Television specials, especially of classic works, sometimes contain unusual opening credit sequences. In anime, there are usually lyrics to the theme tune at the bottom of the opening. Musical accompaniment can be either instrumental or a song and aided by the visual treatment of the images helps to convey the tone and mood of the programme. Around this key element can be incorporated shots of highlights from earlier episodes or shows and key presenters' or cast members' names. In general, a television title sequence will at some point badge the show with a typographic logo. However, the title is shown by means of the camera slowly panning across the base of the statue of the dead king Hamlet, whose ghost will appear in three scenes of the film, and who will play a crucial role in the story.
Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet does not actually have an opening title sequence - the only credits seen at the beginning are the name of the production company, Shakespeare's name, and the title of the film. Nevertheless it also remains common for titles that superimpose text over a black background. Kyle Cooper's celebrated title sequence for David Fincher's Se7en (1995) again influenced a whole host of designers. They also inspired many imitators both in cinema and on television. The title sequences of Saul Bass and Maurice Binder are among the best examples of this.
In a trend increasingly common since the late 1950s, film title sequences have been a showcase for contemporary design and illustration. As the credits progressed, the camera slowly zoomed in on the Hand of God outstretched toward Adam. In the 1959 Ben-Hur, the opening credits were seen against the background of the "Creation of Man" in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling. In the 1947 Technicolor film Sinbad the Sailor, the letters of the opening credits seem to form from colored water gushing into a fountain. These include The Wizard of Oz (1939), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), the David Lean Oliver Twist (1948) and the 1961 King of Kings. In several films, the opening credits have appeared against a background of (sometimes moving) clouds. This opening sequence was designed by John Harkrider, who created the costumes for the original 1927 Broadway production of the musical. In the 1936 Show Boat little cut-out figures on a revolving turnable carried overhead banners on which were displaying the opening credits. Many films have used unusual and fairly elaborate title sequences since the 1930s.
Definition of sequence synonym series#
Some films superimpose opening credits over the opening scenes, while others elect to do away with titles entirely, instead including elaborate title sequences at the end of the movie.ĭue to the commercial environment of television broadcasting, most series have regular and identifiable title sequences. As cinema's title sequences grew longer we begin to see the involvement of graphic design luminaries such as Saul Bass, which directly influenced the 1960s television predilection for creating strong graphics-led sequences for many shows.įilm-Makers at the beginning of the 21st century have many options open regarding title sequences. Part of cinema's new prestigious and expansive quality were orchestral musical preludes before the curtains opened and long title sequences - all designed to convey a sense of gravitas it was hoped television would be unable to compete with. The "cast of thousands" epics shot on various patent widescreen formats were a direct response to television's successful invasion of the leisure marketplace.
This remained the convention for many years until the advent of television forced the major film studios to invest in developing cinema in order to win back a diminishing audience. The arrival of sound did little to alter the convention except that the sequence was usually accompanied by a musical prelude. In silent cinema title cards were used throughout to convey dialogue and plot and it is in some of these early short films that we see the first examples of title sequences themselves, being quite literally a series of title cards shown at the beginning of a film. Since the invention of the cinematograph, simple title cards were used to top and tail silent film presentations in order to identify both the film and the production company involved, and to act as a signal that the film had started and then finished.
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