Research: The Importance of Opening Titles


What information might you be given during the opening titles of a film?
  • film's title
  • cast members
  • production company
  • distributor company
  • director, producer, executive producer, music, make-up, costume design, cinematography etc.
What is the difference between opening titles and closing credits?

The difference between opening titles and closing credits is; the opening titles inform the audience of the more important roles that people played within the making of this film such as the director, producer and production company. The closing credits list everyone who was involved in the making of the film, from costume design to the runners. The opening titles display the theme including font, colour, style and appearance. These all tie in with the film's genre.

What is the importance of opening titles?

The opening titles of a film are very important; the give the audience a lot of information. For example, they tell the audience who stars in the film. The most important roles in the film usually come first in the list of cast members. For example, in the opening titles to the psychological thriller film 'Se7en', Brad Pitt's name is the first of all the actors to be displayed on screen. Brad Pitt is a high profile name in Hollywood, which is possibly a reason why some of the audience were attracted to the film, so it was of great importance to include his name in the opening credits. It may also have been put in his contract for his name to appear first in the list of cast members in the opening, as profile and exposure is important. In addition, other crew members are mentioned in the opening titles. These include: the director, producer, executive producer, music and the distributors. These are important to include in the opening titles as, like the actors, the crew who work on the film can also attract audience members. The director of 'Se7en', David Fincher, is a very famous and successful director. Prior to 'Se7en' he had directed only one feature film, 'Alien 3'. However, he had directed many music videos for high profile artists which would have gained him fans.
Not only do we learn information about the cast and crew during the titles, we also recognsie the symbolic codes. The symbolic does during the opening mainly give the audience a strong indication as to what genre the film will be. During the titles of 'Se7en', the font and style of the credits, the music and the images used all contribute to the genre. It is clear in the titles that the genre of 'Se7en' is a thriller.

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