Research into title sequences

Since we are doing a mystery thriller for our film, I have decided to look into title sequences which are similar to our genre. Through my research I have concluded that good title sequences for our genre is ones that gives the audience ideas of what is going to happen but it doesn’t give too much away. This will allow the audience to ask questions and be intrigued into what will happen in the film. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is a good example of a title sequence for a thriller film, it has fast cuts to show the audience what the film is about but then it cuts before they know too much toi spoil the film for them.



I have also found out in my research that music and mise en scene is very important in an opening sequence. The music sets the tone for the film and gives the audience an idea on whether or not the film will be fast paced and exciting or slow paced and calm. For example, in mystery thrillers, there is normally some tense music to set the atmosphere as a film that is exciting but also has a lot of tense and questionable moments. The mise en scene is important because it is what the audience expects to see because it’s related to the specific genre, if there was something in the opening sequence that was related to the film or genre then the audience would be very confused.

This research has allowed me to see the importance of the opening sequence of a film and that the mise en scene, sound and how it is overall put together (through editing) is key to set the right atmosphere for the genre of the film.