Opening Credits Analysis

 

Gone Girl (2014, Regency Enterprise)

The movie's opening credit starts with the female main character waking up, glancing at the camera whilst having her hair stroked. It then shows us a montage of the town it is in. The first half of the intro had a man's voice, talking about his wife. He talks about his wife with suspicion. This, coupled with the eerie background music, and very dark colour scheme might hint the audience that the movie is about a marital issue. The hermeneutic code is what happened to the marriage? The very empty and lifeless montage of the town sets the tone that it might be about something missing, hence the word Gone in the title. We could tell that the movie is not aimed at children, probably around 16 and above, and the genre being mystery and horror. The intro does a great job at making the audience speculate on what the movie might be about. I think this intro can be easily replicated by our group.

Mr Bean TV Series (1980, Tiger Aspect Productions)

The opening credits of the Mr Bean tv series tells us that that it is a comedic film. We can tell that from his overall silly demeanour, the fact that he seemed lost, confused, and started mindlessly wandering around. The fact that he fell from a light from the sky, accompanied by very grand music might also mean that he is not a normal human being. It's a very simple and short intro that does a great job at setting the tone for the film. I think this film intro can be easily replicated by our group and does a good job at giving the audience an idea of what the theme of the film will be.

The Shining (1980, Warner Bros. Pictures)

The opening credit of The Shining is very unsettling. The audience would immediately experience a feeling of uneasiness throughout the opening scene. The camera following the car from a birds eye view might hint that there is a stalker who is following the person's every move. A hermeneutic code can be found here, where is the car going? Why are we following it? The car is driving in the middle of nowhere, far from civilisation, which could connote helplessness. The non-diegetic background music is also clearly telling us that this movie wont be lighthearted, and something terrible will happen. Despite the very beautiful footage, we can't say the same with the way they write the credits. It is very plain and boring. Weirdly enough, this plain and boring blue helvetica font might also evoke an uneasy feeling is the audience. I personally am a big fan of this opening credit, which does a great job at being eerie without telling us much. Unfortunately, I don't see a prospect with this style of opening credit due to it's old style.

Baby Driver (2017, TriStar Pictures)

The opening credit of this movie does not seem that serious, as shown from the face and demeanour of the driver. The opening credit conforms to the stereotype of bank robbers, which is dark clothing and concealed face, but it also subverts the idea that bank robbers are very serious. Because it does not seem like a serious movie, the audience could expect the movie to be a comedic movie. They can also expect some intense action as seen from the car chase, although they should not expect it to be realistic by any means. The diegetic music adds another reason to believe that this movie is light hearted, as the driver was listening to some light rock music. Personally, I enjoy the enthusiastic and energetic tone of the clip, I believe it does a good job at exciting the audience. 

Zombieland (2009, Columbia Pictures)

The opening shows us a slow motion montage of different characters of the movie. They are presented and shown in a very comedic way, thus the audience can tell that this is a light, funny action movie. Despite depicting them in a silly manner, it does show them being involved in intense situations, such as a building on fire and a lady being chased by a zombie. They conform to the stereotype that zombies are very dirty and bloody and mindlessly wander around the streets scaring people. The audience should expect to watch a horror comedic movie. I enjoy the fun nature of the opening credits and I am a fan of the montage concept of opening credits. However, I think it's hard to replicate well in real life.

(500) Days of Summer (2009, Dune Entertainment)

The opening credit gives us a very brief introduction to their lives by giving us a montage of their childhood. This may help develop a connection between the audience and the characters and would make them more invested in the story. It conforms to the traditional ideas of romance, a man and a woman. One interesting thing about the opening credit is the unconventional way of making one where they have a narrator. It subverts the typical way of how opening credits are done. It sets a light tone because of the very soft music. There is a hermeneutic code where the narrator says 'this is not a love story' out of the blue. This may confuse the audience, who at that time would believe this to be one. So the audience should expect a romantic movie with a bunch of twists. I believe that this type of opening with narration does a good job at making the audience invested by giving them a brief backstory.

Johnny Got His Gun (1971, World Entertainment)

Media Language

The opening credit shows a montage of footage from various wars. This tells the audience that this is a war movie. The music used along with various sound effects, such as the whistling sound, sets the tone for the movie as a serious one. This in conjunction with the very dull and official-like font of the credits further proves this notion. The very dark theme of the movie suggests that this is not a fun movie, or a movie that will be glorifying anyone or anything, but a sad and depressing one. Therefore, the audience should expect this movie to be a historical drama.

Representations

The opening conforms to the stereotype that war is terrible, sad, scary, and serious by having the black and white theme and overall a dull looking opening credit. The courier typewriter font again conforms to the stereotype that most people have that war is an old event that old people go through, not them. The music used as background had drums and cymbals which also represent the military tradition of having musical bands. 

Audience

The target audience would be from ages 15 to 60. Veterans of the wars talked about in the movie, and people interested in historical wars would also fit in the target audience. Several media theories can be used to explain why these audiences might be interested in watching the movie. According to to the Uses and Gratification theory by Bulmer and Katz, the audience would consume this for surveillance, and possibly personal identity, if they find any character in the movie admirable.  

industry

Se7en (1995, Arnold Kopelson Productions)

Media Language

The opening shows a series of different objects that are associated with the criminal world. Thus, we can tell that this movie is a crime movie. However the soundtrack they used is more akin to music found in horror movies, which means that in addition to crime, this will also be horror. There is very poor lighting in the clips, with only a shine of a flashlight barely illuminating the very strange objects presented. This adds many levels of mystery. The various objects and props used are very peculiar to say the least, including the cryptic messages inscribed throughout the opening credits, and the random annotation and edits made to eerie pictures.

Representations

This opening strongly reinforces the stereotype of horror and crime being very dark and mysterious, as shown by the lack of light in the clips. The very crude and handwritten font of the credits might also connote the idea that killers like to write notes about their crime, which is another hermeneutic code.

Audience

The target audience would be young adults, however I believe it could also extend to middle aged people, making the age range between 16 to 50. Not to mention the people who are involved in the criminal or law enforcement industry might also be interested in viewing this movie.

Industry