Research - Film Openings #9

I'll be researching the importance of opening credits from the video that Ms. Ortiz had us watch for an assignment, and how they impact the film itself. After doing so, I’m going to compare them to how I’d want my film opening.

Opening credits are important as they inform the audience about the main people who worked on the project and are featured in it, as well as establishing the mood and reflecting the theme, as it is an opportunity to convey tone. This helps the audience to smoothly transition into being able to understand what is about to be portrayed, as they are usually visually creative to be memorable.(StudioBinder, 2020)

Film: Monsters Inc

The font has a fun/funky look as it is constantly bouncing. Fun puzzle/drawn movement in animations, animations move with the instrumental/sound, very colorful yet not super bright color, and includes doors throughout the entire opening, implying significance.

The music used in the opening is slightly upbeat as it is jazz-like with it constantly increasing volume/note, depending on what is going on, while still being neutral and feeling unnatural. This matches how the movie is unrealistic, as it deals with monsters and gives that slight upbeat feel to overshadow the unsettling feel that is behind it. 

The constant use of the doors in the opening foreshadows the significance it has on the movie's plot as it continuously shows monsters coming out of them and going into another. This overall sets the tone of the film as it all ties together to prepare and inform the audience on the feeling they are about to experience from viewing the film.

Film: Halloween (1978) 

The dramatic visuals and simple style of the Halloween (1978) title sequence set the tone for the horror movie. It gives a sense of creeping danger as the screen is consumed by deep black and vivid orange writing, and a jack-o-lantern that gradually grows slowly and zooms closer as it gives credit to those who worked on it.

        

In addition to referencing danger, this use of color defines the Halloween theme, as it uses different shades of orange and black to connect the story to the "Halloween" holiday while setting the tone of danger. 

The gradual movement towards the pumpkin's eye symbolically draws the viewer into the shadows. The imagery's simplicity, just one ominous pumpkin, fits the pattern of ignoring violence and danger in favor of creating suspense and the unexpected.

Reflection:

Studying the opening credits video helped me understand how they set the tone and mood of a film. Comparing Monsters Inc. and Halloween (1978) showed how different choices in music, color, and visuals affect how the audience feels. Monsters Inc. uses fun movement and color to create a playful tone, while Halloween uses simple visuals and dark colors to build suspense. These examples helped me think about how to design my own opening credits to match the mood of my film by taking some of the same elements.

References

            StudioBinder. (2020, May 18). Reacting to Opening Credits — What Makes a Great Title Sequence? YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFUtF0gNocM

                        (2025). Youtu.be. https://youtu.be/FCfv5P8GXU4?si=y5adeiR6dravliFC

                                    Halloween (1978) - Opening Credits. (2025). Youtu.be. https://youtu.be/8_tGvktfjjk?si=k0oc-BayHeW5q5HQ