The document discusses film title sequences and their importance in setting the tone for a film. It provides examples of mainstream title sequences that follow similar structures and styles. Saul Bass is identified as one of the most famous film title designers, having created memorable title sequences for films like Psycho. The document also analyzes the opening titles and sequences of the films KES and Psycho in detail, noting how they effectively establish mood, characters and relate to conventions of their genres through techniques like lighting, camerawork and sound.

2. • Film opening sequences are argued to be the most
important part of a film, as it sets the tone, atmosphere
and characters for the media product’s target audience.
• Many of the various title sequences produced are known
as ‘mainstream’ as they stick to a similar structure and
style of sequence.
• There are numerous well- known and recognised film title
designers in this industry. The most famous of these is
Saul Bass.
Saul Bass

3. • Saul was born 8th May 1920 in
New York City, USA.
• He was a graphic designer and
filmmaker and during his 40 year
career, he worked alongside
Hollywood blockbusters, and
world-famous directors such as
Alfred Hitchcock.
• In particular, Bass had designed
the overall look of the opening
sequence for the Hitchcock’s
probably most famous film
‘Psycho’.
• In addition, Saul Bass has created
now famous American logos, such
as the original AT&T ‘bell’ logo.
• Overall, for any genre a modern
opening sequence that introduces
the mood/theme of a film is said to
be a legacy of Bass’s work.
More
Images
Saul Bass was born in 1920, and died
April 25th 1996 in Los Angeles.

4. • Most mainstream opening film title timelines stick to the
same ‘style’/ order within the sequence, as mentioned
before.
• This is the usual order of titles:
1. Name of the Studio 7. Music
2. Production Company 8. Production designer
3. Producers/ Directors 9. Film Editors
4. Starring… 10. Director of Photography
5. Film Title 11. Producer
6. Casting Director 12. Director
13. Based on…true story/events, the novel by etc.

5. KES, produced by the independent film company
‘Woodfall Film Productions’ follow the life of a 15 year old
working class boy form Yorkshire and how he is bullied at
school, and ignored and abused at home by his
indifferent mother and older brother. The story then
follows the actions of the young boy and how he finds a
kestrel falcon that he can train and calls ‘KES’.
This is ‘KES’’s opening titles timeline:
0:00 Studio and Production Logos.
2:39 Production Companies’ title.
2:50 Title of Film.
3:00 Starring…
3:22 Based on the book…
4:17 Edited and Director of Photography.
4:22 Art Director and Music Director.
4:29 Production Supervisor, Assistant Director, Director
of sound, Continuity etc.
4:42 Produced and Directed by…
From the usual order
of titles on the
previous slide, we can
see the Social
Realism Film ‘KES’
(1969) follows this
mainstream trend in
terms of the order of
the titles. ‘KES’ had a
£157,000 budget.

6. The use of low-key lighting in the first shot (picture
shown opposite) is used to connote the dark setting of
the film i.e. the early morning and also depicts the
naturalistic atmosphere within the bedroom.
This is more or less the only shot that is used I the
first two minutes of the film which consequently makes
this opening scene more poignant and connotes to the
persistence of the older brother as he urges his
younger brother to wake up and get ready.
Furthermore, the use of diegetic sound when the
alarm clock rings, accompanied by the movement of
the dad as he turns the alarm clock off reflects the
desirable actions of man as we would probably rather
have a lie-in as oppose to going to work(!) and
consequently emphasises the organic nature of the
film.
Moreover, the use of dialogue is used to establish the
relationship between the two brothers and as they
share the bed, this may indicate a poor background,
indicating the stereotypical financial position of
A screenshot from ‘YouTube’
depicting the first few
second of the opening clip
(excluding the titles)
This opening sequence is
effective as it cleverly depicts
and captures the lives of the
family in the film and makes it
relevant and relatable to a
wider target audience, due to
the lack of non-diegetic sound
and natural location shooting
(some of the conventions of
social realism).

