'Sahara' Opening Titles Analysis
The names of the production companies appear in a basic white font in the centre of the frame against a detailed sketch of an old battleship which hints that the genre of the film is action or adventure. As soon as the first credits appear, a funky song begins which immediately gives the film a light-hearted feel hinting that the genre may also include elements of comedy as the film is not taking a serious tones right from the very start. The credit fades out and a second later a new title crediting another production company fades-in and is in the exact same style as before. While this title remains on the screen the camera slightly zooms out and rotates about 45 degrees to reveal that the sketch is a picture in a newspaper.
The camera continues moving along many artefacts such as a lit cigar as well as a bottle of whisky which illustrates the type of characters the film will contain. The camera zooms out a bit more and glides up to many cuttings stuck on a wall. The camera focuses on a picture of two men smiling holding a piece of paper. This coincides with the fading in of the main actor’s name- showing that he is one of the men in this picture. The music at this stage has been joined by singing and proves to be ‘Right place, Wrong time’ by Dr. John which could reflect the characteristics of the films characters. The title is positioned to the left of the photo suggesting that the actor is the man on the left. The font of this title is the same as before and fades out after about four seconds. The camera moves to the right where the name of another actor appears on the right of the photo, once again suggesting that this actor is the character in this picture stood on the right. The name slowly drops down as the camera moves and fades out after around the same time as before, showing that neither actor has more significance over the other as their names appear for an equal amount of time.
The camera continues to move horizontally to the left showing more newspaper clippings, photographs and sketches about the same battleship or the characters. The name of the main actress fades-in and is in the same font as everything before it but slowly moves to the left and fades out as the camera continues to move left around the room. The camera spins 90 degrees so that it is now moving directly forward and reveals that this film is based on a book and therefore the author is credited. The title remains in the same font which ties all of the text in together and produces a feeling of continuity showing that none of the information has priority over one another.
The camera moves towards a montage of posters yet the credit remains at the same distance from the camera until it fades out. After it has faded out, it is clear that the camera has been zooming in on a particular postcard with a picture of vast desert on it- echoing the name of the film. The film title is displayed on this postcard and stands out as it is in a basic yet non-serious font against a light blue background. The camera zooms in so much that the postcard containing the title is the only object that fills the frame and therefore its significance is highlighted. The placement of the name of the film in the sequence is effective as, through the props and music, the audience is already getting a feel of the tone and genre of the film as well as discovering elements about the films characters.
'Bird on a Wire' Opening Titles Analysis
The title sequence starts with the logo of the production company so that their involvement in the film is established. The diegetic music fades in and has a very fast beat to it reflecting the genre and that this film has an action element to it. The production companies name appears in a yellow and orange font with a jagged black line through the middle. The colours have connotations of the sun and the desert which hints at frayed tempers that can be associated with extremely hot weather. The production company is ‘presenting’ the film which makes clear the important role that the company had in the making of the film. The writing is against a black background meaning that the audience is forced to read this information as it is the only thing present on the screen.
The title fades and straight after another production company’s name appears on to the screen. The titles are still on a black background, thus having the same effect as before. After this title had faded out, a shot of a silhouetted fence among a red and orange background appears which keeps in with the colour theme of intense hot weather. The name of the main actor fades in on this background and is positioned central on the left hand side of the frame. The writing is the same as before which maintains continuity as the information is presented as having no more significance than the titles of the production companies. This title remains in the frame for about four seconds, in which time the background goes from a dark red to a lighter red- having the effect of a sunrise which suggests that this is the start of the action like the sunrise is the start of a day.
After this title has faded out, the name of the main actress appears in the same font, colour and size against the same background- once again maintaining the same significance as the previous text. The diegetic music has remained at a constant beat throughout these titles, suggesting that the action is remaining the same as music has not been used to highlight any points of action, interest or suspense. The text of the actress’s name fades out after the same amount of time as before, around four seconds, and the background fades into large letters of a sentence that cannot be made out because it is too far forward in the frame.
At this point, the music has become more eventful and singing has started. The song can be recognised as ‘Aquarius’ by Hair showing that the film has not produced its own music. The song has connotations of the theme of fate which suggests that the film will have a circular structure and a happy ending as this also complies with the genre of action comedy. After the background has completely faded out, the camera zooms out to reveal the title of the film against a black background. The title is in the same font as before but in a slightly different colour. The colour fits in with the same theme as before by being orange but the top of the text is scattered with black. The title is in the centre of the frame and is underlined by a jagged orange line that goes from one side of the frame to the other. This reflects the title of ‘Bird on a Wire’.
