Monday, April 18, 2016

O is for Opening Credits

It's April and that means the A to Z Blogging Challenge! This year my theme is film terms.


Opening credits set the mood and tone of the movie They also set up the story, characters and place of the film. 





In Gone With the Wind (1939), the opening shows all credits, including minor cast and crew. The opening title fills the screen, foreshadowing this epic story.






In Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954), the credits appear over a rear window overlooking a courtyard, which is the setting for the entire film. 





In Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the opening credits are simple and minimal. The power is in the music that creates mystery and drama when combined with the image.





The opening sequence of Rocky III (1982) is a brilliant example of setting up the backstory of the sequel. The sequence shows Rocky's journey after winning the world heavy weight title.





Spider-Man (2002) has a distinctive comic book, superhero look using computer animation.






Mad Men (2007), a television show about an advertising agency set in New York City in the 1960s, features animation with images of advertising posters, high rise buildings and a 1960s vibe.

10 comments:

  1. Some great opening credits. Thank you for the post and for sharing.

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    1. Hi, Nicola. I'm a fan of opening credits. It was difficult to select samples for this post, there are so many creative ones to choose from.

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  2. If I don't get to see the opening of a movie, I don't enjoy it as much. I never understood why it was so hard to pick up in the middle of a movie until I read how a screenplay is structured.

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    1. Ann, I feel the same. I have to see a movie from the beginning, including the opening credits.

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  3. I like to see the movie title and the list of starring actors first, then the movie. When they started the practice of running opening credits interspersed with the opening action scene, my nerves went tight with irritation every time more credits popped up.

    Gail’s 2016 April A to Z Challenge
    Theme: The Fun in Writing #212

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  4. Gail I know what you mean. Sometimes the credits keep appearing far into the first act.

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  5. They've changed a lot of that over the years, which shows how impatient we are now. People used to sit there and watch five minutes of credits before the film begins. My mom still says she was amazed the first time she saw Indiana Jones--it was the first time she'd seen a movie just jump right into the action. Before that, movies always had a slow build to the action.

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    1. Stephanie, so true. I enjoy watching the credits set the tone of the movie. Introductions are and first impressions are important.

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  6. The opening credits are so important in establishing the pace and story of the movie. The Mad Men opening credit is a little confusing for me... why do they show someone falling from a height?
    [@samantha_rjsdr] from
    Whimsical Compass

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    1. Mad Men's main character is Don Draper, whose life is slowly falling apart because of his drinking and womanizing. Yet he is a gifted ad man. The falling symbolizes the temptations that "bring him down." It would be confusing if you don't know the story. As a TV, show it's repeated every week and you begin to understand how the opening relates to the character.

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