7. ‘Psycho’, written and directed by the world famous Alfred
Hitchcock by the independent institution ‘Shamley Productions’
is about an office worker (Marion Crane) is tired of how she has
lived her life. After being asked to bank £40000 by her employer,
Marion sees this as a chance to start a new life. Tired, stressed
and caught in a fierce weather storm, Marion enters ‘The Bates
Hotel’, which is managed by a quiet young man that is
dominated by his mother…
This is ‘Psycho’’s Timeline:
0:10 Director
0:14 Name of Film
0:22 Starring…
0:32 Co- starring
0:57 Screenplay/ based on…
1:06 Director of Photography, art direction, set decorator,
unit manager, titles designer.
1:16 editing, costume, make-up, hair stylist, special FX,
sound recordings
1:19 copyright
1:31 Assistant director, picture consultant
1:37 Music
1:43 Director

8. The film ‘Psycho’ begins with an establishing shot of the
city which immediately sets the scene for both the film and
the audience which consequently connotes to the
equilibrium and the initial urban environment that the film is
set.
Furthermore, there is the use of pan and zoom, which then
dissolve into each other between each zoomed in shot.
This may connote to, and foreshadow to the disorientation,
confusion and sheer panic seen on Marion's face as she is
in grave peril in the famous shower scene. Then, the
camera zooms in on a specific apartment in a building with
the text on screen ‘TWO FORTY-THREE pm’. This
connotes to the showing of a significant character(s) and
how, for the moment live an ordinary lifestyle. Next, the
shot then fades into the actual room of Marion and her
husband which consequently allows the regime of the
characters to be displayed completely. This overall displays
the organic relationship between the two characters which
is then re-iterated by Marion’s provocative clothing.
Moreover, the use of dialogue connotes to their close
relationship and the use of ambient sound throughout
The picture above is a
screenshot from
‘YouTube’ of the
establishing shot in the
film.
This film’s opening
sequence is effective as
the frequent use of
camera movement
reflects the ominous
nature of the film and
also is relevant to the
genre.

9. FORM RESEARCH
(Secondary)

10. We also want our
film to have an
impact on the
audience and also
memorable.
We may follow
suit with this idea
and have our
titles displayed in
a relevant and
appropriate way.
We may
want to
keep
editing to a
minimal for
our media
production
(as this is
one of the
genre
convention
s).
We may want
to include
certain
ideologies
within our
narrative in
order to
convey our
intentions
with our
product and
emphasise
associations
with the
‘working
‘Artofthetitlesequence’: ‘This is England’
(1986)

11. We possibly intend to
use close ups in our
production in order to
convey our narrative
fully, especially of the
face, as this will show
the extent of living at
places like a council
estate.
We initially want to have our actors
emotionally engrossed in their roles
and therefore their face(s) will be a
significant part of our characters’
appearance.
‘Artofthetitlesequence: ‘Seconds’

12. We want our media
production to convey a
certain ‘meaning to the
audience’ we also want
our target audience to be
entertained.
We would preferably want to use a variety of
camera shots to keep the audience
entertained. In addition, we may want to use
more hand-held camera shots in order to
conform to our genre conventions.
We would
like our
location
shots to be
quite
naturalistic.

13. ‘Creativebloq’: ‘Batman’
Again, like what was said
before, our media product
must be memorable and
make a particular impact
on the audience.
Our title
sequence
and overall
branding of
the film
should be
eye-catching,
especially for
our target
audience.
Like on the
previous slide, we
want to include
different paces of
camera movement
in order to
connote to
different aspects
of our narrative

14. ‘Creativebloq’: ‘Se7en’ In order to make our
media product
successful as a
product, and for our
target audience’s
needs too, we
require every detail
to be thought through
thoroughly.
Kyle Cooper, like
Saul Bass is a
famous opening
title sequence
director and
producer.
The details
explained
in the
opposite
box include
the use of
props, as
this will
probably
be a
significant
aspect of
our social