Decoding Film Titles - "The Art of the Title"

For this assignment, we were tasked with analyzing the opening sequences of different feature films. We did this using the principles from Art of the Title, a website with numerous different openings. This assignment allowed us to focus on the importance of title cards; analyzing how the visual and technical choices within title cards can create an audiences reaction and preparation for the film that will take place. I chose to analyze the movies Coraline (2009) and The Conjuring (2013), given that my movie will be an animated horror. These movie openings better help me understand how I should structure my own title card sequence.

 Film Opening Analysis: Coraline (2009)

The opening title sequence of Coraline immediately establishes a suspenseful tone, exciting the audience and creating a sense of anxious uncertainty through tension. Altogether, the opening establishes mystery through its lack of a proper plot to follow, other than the eerie visuals of mechanical arms creating a creepy doll meant to look like Coraline. This use of unsettling craft imagery, paired with the distorted childlike innocence of the dolls, are examples of genre conventions suggested in the story. These conventions all result in this suspenseful horror genre that the title sequence is aiming for, playing into the narrative of childhood corruption and uncanny valley.

One major aspect of this title sequence is its visual design and choices. The first few title cards are set with old, leathery backgrounds and vintage typography made from stitching, with the letter being connected by thread to create a homemade look. This look is then discarded once the proper visuals of the opening are introduced, which then show numerous close-up shots of the doll being made, and extreme close-up shots of the doll being deconstructed and reconstructed. The typography loses its warm, stitched together look to take on a sharp, formal look. The visuals are set in a murky, muted, and dark color pallet. This switch in style for its visuals symbolize the difference between the powerful antagonist of this movie in comparison to Coraline, where Coraline is the homemade, stitched-together title cards while the antagonist is this uncomfortable, dark creature.

The editing of this sequence acts as a reinforcement to the saturnine mood of the opening. The opening utilizes smooth camera movement, with there being steady tracking shots on the doll or the mechanical hands of the creature. The text of this movie also remains static, fading in and out rather than moving. The editing pace of the opening is slow, taking time to show the time it takes to manually create the doll. These smooth camera movements, paired with the slow, robotic pacing of the opening ultimately supports the suspenseful horror genre that the opening is going for while also creating unique visuals that appease the audience.

Despite the visuals of this title sequence holding so much importance, the opening would not be the same without its sound and music. The opening utilizes an otherworldly, almost dreamlike score with a suspenseful instrumental and a choir of children singing gibberish. The sounds of the mechanical creature remaking the puppet are played at a higher volume, working with the visuals to put more emphasis on the creatures actions and to make it seem more significant to the story. The opening would not be the same if not for this creative music; it emphasizes the otherworldly nature of this movie while bringing in elements of uncanniness o show the threat towards Coraline. No other score could do the same as effectively.

All of these elements in the opening sequence aim to target teenagers and enthusiasts of the horror genre that enjoy fantasy and mystery elements. The opening promotes this ideology that powerful control can be masked as love and care, hooking the audience with unsettling and creepy visuals to emphasize these ideologies. Ultimately, this opening is extremely effective as an introduction to the film for its ability to prepare the audience for the film that follows. It gives the audience just enough content to piece together what could happen, while not revealing the plot to maintain that suspense and mystery, generating an interest for the audience to keep watching rather than being used as just simple aesthetic decoration for the story. In summary, this opening promises a narrative that explores the elimination of childlike innocence, and the need to fear care.

 

Film Opening Analysis: The Conjuring (2013)

The opening title sequence of the conjuring immediately takes on this dark and suspenseful mood, with it having this anxiety-inducing tone that sparks fear and distress in the audience. It creates this feeling of immense dread in the audience through its use of genre conventions typically used in the horror genre, such as its creepy non-diegetic score and its “based on a true story” style of framing. These news reports and picture of families used in the title cards create this theme of evil paranormal activity, constructing a narrative around stopping these evil spirits. In general, the opening automatically raises this mystery surrounding what these paranormal entities can do, creating this mystery that traumatizes yet intrigues the audience.

The liberties taken regarding the visual design and language through media in this title sequence further emphasizes this fear factor that the creators were going for. This harsh, monotone color pallet of imagery, paired with the static typography pasted onto the images in the background and the composition meant to resemble that of investigator case files or police evidence generates this disturbing visual that captures the audience and places them on the edge of their seats, unsettling them with its vintage look and ambience. These visual choices symbolize the main plot and theme of the film; that being its dangerous antagonistic forces regarding religion and death. 

What further drives this mood is the creative direction taken for the motion and editing of the opening title sequence. The camera itself remains completely static, with no movement of the camera. Furthermore, there is no animated text within this opening. A large part of what makes this title sequence horrifying is that we the viewers are stuck in place, gazing at what occurs in front of the camera; that being its use of fading and dissolving as a transition between shots of the papers in the background being moved on screen. The editing pace itself remains at a slow pace, lingering on shots to allow the viewer to soak in detail. This pacing supports the horror genre of the film by creating these title cards that feel uncomfortably long while also hiding details for the viewer to witness, such as the quick scene where the cross on a gravestone turns upside down in the background. 

Although the imagery is what makes up the bulk of this horror and suspense, what truly ties it all together is the openings unsettling score. Its non-diegetic music filled with loud, eerie instruments and unsettling whispers, paired with the subtle diegetic noises of the paper rustling and moving work with the visuals to create this sense of forbidden discovery regarding a terrifying topic. The opening would not be the same without this use of sound and music; the sound and music is what drives past the initial fear and creates true terror in the audience.

Overall, this title sequence feels like a love letter to older demographics who enjoy serious, religious horror. The title sequence emphasizes belief in the supernatural, creating religious values that go against the main evil of the film; that being demonic entities. Overall, this opening title sequence prepares the audience by truly unsettling them and giving them an idea of what to expect from the rest of the film. This sequence truly enhances the story by providing a vague narrative of what will be brought up in the movie while evoking his primal terror in the audience. This opening promises the audience that this story will be captivating, yet horrific.

 

Comparing/ Contrasting Film Openings of Coraline (2009) and The Conjuring (2013)

Both Coraline and The Conjuring hold film openings that tailor to the horror genre. These openings create suspense in the audience through creepy visuals that vaguely describe and foreshadow the coming story while still keeping their respective audiences intrigued enough to stick around. Coraline and The Conjuring bare some similarities in their creative directions, with both utilizing slow pacing between shots to build tension, as well as creation of an atmosphere over the exposition through reliance on visuals and sound instead of dialogue.

However, it is largely apparent that the opening title sequences of Coraline and The Conjuring have excessive differences. One of the most obvious of these differences is the different kinds of horror that these films strive for. Coraline’s use of stop motion animation and stylized designs generates a fantastical horror that plays into whimsical, yet unsettling themes. In contrast, The Conjuring plays into more serious, oppressive horror. This huge difference results in specific audiences for each film, with Coraline applying to younger demographics who enjoy dark fantasy, and The Conjuring aiming for adult, supernatural horror enthusiasts. This difference in intent is littered throughout both film openings. For example, Coraline uses colorful, yet muted colors, fantastical world building, and a dreamlike score with a childish choir and ethereal instruments; The Conjuring utilizes monotone colors and low-key lighting to create archival footage, while also having ominous drones of sound in the background and more realistic framing. In general, both films strive for a specific type of horror, and succeed in their fields; but the specific type of horror they aim for are largely different, which ultimately affects the visual and auditory designs that each studio took.