Despite already researching title sequences and their different styles and importance, in class we recently viewed a few students' film openings from past years, and what really caught my attention was exactly what the opening credits of and how they all included different elements. Confused and curious, I asked my media studies teacher for guidance on what exactly I’m supposed to include, and she suggested researching older movies in the same genre as my film to see what they included. That’s when I realized I missed a pretty important part of research, opening credits. So back to research we go….. fun.
The opening of Dead Poets Society had a big influence on how I planned my own film opening, particularly in the way it uses credits to set the tone and introduce characters. When I first looked at this film back on Blog #19, I noticed that the sequence felt calm, traditional , and very controlled, instantly reflecting the strict academic environment of Welton Academy. What stood out to me most is how the opening credits communicate so much without any dialogue. The film uses visuals, music, and pacing to create a mood and hint as its themes rather than explaining them outright. Overall, it shows that opening credits can feel like a natural part of the film rather than something separate from the story.
The opening credits of Dead Poets Society include:
- Production Company Logo
- Film Title
- Director Credit
- Producer Credit
- Writing Credit
- Music Credit
- Cinematography Credit
- Film Editing Credit
- Casting Credit
- Main Cast Credit
My original idea
“For my two-minute film opening, I want the credits to appear throughout various different pieces of schoolwork and study materials to show how deeply the main character’s life revolves around her academics. The story follows a hardworking student who always believed that getting good grades is a big element of her possible future success, so I want every element of the opening to reflect her dedication and overall obsessive mindset that she has towards her studies. Instead of placing the text onto the story with a plain background, I want the credits to appear naturally like its a part of her everyday life, to have the audience dive into her world even with the credits by having them appear within school-related visuals like a teacher’s feedback on red ink on a written assignment as it often is in real life, handwritten notes with words underlined, flashcards spread across a desk, or a project covered in annotations. The names of the cast and crew would blend into these classroom materials, as if they were part of the characters' everyday life. I want the credits to blend into the story in a unique way and not force them onto the story despite them not connecting to the main plot and character. The replacement of text and fonts for my credits will be natural handwriting, resembling a student’s neat but tired penmanship, and the color scheme would be muted with tones of paper, ink, and highlighter marks. This approach will highlight how consumed she is by school and how every part of her life always connects back to her studies. The sequence would end as she receives a college letter in the mail, setting up a cliffhanger and leaving the audience wondering if all her hard work truly paid off.” - Blog #14 (Title Sequences)
After researching exactly what opening credits consist of within the coming-of-age drama genre, I began to question whether I wanted to include my opening credits directly in the film or add them in later during editing. I wasn’t sure because I didn’t want to distract from the story by adding credits into the schoolwork or study materials. To figure out what works best, I plan to film the same twice. First without any credits, leaving it ready for post-production, and a second time with credits integrated into worksheets, flashcards, and other classroom visuals. At the end, I’ll gather feedback and decide which version works best for the project.
My project’s opening credits will include:
- Director Credit
- Producer Credit
- Writing Credit
- Cinematography Credit
- Main Cast Credit
- Music Credit (depending on what I decide for the audio)
The credits for my project and a production as big as Dead Poets Society will naturally be somewhat different, as many elements in their credits weren’t needed for mine. Still, I drew a lot of inspiration from their sequence when deciding what to include.
SOURCES
My own past blogs (#14 and #19)
https://youtu.be/z8d3ElPKpB8?si=juelkFgMiXkA3qWU
To do list update
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