Opening Sequence Titles

The following video contains a compilation of many distribution and production company logos, conventionally at the beginning of films. These logos give the audience an impression as to what kind of genre they can expect; for example, if they see the Walt Disney Pictures logo, they know that the movie is going to be child friendly and family fun.

The titles of the opening sequences conventionally appear in a specific order. In this example of the sixth sense, the first title reiterates to the audience the distribution companies, followed by a title giving credit to the production company as well. The distribution and production companies will almost always appear in that order. This is also shown in Blade Runner and Pulp Fiction.

Distribution

Production

The next title the audience sees is the main actor(s) of the film. They show the most famous actor to draw the audience in to the film, as if they see an actor they are familiar with and who they know is a good actor, they may be more inclined to watch.

The main title of the film is shown after this – very early on in the title sequence. This title is possibly the biggest and is shown twice in quick succession for emphasis.

In the case of Pulp Fiction and some other films where there are not specifically one protagonist; the main title is shown before any cast titles.

The next cluster of titles show the other members of the cast with significance to the film. The first few members of the cast are the most significant and therefore are shown individually.

As the significance of the actors decreases, they sometimes begin to show their names in doubles, so as not to take too long showing the titles of people who they audience most likely do not know nor care for. However, this is not always conventional.

After the main cast members are shown, the titles move onto the names of the crew. Whereas the importance of the titles decreased for the cast as time went on; the importance of the crew members increases as it approaches the end of the titles.

The penultimate title shown is the producers. This is the person/people in charge of the production however do not have much creative input to the film.

The last title is of the director of the film. This is the most important member of the crew because they get the final say for all aspects of the film that relate to the movie itself e.g. the cinematography, sound or mise-en-scene.