Opening credits research - Anna Sewell

Casino Royale

This 3 minute clip starts off with a point of view shot. Bond is 'shooting' at the camera which makes us as the audience feel threatened. This is framed with a circle, suggesting it's the gun barrell. After the shot is fired, animated blood drips down the screen. This covers it completely in red and acts as a very slow sweep to the next shot, which is the spiralling card suits. With this being the very start of the film it is implied that this film could be about gambling. This raises more and more questions in the audiences mind.  The sound is fast paced, upbeat, daring and adventurous, the lyrics are well suiting...

 "If you take a life do you know what you'll give?

Odds are, you won't like what it is

When the storm arrives, would you be seen with me?

By the merciless eyes of deceit? "

-- perfect for this opening.

Taxi Driver

The music for these opening credits  alternates between two sounds. One being sexy and sassy - the kind of music you'd hear in casinos, the other being harsh with cresendos and drum rolls. This shows the two sides to the film and the sexy and sassyness is almost contrapuntal for a thriller. The two sounds don't flow together well, they simply cut from one to the other, no fading or dimming in sounds. The credits fade in and out and at least one is shown at a time - briefly two always. With the scene taking places on a dark night and the credits being a dim golden orange the credits would not be visible on their own. Because of this Scorsese has subtly placed them against the white smoke billowing from the back of the taxi and as a result are easily read-able. For 'Taxi Driver' the taxi in the film slowly sweeps across. As it moves further and further across the screen we are focused to the boot of the taxi which is slowly revealing the letters - the car is driving left across the screen and as a result the first word to be fully shown is 'Driver' which is unusual.

Lord of War

This entire opening is based on the tracking of a bullet. The flow from production to where it's made to what it's job is and what it does. For a military setting the music is contrapuntal, performed by Buffalo Springfield the folk rock band's music doens't suit the setting very well. A happy, acoustic song alongside miltary and a weapon of death. This is used to entice the audience and raise questions in their mind. The credits are of a small font and are a crisp white colour (pale but strong) which contrasts with the dirty and dullness of the production factory. This may be so as they stand out against the rest and our eyes aren't wandering looking for them. Being a white colour they are always placed against a dark backdrop and are therefore visible. The credits also don't fade in and out but simply appear and then are gone.