History of Opening Sequences

The first opening sequence was in the film "Intolerance" in 1916. They traditionally only acted to show the people who were involved in the making of the movie e.g. Director, producer etc.

But as the film industry evolved they started include themes into the sequences which were related to the film for example Se7en where it shows a mad man cutting his fingers etc.

Recent films now do not even have opening credits at all and throw us straight into the action like in The Dark Knight which goes straight into a bank heist. Another technique which is popular among fantasy is the use of text to set the scene of the movie which will either be in an alternate world, the past or the future e.g. Gladiator, Star Wars, Hunger Games.

In conclusion opening sequences have evolved over time depending on trends and social movements. Also on what draws the viewer in

Key Conventions of Opening Title Sequence

Conventions of a Title Sequence

1. Title of film
2. Distributor
3. Studio
4. Actors
5. Producers
6. Composer

Conventions of an Opening Sequence

1. Establishment of scene/setting.
2. Characters sometimes, establishment of them, sometimes creating a mysterious aura about the character.
3. A lot of the time is fast paced, throwing the audience straight into the action.
4. Sometimes set in the past to set the tone and situation or in the future to build up to that moment.

Font Analysis

One font I can use in my opening titles is Trajan Pro. This is an appropriate font because it has a very ancient theme which fits into the historical time period of my opening sequence. It is also quite a bold font which can suggest strength which is useful for my opening sequence because the film is about a strong male protagonist. However could be suggested this font has more of a roman theme to it than the Medieval theme I am looking for.

A similar font I could have used Is Charlemagne STD (This isn't it by the way) which has a more medieval look to it. It has a more gothic theme which arguably fits the time period of Medieval chivalry etc. However it can also be argued that this font has a bit too much of a artistic theme and could pass off as being to modern.

Herculanum is also a good font because, as suggested in the name, it has the look of ancient Greeks due to its messy and almost prehistoric nature. However the writing is not very imposing and looks as if the people who wrote like this were some of the first people in the world who could write. Furthermore the font doesn't really match the time period of "Lokir" which is theoretically over 1000 years in the future.

Opening Sequence Synopsis

The title sequence involves some text which sets the scene and location of the movie to follow. It gives the movie historical context and the music also gets the audience into the mood. Lokir is running through a forest when he comes across the body of a fallen soldier which is intact an ambush by an enemy who Lokir dispatches with ease. He then finds the legendary sword Erynathol which has powers to make him the ultimate fighter. He hears people coming and travels back to his home village/castle of Rorikstead and the opening sequence ends.

Ski Trip

Not related to my Coursework but my peer and I (Louis Hooke) made a video documenting our school ski trip to Val d'isere over the Christmas Holidays and this is it, enjoy!

Pitch Presentation

Poor Sound Quality

Ideas for Opening Sequence

I did a Brainstorm of what I should do for my opening sequence. I've looked at what I would want to do and what would be possible, also what is popular.

What technology will I use

To film Lokir I used a Canon eos rebel t3i which gives HD quality.

To do my editing I used the programme Final Cut pro which is a more sophisticated version of iMovie. It gives me stylisation effects and sound effects. Also it gives special options I can use to effect my film.