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Filed under: Editing •

Creative Titling Inspiration

Titles are one of those areas in editing that at times can seem like an afterthought. With all the time and budget constraints in today’s demanding editing schedules, titling often takes a back seat. But when creative editors have the time and budget to devote to it, a strong opening title sequence has the potential to be a story within a story, setting the tone and pace for the film or production to follow. One only need watch the splendid intro of “Catch Me If You Can” to be reminded of this. Read on for some practical examples of innovative title sequences, and a few resources to draw inspiration from in your own editing projects.

One site devoted to highlighting these titling gems is artofthetitle.com. They regularly post film title intro examples along with trivia and commentary. Some of my favorites there include the aforementioned “Catch Me If You Can”, “Thank You For Smoking”, and “Stranger Than Fiction”. There’s even a few of the classics in there, like the intro to 1968’s “Bullitt.” Some haven’t aged as well however, like the titles for “Panic Room” which, while probably innovative at the time, now just feel overly gratuitous.

Another great site for exploring creative title sequences is movie-titles.tv. They spare the commentary and analysis, and go straight to the title sequences. Finally, PVC’s own Trish and Chris Meyer recently posted a few links to font resources. So the next time you are at a creative titling impasse in the edit suite, check out these links for a fresh injection of ideas and inspiration.

(Links via Knut Helgeland and Jonas Hummelstrand)

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The title sequence for a fictional work cannot be undervalued any longer. It *can* set the mood, pace and even offer exposition so that the viewer feels as if they are already in the movie when the “real” movie begins. Spiderman2 was a great example of this.

Now we have the trend of the outgoing credits receiving their own treatment. What’s the purpose of this? No, it’s not just for the mograph geeks like me...alone...they also allow for real benefits. Some in the audience are able to get the needed “return to homeostasis” where they can sit and think about what they just experienced It also allows the filmmaker to pull them a little deeper into the universe they were just introduced to.

Yes, the title sequence can be a beautiful thing (I personally will purchase movies simply for the title sequences and ignore the rest of the “content"). It also has a very real impact on the viewers experience with the overall story.

Posted by gl  on  09/17  at  04:52 PM

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