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Trailers, Opening Credits, and Opening Scenes

Posters

1. Film Poster Tropes

Trailers Topics

1. Article: The end of the voice over in trailers.
2. Examples: Old ...in a world... trailers
3. The current Trailer Trope: every film trailer ever made
4. The current Trailer Trope 2:Every Oscar winning film trailer ever
5. Trailer that makes fun of the current trailer tropes.
6. Secrets in the GotG2 stingers/ post-credits. Hiding more than information in a stinger.
7. Ferris Bueller the "first" stinger.

Opening Credits/Title Sequence

• Changing Logos
  1. Change in logos over time
  2. Original Warner brothers logo
  It's gunna be good when a logo gets changed: Matrix change to logo
  
  
• Opening Credits Film : an evolution
  1. Opening credits of a film: Gone with the Wind (1939)
  2. Opening credits of a film: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
  3. Opening credits of a film: Taxi Driver (1976)
  4. Opening credits of a film: Batman (1989)
  5. Opening credits of a film: Jurrasic Park (1993)
  6. Opening credits of a film: X-Men (2000)
  7. Opening credits of a film: Iron Man (2008)
  8. Opening credits of a film: Deadpool (2016)
  
  
• Opening Credits TV: an evolution
  1. Opening credits of a TV show: Bonanza (1960s)
  2. Opening credits of a TV show:Miami Vice (1980s) | contrast with the 2006 Miami Vice film
  3. Opening credits of a TV show: Sopranos (1990s/2000s)
  4. Opening credits of a TV show: Game of Thrones (2010s)
  
  

Opening scenes: establishing the mood and tone

• Exposition in opening credits & opening scenes.
  1. Opening credits that show a story: Godzilla
  2. Opening exposition that...oh shut the f*ck up already: Alone in the Dark
  3. Opening exposition done well: Zombieland
  
  
• Opening scenes: setting the mood
  1. The slow, immersive, naturally-lit, nature-centered feel: The Revenant.
  2. Film noir; quasi-vermisilitude; action: The Matrix
  3. Historical exposition: The Lord of the Rings

Writing about Trailers, Opening Credits, & Scenes

• Trailers.
  • One page MLA format.
  • Discuss what your film's trailers are trying to do: excite? inform? intrigue?
  • How close are your film's trailers to the trailer trope examples?
• Opening scenes & credits.
  • One page MLA format.
  • Compare and contrast your opening title sequence (credits) and the opening scene with the others listed above.
  • What mood are the credits and scenes establishing?
  • What color scheme is evident in the title sequence and in the opening scene.