Halloween Title sequence

Halloween Title sequence
We looked at the opening sequence from the film Halloween directed by John Carpenter. I looked at 9 of the scenes and analysed each one.

It starts with the directors name aswell as the title of the film underneath. The font is in orange as it refelcts the whole theme of halloween as pumkins are orange aswell. The lit up pumpkin on a black background makes it seem more scary.

The next scene shows the important actor as they tend to be the first titles in the opening sequence.

The next title sequence is another actors name in the same font but you start to realise that the pumpkin is getting closer to the screen.

The pumpkin now becomes the same length as the font, the audience are now focused on the font aswell as the pumpkin.

The pumpkin becomes much more bigger as the 'less important' titles come up. The creates anticipation of watching the actuall film.

Instead of one, two more titles are shown in one scene. This is because these arn't as important as the titles in the beginning of the sequence. The pumpkin is now covering half of the scene.

The zooming of the pumpkin brings a sinister feel tot he title sequence especially the fact it's zoomed in slowly which has a creepiness to it. Also the titles are glowing such as the pumpkin which also gives the whole Halloween themed sequence.

The lighting changes as you can no longer see the colour of the pumpkin but just its 'eyes, nose and mouth' aswell as creating a sinister atmosphere, the audience is nowjust focused on the title as it's an important title.



Such as the first title in the opening sequence, we end with the directors name. But instead of the title of the film appearing underneath it, it just his name. Also you can no longer see the pumpkin as it has been unlit which shows some sort of diguise.

Sound

It starts of with a slow paced sound, mostly played by the piano. This gives a calm welcoming but in the same time still has a sinister feel to it. When the pumpkin appears, a low bass tone starts that shows the titles are starting. Also, while the low bass tone is playing the keys of the piano start to become lower too creating more suspense. The music becomes more fast paced as the pumpkin is getting closer to the screen. When the actuall film is about to start, this pieano piece stops playing and starts with a sound of children singing.

Halloween Title Sequence- Nahuel

Halloween is a 1978 American independent slasher film by director John Carpenters. The title sequence is fairly simple as all it features is a pumpkin on the right and titles on the left. The titles are basic and cohesive with the pumpkin as it changes colour like the glow in the pumpkin. Throughout the sequence the camera is slowly zooming into the pumpkin. There is non-diegetic music in the background building up suspense; what starts as consistent piano mood music, eventually gets more dramatic and the piano keys get lower as the pumpkin appears.

To begin, is a music score of piano keys. The consistency of the music throughout the title sequence creates a sinister feel. It opens with the production company 'Compass International Pictures' and its logo beneath. The basic black background against the block capital title is so simplistic that together with the music, it almost becomes haunting.

The start of the sequence informs the audience of key information i.e. compass international pictures, the producer Moustapha Akkad. The large scale of Akkad's name highlights significance and indicates a high status. His name also appears before the pumpkin- the centre focus of the title sequence which essentially suppports the suspense, which again suggests his importance.

Donald Pleasence's name is the first title to appear next to the pumpkin, which highlights his status to the film and also the change in the piano keys not only dramatizes the clip but also adds more of an impact to his title. His name is also the first to appear before the title of the fim. The fact that that it appears even before the director, heightens his importance further suggesting he is a heavy-weight actor.

The title and the director (John Carpenter) appear on the screen at the same time. This emphasizes Carpenter's credit to the film. Shortly after Carpenter's name and the films title flickers out, the pumpkin slowly zooms in. This pre-transition of the pumpkin reinforces Carpenter's importance because it is neither eclipsed by the title or the moving pumpkin.

The title sequence also introduces aspects based on importance. This is evident in the que of actors. For example, before the directors name or the name of the film it says 'Donald Pleasence in' highlighting his public status or significance to this film, whereas other actors are introduced with their characters name- an indication they aren't as recognizable i.e. 'introducing Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie' and 'Nancy Loomis as Annie'. The use of the word 'introducing' suggests Curtis isn't a recognizable actress.

The pumpkin which essentially is the main focus of the clip, eventually fades out but the glow in the eye and nose remain until it slowly flickers out; this may be symbolic of something i.e. a representation of a form of life.

Just before John Carpenter's name appears again, the glow from within the pumpkin dies out suggesting it has been blown out. Carpenter's name then fades in with nothing else on screen, therefore his title and essentially status, isnt eclipsed by anything i.e. the pumpkin. The is also the fourth time Carpenter is mentioned in the title sequence which highlights his importance as a director.




As the sequence comes to an end, it fades from the name of the directer to a black screen with plain white font establishing the location. The sinister piano music eventually transitions to a diegetic sound of children singing a Halloween song. This indicates the end of the title sequence and supports the expected theme of the film.




