Thriller Opening Sequences

How is the sequence engaging and how does it conform to traditional Thriller codes and conventions?

VERTIGO: 

The purpose of an opening sequence is to establish character, setting, theme, genre, and a sense of plot. Vertigo does all of this. The woman's facial features shown in the first part of the sequence belong to that of Kim Novak- who plays "Madeline" in this film. Close, detailed shots of her face enlighten to the viewer the close detail that is going to be focused purely on Madeline throughout the duration of this film, and the importance of noticing the details about her character. 

The older-styled colors and filters used on these shots creates a sense of time, which isn't modern, but isn't extremely ancient- which is revealed later in the film as it based in the late 1950's. Mellow, non-diegetic string music is played in the beginning of the sequence, until the camera zooms onto Madeline eyes, when the trumpets play loud and the strings intensify- leaving the viewer feeling the dramatic and mysterious atmosphere that has been created. The music lowers its dynamics three more times before it intensifies a final time when Novak wides her eyes and stares directly into the camera, as the title "VERTIGO" violently bursts out of the interior of her eye. This again creates an intense and dramatic mood for the viewer. 

The iconic spiral visual is filmed next and it takes the reader literally into the eyes of Madeline, effectively exploring her mind. The effect of the spiral sets the reader up to be looking out for this shape as it represents danger and a hidden identity, which we see revealed as true in the conclusion of the film. When Scotty is introduced into the sequence, we see him falling from a fair height, and into a serial. This sets up for the reader the representation of him falling into danger, and falling into the mind of Madeline, that will eventually lead to death. Again, this rings true later on in the film. 

 


INCEPTION:

Immediately in this sequence, the viewer is met with dramatic and suspenseful string music, causing them to already feel the tense atmosphere that is instantly created.  Red and black lines- that then form into cast and crew's names- cut and dice across the screen, which subtly makes the viewer aware that this film is going to be a fast paced film filled with danger, deception, and bloodshed (as revealed by the symbolism of the colours). It also makes the viewer aware that throughout the film things and places are going to be formed out of the next, constantly changing and ever moving.

As the sequence zooms in and out of the letters, the viewer is set up to be looking closely at details throughout the film, as this is what it symbolizes. These red and black lines, once they zoom out, seem to create a spiral effect, which could symbolize the confusion and disorientation that is going to be experienced throughout the film, and the effect of things "spiraling downhill."  The spiral effect could also be seen as a maze, as throughout the film things rings true in the way dream sequences are incepted and manipulated so intensely that not only the viewer, but the characters too, lose track of where they are and their sense of reality.

The iconic spinner symbol is seen occasionally throughout this sequence, alerting to the viewer the importance of this object (as it is the only real "object" in the title sequence). The spinner gets hidden behind letters and lines, emphasizing that during the film, the spinner will be hidden and only revealed in times of significance, and is greatly desired as it is kept in secret. It's sudden disappearance and reappearance also keeps the reader engaged and searching for the spinner.

Towards the end of the sequence, everything backtracks and we see a rush of lines and colour mash into a bold red line, on a black screen. This symbolizes the feeling of danger and "living on the line." The red line then zooms out to become the "I" of "INCEPTION" and the large title marks its place across the screen, bringing together the viewers thoughts and questions. However, now that the viewer thinks that the confusion is over and they have it "all figured out", the non-diegetic and hyperbolic sound of waves crashing together brings forth more questions, until the visual of the waves is shown; setting the scene. The symbolism of the venire constantly asking questions is representative of the entire atmosphere of the movie, where characters, and viewers, think they have everything under control and fired out- until something else comes in and rocks the boat- starting the cycle all over again.

Logos

TriStar Logo:

The Tri-Star Picture logo was created in 1983. It is a joint venture, formed in 1982, with Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS. Tri-Star was originally known as "Nova Pictures", but the name could not be used as it already exists as the name for a PBS science T.V. series. In 1987, "Tri-Star Pictures Inc." was changed to "Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc." until Coca-Cola merged it to become "Columbia/Tri-Star" that same year. Halfway through 1988, "Tri-Star Pictures Inc", then changed to its final name in 1991 of "TriStar Pictues Inc."

The Original Logo of "Tri-Star Pictures Inc." in 1983:

The horse in the sequence was actually chosen by Victor Kaufman because of his family's interest in riding horses. However, once the horse grew wings and became a pegasus, a whole new level of meaning was established. The use of a mythical creature creates the logo to be that of supernatural nature, and therefore shows the films to be "out of this world." Also, the colour of the horse was originally dark, but in post production was edited to become light by Sydney Pollack. This was to represent the logo as a fantasy, as if when you watch a film you eneter anothre world The colour white also represents purity, completeness, and perfection.

Final logo used from 1993-present:

By introducing clouds to the logo, it emphasises the fantasy world aspect of the logo and the use of different font and layout also modernises the logo to appeal to the audience of today.

DreamWorks Logo:

The DreamWorks logo features and boy sitting in a crescent moon, and fishing off it. The boy in this logo is a representation of Robert Hunts's (the artist) son. DreamWorks was established in 1994 by three founders: Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Their aim was to create a new kind of Hollywood studio.The original logo was designed in 1985, with a plain white background and blue text, until it was remade in 1995 for the release of their famous film "Toy Story." The new logo consisted of animated clouds and editing the moon and boy to look more realistic, all to give it a more modern and artistic feel. The clouds also gave a sense of depth and symbolized the film being "out of this world."

The newest and most current logo for "DreamWorks Animation SKG" consists of the same image as the previous logo, yet with lighter colours. Also, the text is much different. With the bold, colored title, the word DreamWorks is the first thing the viewer sees, rather than being born  directly to the boy in the previous logo. Each color used has a significant meaning- Red: stimulate feelings of excitement and strength. It is a real attention grabber; Blue: helps us to focus and it promotes clear, calm communication;  Orange: joy and anticipation; Pink: exciting, can be childish (which is appropriate as these are children's films); and Green: refreshing and abundance. All of these meanings create a sense of optimism and cheerfulness for the  viewer as they settle in to enjoy an joyful and fun film.  

New Line Cinema:

"New Line Film Productions Inc.", ("New Line Cinema"), is an American film studio founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne. It was originally a film distribution company, but became an independent film studio. Only in the 1970's did they create their first logo- an intense, vivid 2D animation of their title.

1st Logo

(1973-February 27, 1987)

It was acquired by "Turner Broadcasting" on January 28, 1994, then merged with "Time Warner" on October 10, 1996, then again with "Warner Bros." in 2008.

The logo for "New Line Cinema" changed many times, constantly progressing towards a more modern edit and with adapted animation, yet remaining simple. The simple logo for NLC is very effective because it stands out from the other logos in the film industry.

2nd Logo

(April 19-June 19, 1987)

3rd Logo

(August 28, 1987-August 19, 1994)

4th Logo

(July 29, 1994-September 3, 2010)

5th Logo

(January 28, 2011-present)

As New Line Cinema's logo progressed and became more modern, it became more dramatic and symbolic of it's movies. In the beginning, it was plain and simply a "boring" logo. It didn't entice the viewer or give them a hint of what the movie was to behold, yet it deterred them. 

From 2011, however, when the company joined with "Warner Bros. Pictures", it became gold and had a dramatic, sky background. Still keeping it's core colour scheme (black and blue), it suggested a mysterious and "dark" theme for the movie, yet incorporating a richness of excitement and anticipation- shown by the gold logo.

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