Comparing Title Sequences

 Comparing Title Sequences

In this blog post i will be analysing the  opening title sequences , Grease and American Horror Story Season 1.

Grease (1978) 

The genre is conveyed  through the use of the high energy non-diegetic soundtrack, it hints at the feeling of an upbeat fun musical experience which can be further looked at by the use of the words 'grease' in the soundtrack, this further suggests that specific songs would have been written for the film. 

One key title which stood out to me was the Directors one which seemed to be especially significant because it was last but also at the final destination of the car animation seen in the sequence, this suggests the director is the most important person and was the foundation that the film was built upon.

The tone is set through the cartoonish and playful font which shows the audience that the main cast are still technically children in this film and that they may make some poor decisions but are also fun people.

The leather jackets being the costume for the 'T-Birds' and Marilyn Monroe being featured connotes that the time period for the film is the 50s. This gives the audience an idea of what the characters will be like and what they be interested in such as 50s pop culture.

The fact that Danny and Sandy are introduced on their own with no other character heavily implies that they are not only the lead characters but also are the fundamental path of the story of the musical since they also seem to be very different to each other like Binary opposites.

Speaking of Danny and Sandy, Danny is presented as vein and popular though the fact that when he wakes up he immediately looks at himself in the mirror whilst putting products into his hair and he also is a part of the gang T birds but in the opening sequence he is not with them, this suggests he is different to them in some way, maybe acting as a leader. Sandy is presented as beautiful through the way she looks perfect as she glides out of bed appears and like a princess from a fairytale through the use of fairytale animals being shown interacting with her however this also hints she is naive and wrapped in a magical world which is about to burst when she experiences some grit in the world.

American Horror Story - Season 1

The genre is conveyed  through the use of the parallel non-diegetic soundtrack which poses an unsettling feeling which further predicts that the audience are in for a dark and frightening experience. To the audience it barely feels like a soundtrack more just like an assembly of horrific pleonastic sound effects.

The titles use a gothic font which appears to look creepy but also ancient, this suggests that maybe that there will be an ancient historical element to the program. The titles are also surrounded by darkness, showing that the show may not be playing around with its horror and
frightening tonality.

The tone is set through horrific images of typically unsettling subjects such as skeletons, fire and pictures of a baby; but one again these only become unsettling when the soundtrack is playing underneath, its is the combination of the two which really drives home the fear factor.

The location is America, hense 'american horror story', this will almost certainly american culture will have a role to play in the narrative as a whole, as will the haunted house which is featured to multiple shots and especially becoming convincingly unnerving in the POV shots with a flashlight.

We are not introduced to any specific characters but we can make a hypothesis that there will be a villain featured that could very well be from the supernatural scope due to the abstract concept of the title sequence. Maybe the child pictured could be? After all he is the only human we see here. Possibly the pictures represent victims of the haunted house? There is also a chance of an innocent female character of a stereotypical victim could be involved due to the horror conventions and the pure white dress we see in a longer duration shot.