The last title is one which establishes the event and the year. It provides basic information before the film has even begun which indicates that there must be some significance to the location, year and most likely the event (halloween night).

Analysis Of 9 Shots from Halloween Sequences

In my media group, we watched the title sequence of the the 1978 phsycological/horror film Halloween. As well as directing and writing the film, John Carpenter also did the opening title sequence so he can build up the atmoshpere.

It starts of with a musical score of a piano playing in low keys. The fact that it's played without any other instrument gives a sinister atmosphere from the start. Then a static title of the production company- Compass International pictures alongside it's logo underneath appears on a black background. The text is in capital letters in clear font. It's in a bright orange colour that glows to represent the lit pumpkin that come in later in the sequence.


After, the title of the producer Moustapha Akkard appears by itself in a bigger sized text. This emphasis it's importance of the producer. The sound of the piano playing plays into a much deeper key when the pumpkin appears on the screen to make it seen more dramitic while it's running it's titles.

Donald Pleasence name appears alongside the pumpkin to show he is one of the key actors as it is he's name which appears first out of the actors. This dissolves and then the title Halloween appears with the director's name on top of it in a much smaller size.


The fact the title of John Carpenters name appears on the screen the same time as the title of the film reinforces the importance of John Carpenter. The title of John Carpenter dissolves and straight after the title of the film dissolves, leaving the pumpkin by it's self for a few seconds. The title of another producers name- Debra Hill appears which follows more titles of actors and actress's names on the screen.

We are able to differentiate the actors importance by the Que of the actors name as well as the way it is written on the screen. The title of the actor John Carpenter doesn't follow with the rest of the actors names. As i wrote earlier, the title of the film is next as usually actors names are listed one after another. Also the title is written as 'Donald Pleasence in' whereas the other actors are written as 'Introducing Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie'.


From the point of the actors listed in the sequence, the camera zooms into the pumpkin slowly while titles are coming on the screen. This ends up with just the corner of the pumpkins 'eye' left on the screen while a repeat title appearance of Debra Hill and John Carpenters name.


Before John Carpenters name appears, the pumpkin's light stops as if someone blew the candle inside it which leaves just the title of the directors name on the screen.

It dissolves which then appears white text in a much smaller size on a black screen. The title is of the location of the film-Haddonfield,Illinois. This demonstrates to the audience that the film has now started through the change of colour in the text. The sound of the piano melody descends while a louder diegetic sound of children singing a Halloween song starts to play.

The next title appears, which is the title of the day the scene is which is Halloween night, 1963. The effect of titles to show the time and place of the film is a good effect as it gives awareness of a little information of the film before it has even started to play. Also the use of the diegetic sound of the children singing also gives the audience information of the scene of the film.

In addition, the opening sequence was very effective even though it didn't need any use of intricate programmes in order to make it. The opening credit of Halloween looked very easy to do as my media group can be able to make our opening sequence as effective as this. It built up suspense as well as awareness of the film before it even started. Which is why the opening sequence was so successful.

News and current affairs events

I will be talking about particular news and current affairs that i read in newspapers,magazine etc that could be made into a film.

I read an artical in The Guardian about a man named Mohammed Ali Harrath who may be deported to Tunisa after allegely being linked to a terror organisation. As ironic as it may sound, Mohammed is the head of the Islam Channel and advised Scotland Yard on Islamic extremismt. The article also read that 'The Islam Channel said Harrath's arrest was a "direct result of the unlawful use" by the Tunisian government of the Interpol red notice system, the international police organisation's highest form of alert, and described it as part of an "established process of harassment and intimidation" '. I thought that is artical could be made into a conspiracy/political thriller as the film could be set in the UK, Tunia and South Africa which is where he got arrested. However, maybe instead of being arrested in the film it could be about what could have happened if he didnt get arrested.

Moreover, another article i read that could be turned into a film is an article from The Independent. The article is about a care home manager named Rachel Baker was taken to court after being strongly accused of murdering two elderly women. Ms. Baker was on a number of prescribed drugs which is said to be one of the causes to why she chose to end their death. It was said she had a weird desire to control her patients death. I think this could be made into a crime and drama thriller. The film could be from a detectives point of view of looking into this case or it could be a psycological thriller from Ms.Bakers point of view as it could be that she wanted thought she could be ending elderly people suffering or her desire to kill them could be from the massive effects her prescribed drugs has as some of them were similar to heroine.

