The art of a Title Sequence in Cinema!

For as long as I can remember, I've not been a fan of having to wait upwards of five minutes at the start of a movie for it to begin. I used to hate these long sequences of names and roles that meant nothing to me at a young age.

However, as I've grown and learnt about the film industry, I've come to appreciate being able to recognize names and the impact that some of these Title Sequences have.

The example I'll be using to discuss this topic is Netflix's 2022 film "Choose or Die".

For those who haven't seen this film 'spoiler warning' and for those who have seen the film, let me know in the comments if you picked up on some of these foreshadowed events.

This film begins with a short, tense scene where a man secludes himself from his wife and son during an argument. He and the audience are then introduced to Curs>r for the first time. The man summons beer and turns off the lights in his room by choosing options displayed on his old monitor. This all seems very subtle and spooky, until he is asked to cut of his tongue or her ears - which is when the films true nature appears.

After this short, horrifying scene comes to an end, the Title Sequence begins. As shown above, the audience can infer that the man from the previous scene is making copies of Curs>r's code and now has to distribute them in order to be freed from the game's curse. However, in later frames the audience is told that his family is safe; for now. Almost foreshadowing the denouement of the film when our lead actors discover the family from the start of the film.

I love how sinister the writing on the screen appears to be, since the audience knows the power that the curse has and all that is required is for the player to choose or die.

This Title Sequence is also accompanied by a retro music track with loud bass that creates an atmosphere where this style of game would have been common. What is most interesting about this Title Sequence is there could have been a scene that shows the man making copies and distributing them, however, I think the use of a Title Sequence here has been very effective in keeping the audience in the dark and letting their imagination run wild for a second, imagining all of the instances where this game might cause extreme harm.

There can be a lot of information shared in a Title Sequence that is valuable to an audience that intends to watch the entire film. I encourage people to watch films carefully if they have a title sequence since much of the plot can be discovered early on. Another example of great Title Sequences can be found when watching The Final Destination Movies as they are all themed around the films plot.

So why use a Title Sequence?

Ultimately, I think a Title Sequence should only be used when absolutely necessary, as it'd be unsuccessful to put a 2 minute break between scenes that happen one after the other. But in "Choose or Die" there is a 3 month gap where the story in the Title Sequence took place. Therefore, the most effective time to use a Title Sequence would be when there is an unfilled gap in your story that a few frames could fill.