music also intensifies when the title is shown and quietens down again once the title sequence begins to name more actors. It makes you feel like they aren’t significant characters as much as the other 3 as you can see more images with the rest of the names.

The background is black, the title is white which allows it to stand out. The red lights link in with the film and you can tell this is the title.

We see a selection of things like an eye, a Jesus statue, a collection of pictures, symbols and writing which gives the impression that they are have a meaning to do with the film. As it comes to show the staff that helped make the film there is a lot more to watch and the music and names are shown faster. The images are shown blurry and too fast to make out what they are exactly but it keeps you intrigued with what’s happening.

 They show photos in the background, statues and lots of symbols in books. This makes it look like they are significant to the story.

 

The main colour shown throughout is all dark colours which keep it mysterious. In the first half of the title sequence the only flashes of colour are the red light which increases the significance of the title. The lettering was white to stand out on the dark background but when the images in the background turn to white, the lettering becomes black. As it gets to the end the music blends in with the sound of an aeroplane taking off which is shown at the end. This links in with the red lights as the airplane is a little blurry but you can see the lights clearly. The showing of the airplane makes me think that the beginning of the scene is going to be set in an airport or on a plane.

One thing I’d certainly like to take from this title sequence and use in our own title sequence is the timing of the images shown with the music. When something important is shown it would be good for the music to become more powerful and louder to signify the importance of the image shown.