Research: The Art of the Title & Timeline for the Opening Two Minutes of a Horror Film

As a group we looked at the opening of the films Night in the Woods, Thr3e and Wind Chill. We then paused at different sections to discuss techniques used, involving the titles, visuals and audio. Then we were introduced to the website Art of the Title where you can watch the opening titles of films. Below I have used Art of the Title to analyse the opening titles of a horror film.

I selected the horror film Se7en to analyse. This is the opening titles on Art of the Title.

I have made notes of the titles on a timeline and below that the visuals and audio.

This is an example of the font type. It is distorted, white and sinister looking. I think this looks effective and I may use this as inspiration for our own horror film opening. 

I mentioned in my notes that ordinary objects can be made to look odd and sinister. An extreme close up is used to do this with the sellotape. Also simple things add to this, such as the items looking old and rusty.

The colour use throughout the opening is very dark, it includes colours such as black, red, off-whites. The use of red automatically creates a negative feeling for the audience and signals that this is a horror film.

The opening contains lots of drawings and plans for mechanical looking contraptions that suggest murders are involved in this film.

Overall I like the opening titles to Se7en as they are simple yet effective. The clips are short but can portray a lot without giving too much much away. I also really like the font and the flickering effect as I think this would link in to our horror film as it is do with recording. Also I feel the audio inspired me to add in some electrical sounds to the iWatch opening as it worked effectively in this opening.