The document discusses film title sequences and their importance in setting the tone for a film. It provides details on graphic designer Saul Bass, noting he designed title sequences for many famous films, most notably Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The document then analyzes the opening title sequences of two films - KES and Psycho - examining how they establish characters, themes and adhere to conventions for mainstream title sequences. Research is also presented on techniques that could be used for a social realism film title sequence, such as location shots, close-ups and camera movement.

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 working
class people.
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 connotes
to the undertone of the malicious intent of the ‘Psycho’ and
foreshadows the death of the detective and Marion.
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
class’
‘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
realism
film.