What are Opening Title Sequences?

An opening title sequence to a film is used to establish the style of the film and sometimes is used to introduce: character, location, narrative, genre and themes.

It is imperative that the opening title sequence to a film creates a good first impression for its audience. A good opening title sequence sets the tone of the film for the audience but does not give too much away. 

Some films create "full on" opening title sequences but others do not, either due to restraints on money or preference of the directors. Some films prefer to take the audience right into the action at the very start of the film. 

 

OTS to Batman (1989)

OTS to Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999), Panic Room (2000), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

The image and YouTube embedded clip above shows how OTS' differ from film to film and also how they have changed over time, from the 1980s up until 2011.

Steve Curran, a motion graphics author said "film titles, to a large degree, are the afterthought of the movie production; their typical budget was described by one practitioner as 'whatever is left after the caterer has been paid at the wrap party.'"

So, in the past, opening title sequences to a film were not largely valued as they did not consist of much; only a few names and text against a simple background. 

However, now OTS' have become more valued by film makers because it is vital to create a good first impression of a film, so that the audience will become more engaged with it and become interested from the beginning. 

Also, now OTS' are more than just text since the 1920s, due to advances in technology some titles contain special effects and motion graphics. This has made them more interesting to watch and allows producers to capture an audience more effectively.