The document analyzes and compares the title sequences of three American sitcoms: Rules of Engagement, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory. It finds that while all three use upbeat music and images to set the tone, they differ stylistically in ways that represent the themes and genres of their respective shows. Rules of Engagement uses slow-motion photos representing relationships. How I Met Your Mother resembles a pop-up book with zooming photos symbolizing life in New York City. The Big Bang Theory incorporates live-action, animation and imagery related to its focus on physics. Overall, the document examines how each title sequence effectively conveys essential information about its corresponding show.

1. In this evaluation I will be looking at the title credits for three different American sitcoms- 'How I
Met Your Mother', 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'Rules Of Engagement'. All three of which originally
aired on the American channel CBS.
The title credits signal that the show is about to begin whilst giving credit to the most 'important'
people involved in production and the cast. They are very important based on the fact they set the
mood for the entire show. Title credits can tell us a lot of things such as the genre of the show and
who the target audience is.
Since all three of the shows are sitcoms they incorporate upbeat, catchy music that eventually
becomes identifiable to regular audiences.
'Rules of Engagement' follows the life of a married couple,
an engaged couple and two single men as they face all the
up's and downs of relationships. The opening sequence uses
a stop motion technique the whole way through- it
incorporates pictures of all the main cast members. Since
the show is about relationships I believe the way in which it
has been shot is representing the three stages of a
relationship; we first see the married couple, then the
engaged and then the two single males. It's representing
that ideology of a perfect relationship.
We can easily identify the genre of the show due to the
stereotypical images of 'loved up' couples as they lay across
the bed. White bed sheets are used which I personally
believes is a way of connoting the purity of their
relationships. The opening credits give us a hint on what the
show is about
due to the body
language of the actors. In the instance of some
characters we get an idea of their personality from the
opening sequence, however this would only be obvious
to you if have seen the show before.
The stop motion consists of four sets of three images-
one for each of the couples and single males.
Whilst it is a stop motion the movement is very slow; it
lingers on each photo for 1-2 seconds each. As the
sequence begins to develop it transitions from character
to character in a left or right sweeping motion; animated
text is place above or below each character. The text is
very modern; I believe it to be a font you would use on a
wedding invitation, which ties in with the theme of the
show. As the opening sequence comes to and end we
see the title appear on the screen using a zoom

2. technique.
On a wedding invitation you usually expect to see some form of fancy design; this has been
incorporated into the opening sequence. We can see this right at the beneath the title.
In terms of image quality the photos used are very sharp.
‘How I Met Your Mother’s’ opening sequence is quite similar to ‘Rules of Engagement’ in the fact
that it uses images and no live footage. The photos transition in a very unique way; it’s designed
almost like a pop-up book-but without the book. They zoom in and out of each other and transition
from left to right; a bright flash effect can be seen every so often to add to the photographic effect.
It gives of the idea that they themselves are taking the photos as you would do on a night out.
The fact that it looks like a pop-up book fit’s in with the theme of the show; it follows the lives of five
friends that live in Manhattan. Ted-one of the main characters- is telling his children-30 years in the
future- of how he met their mother. Therefore the opening sequence gives us a hint into what the
show is about.
Symbolically the photos represent that that of a fun, stereotypical social life in New York- this gives
us an insight into what the show is about and sets the mood for the entire show. It’s obvious to
viewers they should be expecting some sort of comedy.
A lot of the images are first distorted before coming into focus- we can see from the setting that
they’re taken in some form of bar so the colouring of the is slightly tinted which adds to the feel. An
alternative rock soundtrack is used so the pacing of the
images is rather fast. Unusually during the opening sequence
there is no reference to who the cast members are- just the
creator of the show.
Animated text is used at both the beginning and end of the
sequence- once to present the name of the show and once
for the creator. Whilst I’m not positive it is, the font used is
very similar to Ariel. The text transitions in with one of the
photos before moving out with it. As the camera zooms in
onto the title, the camera movement slows down and distorts the rest of the image placing all focus
on the text- this is the one and only time this happens.
The sequence is very effective and does its job in drawing in an audience, signalling the start and
setting the mood. It represents the genre well and does not mislead the audience.
‘The Big Bang Theory’ opening sequence shares both similarities and differences with the other two
sitcoms. Whilst it is becoming a pattern now that all three use images for the sequence, ‘The Big
Bang Theory’ also uses live footage and animated footage.
The sequence is a little wackier than the other too and without having any prior knowledge on what
the show is about, it may not be obvious to some viewers
that it’s a comedy. There is a clear visual link between the
lyrics and imagery.

3. The sequence starts off with a short animated clip through
space before it comes to zoom in on earth. From that point
onwards the sequence flashes through a number of photos
related to the song; so for example when the song
mentions pyramids we see a picture of pyramids. As I
mentioned before it’s not completely obvious that the
show is a comedy, however on the same hand it doesn’t
contain any elements that could lead you to think
otherwise. As the sequence nears the end there is a very
short piece of live footage of the cast.
Just like ‘How I Met Your Mother’, the only text we see is of the title right at the end. Animated text
is used to create the title which clearly fits in with the theme. The font is very bold- with
exaggeration on the word ‘Big’ and ‘Bang’. Since the show revolves around physicist- which is one
thing we can gather from the opening sequence- the text has a
space theme.
During the part of the song that says ‘Bang’, we see a bright
flash before the title to give the effect of an explosion. They
convey the theme of the show and provide the relevant
information without giving too much away.
The three shows use very similar effects and animations in
different ways. Each one suits the style of the show perfectly.