The history of opening sequences

THE HISTORY OF MOVIE OPENING SEQUENCES

A title sequence is used to present the film’s or television programs title, the producers and introduce cast members through visuals and sound

Opening sequences where extremely important in the silent film era this was because they where used to end and finish silent films so that it could inform the audience when the film was about start and when it was going to finish. It also able to identify both the name of the film and the film company involved, and introduce the characters.

 The first examples of title sequences themselves consisted of a series of title cards shown at the beginning of the film. For many years the title sequences where made like this until advent television forced the major film studios to invest in developing cinema in order to win back their audience. 

Their new idea consisted of orchestral music before the curtains opened but their main new idea was long opening sequences before the movie started. As cinema's title sequences grew longer we begin to see the involvement of graphic design luminaries such as Saul Bass, which directly influenced the 1960s.

Up until the 1970s, closing credits for films usually listed only a reprise of the cast members with their roles identified, or even simply just said "The End", requiring opening credits to normally contain the details.

For instance, the title sequence of the 1968 film Oliver! runs for about three-and-a-half minutes, and while not listing the complete cast, does list nearly all of its technical credits at the beginning of the film.

With modern technology effecting contemporary life, there has been a higher expectation of title sequences within the film business. Most significantly, we now see designers working like filmmakers and filmmakers working like designers.

An example of a new contempary opening sequence that is able to capture the audience's attention and worked on by an incredible designer is the girl with the dragon tattoo: