Research: Opening Credits

What are opening credit?

Opening credit are writings which appears at the beginning of a film. This writings tell the audience who is the film produced by and what actors will be starring in it, and the different roles each member in the production undertook. Opening credits are usually accompanied by a distinct sound or set of images to represent the genre of the film.
 

What is the purpose of opening credits?

The purpose an opening credit is to give the audience some information such as the actors starring in the film, the production company, and each individual who help out or contributed in the making of the film.

What do they provide the audience with?

An opening credit provides the audience with information such as the name of production company and the studio in the first minutes of films as they are the most important aspect in the film and also converted what was just an idea into reality so that they audience can watch, following is the producers and directors names, then the actors who will be starring the film as they are also one of the key aspects in ensuring the success of the film. The film title would mostly come right after, followed by the editing group, the music/sound composers, the storyboard designer and at last the costume and make-up team. The ideology of having an hierarchical structure in the opening credit create a sense on authority as the audience are able to see who are the most important figures in the making of the film and who would be held responsible if the film succeed or fails to reach its target audience.

Example
 

Video of sev7n

In the opening credits of the film seven, the writings are accompanied by a mysterious sound a set of images of a man who seems to be plotting information in a book. Straight away the audience can identify him as the antagonist and a suggest that the film is about crime as we images of people being placed in the book and  names getting crossed out. The first written information we see is of the production company (new line cinema/Arnold kopelson production) this is because they may have created films with the same genre and therefore letting the audience know what to expect. Next is the producers name who appears, then followed by the name of only two actors who are Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, this tells the audience that they are our main characters in the film and most like our protagonist. We also get to see some honourable mentions such as the music team, the editor and the make- up artists. Finally the opening credit is concluded with Producers name, emphasising once more their importance in film making.

Conclusion

This post has been beneficial to me because it will allow me to correctly provide the audience with information regarding the production on my thriller. For the opening credit in my thriller, will have a combination of an eerie sound which will build tension in audience as it will be accompanied by