Title Design Research: Always Shine

 

The Website Used was “Art of the Title” 

1.How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? Which ones?  

The titles shown are the names of the cast, producers, writers, and directors. They also show the studios that produced the film. For Example in this film it is “Visit Films” and is associated by “Salem St.Entertainment.”  

2.    What connotations do the images carry?

    The images in this opening sequence are extremely fitting for the genre of the movie. Most of the shots are extreme close-ups. This fully focuses on the actress's face. All of the shots hyper-focus on the unnerving acting. This immediately shows the audience that something is wrong. Many of the shots are unfocused and constantly moving as well. This is connotated with vulnerability, as if the viewer is running from something. Therefore, this instills fear or suspense in the viewer. 

  
 

3.    How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

You can immediately tell the genre of the film from the non-diegetic sound used. They are extremely tense and harsh violins. This makes everything shown in the opening sequence much more dramatic than it would be without it. The second main source of a thriller film comes from the actors' dialogue. She is extremely frantic and almost sounds insane simply off her tone. Symbolically, as the music gets faster, so does the actors’ dialogue, much like a mystery would do in all the rest of its elements. 

4.    What conventions are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? 

The large use of non-diegetic sound is the main convention used here that is often used in thrillers. Not only is it violins; it is a variety of other things. For example, fast and out-of-tune piano sprinkled throughout the entire sequence. If it is not an instrument, it is a loud bang or an undiscernible loud sound. This shows its target audience that, whatever this film is about, it will be tense and dramatic. That is exactly what its target audience would be looking for. This is especially considering that the viewer is looking for a mystery. Additionally, mysteries are expected to be fast-paced in certain parts, so fast-paced music communicates this as well.