Furthermore, i found an article thats currently in every single Newpaper as it's one the headline right now- the Haiti earthquake. The article i read was in the Metro, which was about shots fired by guards because of the fights that have been caused from the lack of aid being given. Lots of chaos is being caused by this which is why US and Brazilian troops were helping out by giving out aid. The Haiti earthquake and the effect of it could be made into a Disaster thriller with elements of crime and politics. Since the disaster was caused my a natural effect, a disaster film would be a good way of evolving a film round this. However such as the film The Day After Tommorow which i wrote about in the other blog, there could be romantic elements as the film could involve a couple that is torn about by this earthquake, not knowing if their partner is dead or alive.

There many different articles that can be used to make a film. I was able to find articles that could be make into a distaster thriller, a crime thriller and a conspiracy thriller.

Thriller Sub-Genres

Thrillers are a genre of film that creates suspense, mystery and the effect of thrillers is to keep you on the edge of your sit as creates shock as well as building anticipation. However, there are sub-genres of Thrillers which is what I'll be writing about.

Crime thrillers are self-explanatory. They are films that have a combination of crime as well as thriller. These types of films is usually from the criminals point of view rather that the policemen or whoever is looking for them. They tend to involve alot of violent action such as fighting, chasing and shoot-outs. Inside Man is a perfect example of a crime thriller. It stars Clive Owen who plays the robber and Denzel Washington who plays the detective. As i said earlier, it is from the robbers point of view. However, we are able to gain suspicion as they don't reveal how they were able to steal all the money from the bank without being caught until the end, therefore side with the policeman in that sense.

Psychological thrillers involves a more in depth view of the characters mind and enables the audience to understand the situation taken place. This involves less violence as it's more mental violence rather than physical. I find psychological thrillers to be more emotional for the audience than any other sub-genre of thrillers. Phone booth is a psychological thriller. Most of this film takes place in a phone booth after picking up the phone from an unexpected caller. He's put in a situation where he is held at gun point and unable to confined in anyone as the unexpected caller will kill him. This pulls in the audience as it makes you think on how he will possibly be able to get out of this situation.

Erotic-thriller is another sub-genre that isn't as popular as the previous sub-genres. However, this type of genre has increased in popularity in the last 30 years. It's a film that has elements of erotica and thriller. As well as being one of my personal favourites, Swimfan is an erotic-thriller. It's a film about a new student in Stanford University and meets a guy there. She finds out he has a girlfriend which causes her jealousy to extreme lengths. Erotic-thrillers tend to have the same sort of story line but the element of thriller in the films is a good effect used because it can pull in both a male and female audience as erotica films tend to just draw in a female audience.

Action-thrillers are action films that has elements of a thriller and some elements of mystery and crime too. They tend to have the good vs evil storyline and usually have a wider male audience than female audience. All the Bourne films are action-thrillers however there is more action than thriller. The first feature film was The Bourne Identity which followed with two sequel films so far; The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. The film and sequels is about a spy and his journey, different situations in each film however continuous with one another. It stars Matt Damon who plays Jason Bourne. This is a more in depth film as most action films have a loose story line where the action itself is more 'interesting' than the actual story line. However action thrillers make the audience more attentive to the film itself but also enjoy the elements of violence and action in it. Even though action-thrillers are mostly for a male audience. I think the Bourne films are for a more a mature audience.

Conspiracy thrillers tend to reveal a truth about a particular group of people or political party. These are also known as paranoid thrillers. Syriana is a conspiracy thriller but is also considered as a political thriller as it is based on the US and Middle Eastern government. The film is about the conspiracy behind a big American oil giant Connex and stars Matt Damon and George Clooney. Conspiracy thrillers tend to be very complex and for a mature audience. I have seen Syriana and i don't think it would appeal to a teenage audience as i found it very complex and involves a lot of thought into the film.

Medical Thrillers is thriller that is based around a storyline that involves trying to help solve a medical problem or based round a character that has one. This sort of thrillers are usually for an older audience but i think this sub-genre has a bigger female audience than a male audience as this sort of sub-genre makes the audience emotionally involved as a death could occur or a survival of a medical problem etc. Awake is a medical thriller. It stars Hayden Christensen who plays a wealthy man, Clayton that undergoes a heart operation. He is married to Samantha who is played by Jessica Alba. During the operation a very rare condition of Anesthetic awareness occurs,which is when someone is awake during operation even though the patient has undergone anesthesia. This is very good medical thriller because it's not a usual story line for medical thrillers or any thriller in fact and secrets are revealed through the film that leave the audience in shock as well as sadness for Clayton.

Drama thrillers are films that have a combination of drama and thriller films. This sub-genre is for a wide range of audience as it depends on the actual story line on the audience it's for. However most of drama thrillers include a plot and sometimes a twist at the end. Disturbia is an example of a drama thriller. It stars Shia LaBeouf as Kale who thinks he has witness a murder by spying in his neighbours house. There's alot of suspense which keeps the audience in anticipation as well as dramatic elements in the film.

