Analysing Existing Action Film Title Sequences

In this blog post I will explore how titles are presented to the audience at the beginning of action films. By analysing this, I will gain a better understanding of how titles appear on the screen and in what order they appear. I will be using the Art of the Title website to get images of the title credits.

'Raiders of the Lost Ark'

After the production company idents, the first credit to appear in the opening scene is the title of the film ('Raiders of the Lost Ark') which is presented in white font over an image from the film. The rest of the titles also appear over the opening scene of the film (over moving images) using a slightly cursive but bold, capitalised font (typical of the genre). The order of the rest of the titles is as follows: key actors (the lead actor, Harrison Ford, appears first), crew members and then finally the director, Steven Spielberg.

'Spectre'

Similarly, these credits also appear over moving images from the film, however this time the titles don’t appear over the opening scene like 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' but instead form part of a self-contained credit title sequence (typical of the Bond films). The names of the production companies are the first credits. The order of the rest of the titles is as follows: leading actor (Daniel Craig, who plays Bond), the title of the film which appears over a bright gold colour, a supporting actor, crew members, and then finally the director of the film.

'Die Hard'

After the production company idents, this opening title sequence begins with the director's name on the first credit over an image. The rest of the titles appear over the top of images in the the opening scene like 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. The rest of the titles are as follows: leading actor (Bruce Willis), the title of the film (which is in a blue font compared to everything else being in white), a supporting actor, crew members and then there is a title credit of, 'based on the novel', which is not common in action films. Then finally the director's name comes back on in the last credit again. Sans serif font is used in all of the titles, which makes it clear and easy to read for the audience but it also emphasises the genre as sans serif typography is common in action films.

Stakeout

After the production company idents, this film's opening sequence begins with the name of the production company over a black screen in a bold sans serif font (in capitals, typical of the genre). The rest of the titles are as follows: leading actors (Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez), then the name of the film, then supporting actors, then crew, then finally the director of the film. After the initial production company name the rest of the titles appear over images from the opening sequence.

'Men in Black'

Finally, this film's opening scene begins (after the production company idents) with the production company name over a dark night sky; the font is skinny and not bold which is not typical of action films (and may reinforce that the film is a science-fiction/action hybrid). The rest of the titles are as follows: leading actors, the title of the film, crew members and then finally the director. Most of the titles appear over the dark night sky which replicate them appearing on a dark title card, however some of the titles appear over different images.