How to Compete With the Best

     Deep into my research, I decided to look at what gives a film opener its memorable qualities. A good film opener will grab your attention in the first frame. It has you gripping at the edge of your seat for more. The opener also needs to reveal some important information to the audience, such as the genre, setting, possible story lines, and also demonstrate quality technique within the editing and art direction. I enjoy the idea of having a film opener that looks as if it is vintage and then translates over into the present, however I need to pursue more thoughts on this idea in order to uncover the best way I could execute it.

Saul Bass, a graphic artist in the film industry said, "making a main-title was like making a poster, you're condensing the event into this one concept, this one metaphor-a backstory that needs to be told or a character that needs to be introduced." 

     While reading The Film Titling Industry, I learned that the opening sequences of a film and its title were ultimately pioneered in the fifties and sixties by Saul Bass, who's most famous achievement was the Psycho storyboard for the infamous shower scene, and then revitalized in the nineties by Kyle Cooper and Imaginary Forces. Credit sequences first began with silent films featuring iconic actors such as Charlie Chaplin. "As the movie industry evolved, so did the titles." 

"My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it."-Saul Bass

     Bass acknowledged the importance of a film's first few moments to capture the audience. Kyle Cooper says, "A main-title in its best form is like a prologue to a movie. Ideally, it sets you up for the emotional content of the film and gets you excited about it." This article mentions how Kyle Cooper and Imaginary Forces may take eight months to create the opening title scene that is over within the blink of an eye. That's a little terrifying considering I don't have eight months... However, I know I am not being held up to the same standards as award-winner Kyle Cooper, although I will hopefully reach his technique one day. 

Matarazzo, R. (n.d.). The Film Titling Industry. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://myweb.cwpost.liu.edu/paievoli/finals/505Sp_03/Prj2/MataP2.htm