Religious Thrillers are based round an religious plot or conspiracy. The Da Vinci Code is a very good example of this sub-genre. It is based on Dan Brown's best seller which then later was made into a film. It stars Tom Hanks who plays Professor Langdon and Audrey Tautou who investigate a murder that involves the conspiracy of Christianity. I think religious thrillers tend to cause controversy as it may offend religious groups and people. It's not a very popular sub-genre but The Da Vinci Code may change that and have further religious thrillers that are as popular as this one.

Disaster thrillers are thrillers that are based on natural disasters affecting a place. The Day After Tommorow is a good example of a Disaster Thriller. As well as being a science-fiction film, i consider it to be more of a Disaster Thriller as the whole film is based round natural disasters happening round the world. This film is a fictional story on what the effects of the globe warming up and the dangers it could cause. However it is more exaggerated to make it have a mainstream audience. It stars Dennis Quaid who is a paleoclimatologist and his son Sam who is played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Sam becomes trapped in a gigantic tsunami that hits new york city but shelters along with his friends in a libary. I think this type of thriller is popular because it can involve romance, action as well as thriller elements as it will just be based round a dramatic disaster.

Thriller Sub Genres

The thriller genre can be broken down into many sub-genres. This includes the following:

• Action thriller - an action thriller often features a character's race against the clock, it contains lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist. These films usually contain large amounts of guns, explosions, and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place. Examples of these films are: James Bond, The Transporter, and Bourne Ultimatum
  
  
  



• Conspiracy thriller - a conspiracy thriller usually has a hero/heroine that confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only he/she recognizes. The Chancellor Manuscript and The Aquitane Progression by Robert Ludlum fall into this category, as do films such as Three Days of the Condor, Capricorn One, and JFK.
  
  



• Crime thriller - This particular genre is a mixture of both crime films and thrillers that offers a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminal rather than a policeman. Crime thrillers usually emphasize action over psychological aspects. Central topics of these films include murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, and double-crosses are central ingredients. Some examples include The Killing, Seven, Reservoir Dogs, Inside Man, and The Asphalt Jungle.
  
  
  



• Disaster thriller - Disaster thrillers are films which the main conflict is due to some sort of natural or artificial disaster, such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, etc., or nuclear disasters as an artificial disaster. Notabley the most recent big disaster film is the film 2012.






• Drama thriller - In which the story consists of the elements of a thriller and drama film. These films are usually slower paced and involves a great deal of character development along with plot twists. Examples include The Illusionist, The Interpreter and Collateral.






• Medical thriller - In these films the hero is a medical professional struggling to solve some type of dangerous/frightening medical problem. examples of this type of thriller include Coma, The Andromeda strain and Awake
  
  
  



• Political thriller - in political thrillers the main character must ensure the stability of the government that employs him or her against enormous odds. exaples of this type of thriller are In The Line of Fire, Notorious and The Crying Game.
  
  
  



• Psycological thriller -Psycolgical thrillers are the ones that mess with your head. In these types of thrillers the suspense is character-driven rather than action-driven. Characters play deceptive games and try to destroy one another. Sometimes the conflict exists within one character's mind. examples of this type of thriller include Freaks, Laura and Jacobs Ladder .
  
  
  
  



• Supernatural thriller - These are very similar to horror films, but are often not as violent. The character (could be the hero or the villain) has some sort of supernatural power that must be called upon. Supernatural thrillers often find the protagonists either battling an evil paranormal force or placed in a situation controlled by an other-worldly force beyond their comprehension. exaples include the films, Carri and Cat People.
  
  
  
  



• Religious thriller - Thrillers based on religious teachings, events, and customs. Religious prophecies, evils unleashed, and ancient scriptures often come into play. At times they can be quite controversial as they examine people's beliefs, not always in a flattering way. examples include The Da Vinci Code, Angel and Demons and The Omega Code.
  
  
  
  



• Spy Thriller - in spy thrillers the hero is usually a government agent who must take violent action against agents from a rival government or terrorists. Examples include, The Bourne identity and mission impossible.

The type of thrillers that I enjoy are mostly Action and spy thrillers. I enjoy the explosions and special effects that are put in them. Some of them also have amazing stunts that I really enjoy watching. Spy thrillers also have new technology, I like to see what new technology ideas that the producers have come up with, whether it is real or fake. My favourite Action and Spy thrillers are: Taken, Transporter 1,2 and 3, James Bond films. Recently I've started to watch other type of thriller films that I enjoy such as drama and psycological thrillers, I like these kind of thrillers because of the way characters are developed throughout the whole film, the plots are usually more developed contrasting to action thrillers. Ive only watched a handful of these type of thrillers but the ones ive enjoyed are: Collateral, Lakeview Terrace, and se7en.