When on the Art of the Title website I decided to research the title sequence of The Terror. The title sequence has a series of different visual codesthat all portray a ghostly, mysterious television series about one of the greatest mysteries of all time: the disappearance of the Franklin Expedition.
The title sequence is an inventive and extremely intriguing mix of different types of film work like still images that slowly dissolve away, to very cleverly filmed videos. The sequence begins with a black and white video of ships sailing on sheets of ice. In order to portray the mystery, the editingis extremely clever, forming the ice blocks in the ocean in a short amount of time, showing how tragic the disappearance was. The continuity and fast pace editingof the sequence insures the audience’s eyes travel quickly along, following the sequence easily, making them more intrigued about the story line. The unclear images of what seem like sailors sinking underwater being shown immediately after the clip of the boats, immediately suggests that the boat has capsized or something is wrong. This shows how cleverly ordered the title sequence is, as although the clips are very different, they are very clearly linked to one another.
Certain shots such as the low angle shot of one of the sailors face under water is extremely effective for showing what has happened to the sailors on the boat. The very cunning transition from the mans face that turns into his skeleton, signals this case is very mysterious and unclear, captivating the audience immensely. The effect of these low angle shots of floating sailors, suggests a sense of danger and uncertainty as it makes them look very small and overwhelmed. The effect of this is to create an immersive qualityfor the audience, one that slowly pulls apart what happened to the people on the Franklin Expedition. Therefore, the style of this opening sequence does an impeccable job at drawing the audience into the action and gaining their curiosity, which is a prime function of an opening sequence.
The editing shows a sense of uncertainty as the images do not end on hard cuts, but they dissolveout, often creating a ghostly presence. This visual treatmentmimics the mysterious programme very well, as it shows things must be unravelled to find the answer, rather than given away immediately.
As the title sequenceunfolds, even more tension is created. The audience almost seems to be living the terror that occurred, due to the clever positioning and editing of each section. Following the first clip of the sailing boats, many images are revealed throughout, showing either the people on the boats or what could have caused the disappearance of the boat and the people. Images of such sailors are shown after, suggesting they could be involved as well as extremely rough water in the ocean, surrounded by ice mountains which connotes the ship could have been trapped.
The title sequence follows all the genre conventionslike the names of the actors featured, producers, executive producers, directors and all the creative people responsible for bringing the film together. The soundtrackis very compelling and drives the mysteriousness forward. The high-pitchedsounds once again portray mystery and a sense of urgency, which is exactly what I want to create in my film opening. Finally, the white sky at the end that is immediately followed by ‘The Terror’, which is written, on a black background is very effective as the huge contrast makes the audience captivated by the title of the film. The title is almost shown as being underwater, with slight smudging’s on the letters and water droplets on the word, tying in with the whole sequence.
Excellent work with lucid analysis of the visual and sound codes that create the quality of supernatural horror and terror.
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