Titles (Thriller Examples)

The title of sequence of a thriller, or any film for that matter, is a very important & vital part of the film. It is the very first thing you see when you sit down to watch a film (assuming you don't miss the beginning, that is. For this reason, it is vital that everything about the sequence is done correctly. The sequence must include the company ident, the director/producer, the main actors & other important information. It also helps if this information is displayed in an interesting & intriguing way, such as in the example below:

The above set of images is taken from Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller "North By North West". At the start of this title sequence the credits run across the walls of various towers & sky scrappers, & then begin to appear over crowds of people on the busy grounds of the city. Alfred Hitchcock himself even makes a cameo during the title sequence as he walks onto a bus as his name appears onscreen, in the very last image of the sequence.

A modern day example of an excellently thought out title sequence is that of the amazing Se7en. It's opening is one that cannot be explained through words alone, nor mere images for that matter, & for that reason one must watch the video below: 

Just like Hitchcock before him, Fincher is an amazing thriller director, & knows who's right for each job. Not only did he pick an amazing cast consisting of big names such as Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow & the legendary Kevin Spacey, but he also knows how to hire his title sequence designers. Fincher hired renowned title sequence creator Kyle Cooper, who in turn created one of the most memorable title sequences to date. Se7en's title sequence literally oozes 'thriller'. The whole sequence is accompanied by some form of eerie & edgy music which instantly puts a first time watcher into a state of slight discomfort. The sequence also seems to focus on a set of hands, a very strange set of hands. The hand's fingers seem to be bandaged, & we see the hands cutting the skin from their finger tips using blades & sticking down images into some form of book. They also appear to be crossing out the eyes & faces of children, as well as sewing together paper in a way that makes the audience feel rather uneasy. We never see the person these hands belong to, & only know that they are meddling hands delving in some act of villainy. The credits displaying the cast & crew's names appear quickly & jaggedly, jumping on & off the screen. All of this confusion & lack of explanation causes a form of enigma within the audience, as they do not know what is going on, a common trait within thrillers. Everything is very fast & unclear, & really sets a person up for watching a thriller.