1. Comparison of 4 title sequences
By Jakob Margetts
Title sequences are used for films because they give the viewer a taste of what the movie is
about. They portray a brief section of the storyline to give the viewers an example of what
is to come. They have been used over the years to show what a director wants a viewer to
see when they are watching his film. These 4 films that I have analysed all have different
types of title sequences but they are all very good at portraying what they want to portray.
The first film I analysed the title sequence of was the Girl with the dragon tattoo. This film
was released in 2011 and it is directed by David Fincher. The film has been put in the
category of a crime, drama and mystery film. These genres are also clearly displayed in the
title sequence and you can tell this by the different techniques that are used to create the
title sequence.
One technique is the use of sound. Sound is used very effectively to create an atmosphere
that best describes the film. What I mean by this is the tempo of the music is very fast. This
creates the belief that the film will be fast paced and this ties in with the fact that this film
has crime in it. Another technique that is used successfully in the title sequence is the
volume of the background music. The volume affects the reading of a title sequence
because if it is a very low volume then the audience will take the reading that the film will
be calm and mellow. However if the music is very loud in the title sequence then it will be a
fast paced film which will probably include violence. The Girl with the dragon tattoo title
sequence has a very loud title sequence. This therefore means that the film will more than
likely be fast paced and will have violence in it. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that
the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an 18 rated film and in the title sequence there is an
image of a skeleton burning which signifies violence.
The images that are shown in the Girl with the dragon tattoo title sequence are very
interesting. The reason why they are interesting is because they show a lot of what the film
is about and also show some key conventions that will feature in the film. For example, in
one of the scenes there is a computer keyboard and later there are some USB cables. These
clearly signify that there will be something to do with computers in the film. This is true
because one of the main characters is a computer hacker. Also there is a lot of black liquid
in the sequence. This colour connotes evil and there is some evil in the film, and the texture
of black is very thick and surrounds everything in the sequence. This shows that the story
maybe very gripping and it makes the viewer want to watch on.
The second film I analysed was Casino Royale. Casino Royale was released in 2006 and it
was directed by Martin Campbell. The title sequence in this film clearly shows technical

2. codes that make reference to the 007 heritage and also outline the genre in which this film
is based upon, action adventure.
The use of sound used in Casino Royale is very different to that of the Girl with the Dragon
tattoo. In the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo there is a very loud and very high tempo music
playing in the background, however in Casino Royale the music is more mellow and in
comparison to the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the Casino Royale music sounds like a song
that could be heard on the radio. The effect of having a song in the background is that it
makes the film seem more realistic and therefore makes the James Bond scenarios seem
more realistic.
There is a very high level of usage of signs in the title sequence. There are a lot of uses of
the symbols that signify hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds. When the viewer sees there
signs they should take the preferred reading that Casino Royale will include some kind of
card game. What they should also take from the use of card symbols is that they are very
dangerous. They should see this because they replace the bullets that come out of the gun
and this therefore makes them powerful and key to the story. the two main conventions
that are seen in Casino Royale from the title sequence are the use of cards and also the
violence that is in the film. There are a lot of uses of bullets and also there are fight scenes
which give the viewer a taste of what is to come.
Another film title sequence that I looked at was Catch me if you can. This film was directed
by Steven Spielberg and it is based upon a true story of a young con artist trying to escape
from the law.
unlike the other films I have analysed, this film's title sequence reveals a lot about the
storyline. From the scene you can see what the film is about because it shows key features
of the story line, for example, you see the lead characters, Tom Hanks and Leonardo
DiCaprio, in many different scenarios such as in an airport and in a hospital. It transpires
that these events all happen in the film. The reason why the title sequence may give the
viewer a glimpse of what is to come because they want to see what other types of scenarios
Hanks and DiCaprio appear in.
The use of background music is used very effectively in this film. For example, the music is
very jumpy and this creates a tense atmosphere of the film. this is of course what Spielberg
would want to achieve because this tense music sets out what the film will be about and it
will show to the viewer that there will be tense moments in the film. Also as the events in
the title sequence unfold and progress the music changes with the types of images that are
shown. For example, as the detective gets closer to the con artist the music increases in
pace and when the con artist gets away the pace of the music decreases.

3. The final film I analysed was Spiderman. Spiderman was directed by Sam Raimi and the film
is based upon the comic books by Stan Lee. There are many Conventions of a superhero
movie's title sequence that feature in Spiderman.
One example of this is the inspirational music that is in the background. This makes the
viewer believe that there will always be a happy ending and Spiderman will not be defeated
by the foe in this film. Also the music changes to a more darker music when there is a
picture of the green goblin on the screen. This tells the viewers that he is the evil character
in the film and that he will be Spiderman's enemy.
In Spiderman the images are very powerful because of the way they are put together and
they show different things about Spiderman and what happens to him in the film. One
image I found powerful was the image of Spiderman rising up out of the darkness. This is a
clear convention of a superhero movie because it shows a superhero rising up out of the
darkness and into the light. In the case of Spiderman this is true when his uncle died and he
overcame it to become Spiderman. Another image that is commonly used in this title
sequence is the image of a spiders web. This shows the viewer that there will be some
reference to spiders in the film.
I conclusion, all the film title sequence I have watched and analysed all show differing
technical techniques and codes int their music and images to portray a specific image that
the director wants the viewer to have of the film when they are watching the opening title
sequence of their film.