What makes a good title sequence according to Kyle Cooper?

1)    Kyle Cooper is a main title designer and has been accredited with well-known films like ‘Spiderman’ and ‘Superman’. He believes a title sequence is an art form and should include three key features:

·        An opening that sets the audience’s expectations, so we know what the film is going to be about

·       To engage the audience, so they feel happy to watch the rest of the film

·        Gradually building up tension which gets the audience excited about the film

2)    Kyle Cooper likes watching the following title sequences. Here’s the reasons he gives:

Deadzone 1983	To Kill a Mocking Bird 1962
Simple typography, he discovered his interest with film and typography	Encapsulate main characters obsession. E.g. The obsession with the treasure boxes
Mysterious music to set the genre of the film	Beautifully photographed - the way the marbles distort
	Typography is presented in horizontal lines, good contrast with circular marbles

3)    When Cooper says “story based” main title sequence, he explains that it’s a clear metaphor on what the film is about and the back story of the film.

4)    The problems a studio commonly faces after an audience screening test are the realisation of the audience not being fully able to understand the film and sometimes the budget is low so they cannot afford to do another shoot.

5)    The 2 ½ minutes of title sequence become important for the studio to help include another scene so information which was left out can be included.

6)    ‘Dawn of the dead’ is unique as it has the film opening is in the title sequence. Cooper describes it’s an efficient use of time to “do something that advances the plot”.   

Cooper thinks titles are important to a film because it can help one to tell the back story; to put you where you need to.

Where I got this information from: Kyle Cooper Video