Opening Credits

Our final coursework piece is to plan, shoot and edit the beginning two minutes of a film. This will include the opening credits. So, as part of my research i decided to look at the styles of opening credits of two horror films: John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd (2007).
I chose these because even though, stylistically the examples differ hugely, they still both conform to typical horror conventions and convey the genre brilliantly.
First, i looked at the Halloween opening credits.




To begin with, there is just a blank screen with chilling music. The effect of the music at this point, is that it is quiet, eery and gives the impression of something lurking or being in hiding.
The font of the credits is very significant. Traditionally, black and orange are the two colours which signify Halloween. Here, the orange writing on the black background connotes the plot and of course the film's title.
Then, as the credits appear, a carved Pumpkin appears on the left hand side of the screen. It has a smile, but combined with the scary music, the flickering of light from within it and the fact that half of it is in shadow, looks spooky, mysterious and would have the effect of making an audience feel uneasy.
At first, it is not blatent, but as the credits roll, the camera zooms in and the Pumpkin appears to inch closer and closer to the audience. This is a great way to make the audience feel like they are already getting more involved with the film, and being literally drawn in. It also adds to the ambience of fear and would be effective as an unnerving image to be pulled in to. This continues, and at the end of the opening credits, we find ourselves dangerously close to the strange Pumpkin.
Compared to the Sweeney Todd opening credits, this format was fairly straight forward but nevertheless successful in creating ambience for the film about to come, and conveying the genre well.
It must be considered that the films were made 29 years apart, so there was probably a restricted range of effects for John Carpenter to use.
Here is the next set of opening credits: Sweeney Todd.





The music begins before the credits actually start, so as to prepare the audience for what is coming and create the tone for the film. The music itself is similar to the funeral march and has the same 'deadly' feel to it.
I also spotted that the usual Warner Bros. background of a blue sky scattered with shite clouds, has been formatted to a dull, scary looking sky. What a great way to set the tone?
The slow camera movement as it tilts to reveal the sky makes builds up the suspence and the expectation for what is coming. The storm and silhouette of the city are, again, typical of the Horror genre.
Then as the camera pans across the city and reveals the inside of the window, there is a drop of blood where we expect rain. In the same frame we see the chair. This chair is significant to the film's plot and that is why it is introduced during the opening credits. It is in a spotlight while the rest of the room is in darkness, which emphasises its importance.
The rest of the opening credits follow the trail of blood as it flows through the chair's mechanisms and out through the trap door in the floor. Later, it will become apparent that this is a representation of the journey the victims experience on their way to become the contents of meat pies. This almost works as a 'forewarning' to the audience as to the horrors they are about to witness.
Meanwhile, the music builds up as a crescendo to build up the thrill and sense of danger.
Evidently, thought the Sweeney Todd credits were much more detailed and graphic, both films were successful in conveying the genre. However, with Sweeney Todd, the plot was dived into straight away and more was revealed from the start.



What needs to be included in opening credits?
Here is a list of the types of names to mention during opening credits:
- Film studio
-Director presenting the film
-Film title
-Producer/Executive producer
-Main actors
-Featured actors
-Screenplay artists
-Director of photography
-Editors
-Music directors