Typography film opening analysis

Donnie  Darko opening

The Donnie Darko opening begins with the titles rolling with the sound of heavy wind playing in the background, the sound is similar to the falling plane sequence at the end. The heavy use of diegetic sound also hints at the open, flat area of the beginning shot. The lack of sound effects as the titles roll in helps to give an odd sense to the movie in its lack of a glamorous nature. This is also shown through the transitions in how they are slow, silent, helping to link in with the mysterious and otherworldly nature of the film.

The mysterious nature of the film is also latched onto through the use of the signature typography for the film, as opposed to the usually associated font, making the odd nature of the film seem to mask any relations to what we know to be true in the real world, as opposed to the alternate reality given to us through the movie, this seems to reflect the plot of alternate realities as seen in the movie.

 

 Overall there are no credits associated to a specific famous actor or infamous member of the production team, making the movie seem much more anonymous, this also reflects the low-budget aspect of the film in that there are no featured actors within the opening credits.  The only acceptation to this is Richard Kelly, the director (however this may only be in the directors cut).

The only credits shown are that of the producer studios and the associates, at a total of five. Excluding Richard Kelly.  The white font against the black background also helps to capture the unglamorous nature of the film, while significantly attracting the viewers’ attention, while the curved cursive also helps to maintain an old, somewhat spiritual nature to the film. The font is big enough to see, though all remain in the same size, leaving them to similar importance.

The darkness then fades into a panning shot, moving left across the screen at a wide shot of the landscape, showing a vast array of colours as the dawn breaks in, as this is happening, the thunderous sounds of the heavy wind is halted by the sound of thunder, leading into the chirping of birds.

Protagonist Donnie is viewed from a distance, crumpled on the floor as the low drone of the music begins, fading into a sad piano melody that describes Donnie’s dissatisfaction of his predicament, later revealed to be his schizophrenia that causes him many issues.

Kill Bill

Kill Bill begins with the signature opening stamps for the production companies involved with the movie, all in full colour, contrasting with the next segment of credits through the title sequence, as they, like the opening cinematic, are filtered in black and white.

The black and white titles are interrupted by the quote, “Revenge is a dish best served cold” perfectly hinting towards the drive of the plot from the movie.  This also shows the importance of the aspect of revenge in the film as it comes before the majority of the credits.

All of the production companies are then shown in a black and white text, flashing onto the screen with no sound effect as the diegetic sound of heavy, loud breathing is heard, emphasising on the element of desperation as no other sound is heard.

This then shifts to a slowly paced single shot of the bride, on the floor and injured, the hard cut gives an element of shock, though is kept in time with the breathing, making it transition more smoothly. Despite this it does not hold back from the shocking nature of the film and leaves many mysteries as to who is hurting this woman and why.

The second segment of credits begin with the sound of a gunshot echoing as the directors name appears first, Una Thurmans name appearing larger, secondly, signifying her importance and main role.

The title of the movie then pops up, much larger than the other typography, with more screen time to capture its importance.

The text of all those involved in the production is in a more domestic, smaller font and grouped occasionally, showing that these people are less important as certain names do not have separate screens for themselves.

The font then shifts back to the font similar to the title, showing the importance of these roles and to signify the movies sense of revenge is coming back in to play. That these are the last credits to roll also maximise the sense of importance to the plot.

Pulp fiction

The opening credits begin at a freeze frame of the two characters Honeybunny and Pumpkin staging a robbery, freezing with her mid shot with the gun pointed wildly. The loud opening music, labelled “pumpkin and honeybunny” on the soundtrack cuts quickly to the producers.

The typography in this opening is exactly the same as in Kill Bill, only yellow, from this it can be assumed as a signature of the director over a stylistic point relevant to the movie.  The only difference is that this is in yellow, perhaps reflecting the bold nature of the protagonists from the very start.

The directors font is no bigger than the producers at this point, though significantly bigger than those who were part of the production team.

 The title of the movie is in a different font, being much larger with a slower draw onto the screen giving it more screen time to focus on. This fades into the background as other credits roll over it in white to stand out.

This starts out with the key casting roles set to the most well-known actors in order, before shifting onto the co-starring roles that roll across the screen from the bottom in groups, this time reverting back to yellow.

As the credits for the production crew is on screen, the music shifts to another track.  The final credit is to the producer.