Credit Sequences

To produce a high-level film, having a good crew from top to bottom is a necessity. These are the people who make your screen time an enjoyable experience. Often, these people get overlooked, specifically costume designers and sound designers, but there are many more who the average person does not know exist or acknowledge. Having a good credit sequence is always nice, especially for those hard-working people behind the scenes. I analyzed 3 film openings and took away some good and bad things from them.

The first credit sequence I analysed was Alfred Hitchcock's all time classic Psycho. This is widely regarded as one of the best movies ever, and it is easy to see why. The production deserves its flowers as it shaped mystery/thriller movies. The iconic shower scene's editing and sound are what make it so iconic.

Now, to begin with the analysis of the credit sequence, it was quite frankly not very good. As good as the film is, the credit scene was just a black screen with the credits. While the letters had a cool transition, it is still not ideal. I definitely learned that I do not want to do just a black screen. I want to insert my credit sequence with more interesting shots.

I will say that the transition from the credits to the actual film was well done, and I will consider incorporating something similar into my film opening without the plain black screen.

The credit sequence I looked into was Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher. This credit sequence was on the calmer side of things. It has establishing shots of the city where nick and amy met. I like the calm, long shots because it allows the viewers to read and focus on the credits since there is not too much going on.  

The calmness of the credits is unlike other mysteries that establish a strong sense of mystery in the beginning shots. For the mystery film we are trying to create, we will very likely be using a more suspenseful opening. What I would like to take away is the lighting behind these shots. The blue is very asthetically pleasing, but it is dark enough to provoke a sense of uneasy despite the slow pacing of the credit shots. I believe that this credit sequence was perfect for this movie because it is abundantly clear that something is wrong, but it does just enough to give the viewers an uneasy feeling. Based on the ideas my team and i have bounced around, we would use a more intense credit sequence.

Lastly i looked into Inside Man (2006) directed by Spike Lee. The movie's credit sequence was once again calm. The film begins with Dalton Russell, a bank robber, narrating his criminal activities in a cell, reflecting on the difference between a cell and a prison. This is then followed up by the credits with a more uplifiting song with a montagge of the city in the background of all different types of shots, long, close, extreme close ups, medium shots, and even over the shoulder shots with the purpose of establishing the setting. This is very important because the shots paint a clear picture. A broken down city that looks to be in an unstable financial situation. The credit sequence is rolling at the same time the setting is being developed, which makes this a successful opening.

One thing I will take away from this is the variety of shots in which the setting is developed. The different shots paint a picture in a montage style. The montagge style is very effective as it establishes the setting tone but also mixes in the credits at the same time.

Reflection:

While studying credit sequences i realized how effective Mise-en-Scene elements are. They can tell the viewer a lot without saying any words. Black screens are a boring way to incorporate credits into the film, and we will most certainly be staying away from that.

Citations:

Art of the Title. (2026). Gone Girl (2014). Art of the Title. https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/gone-girl/

Art of the Title. (n.d.). Psycho (1960). Art of the Title. https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/psycho/

Castro Theatre. (2017, April 27). Enjoy the opening credits of Hitchcock’s Psycho by Saul Bass with music by Bernard Herrmann [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwq1XHtJEHw

Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers. (n.d.). Psycho (1960) theatrical trailer – Alfred Hitchcock movie [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTJQfFQ40lI

Subversive Rabbit. (2022). Inside Man trailer [2006] [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz4IPGee42k