THRILLER TITLE SEQUENCES - INSIDIOUS

1) INSIDIOUS (2010) "A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further." -IMDB. 
Horror thriller sub genre. Analysed up to roughly two minutes.

The sequence starts without any images, only a black background with the various companies and film companies being listed. The jittery soundtrack adds to the tension in this part, and the way the text drifts onto the screen adds to the suspense, the red text instantly has connotations of danger, blood and violence although the way the words seep onto the screen does not show violence but rather underlying danger, something much more subtle, also noted through the way the text merely drifts in and out of view, showing something less explicit and sudden. The font contributes to the overall feel/ambiance as it cannot be seen directly, only parts of it are seen at one time although the font alone is clear and stark, but only certain letters can be seen in isolation, having connotations of something sinister and hidden to come.

The image of the lamp glowing then comes into view, a clear cut distinction to the black of the rest of the screen. The clear, jagged font of the name draws the audience's attention in, perhaps distracting them from the abyss outside of the lamp, this could be used to distract them initially then add in a jump scare, a common convention of horror thrillers. The way the lamp then spins around disorientates the viewer, contorting their perception of the scene, something clearly done for effect as it is important to leave the audience confused at first to grip them.

The camera then lowers to a wide shot of a little boy's bedroom, which is reassuring at first, in contrast to the ambiguous, black surroundings at the beginning, which quite literally leave the audience in the dark.

The use of lights and gobos are arguably used to distract the viewer for some time, detracting their attention from underlying jump scares. The audience are taken on a tour of the house, although it is unclear where they are situated and what they are doing there, adding to the intrigue. When looking at this  particular part in depth, the colours in this sequence are quite muted, adding to the colder looking temperate, both making brighter colours - like red (from the titles) stand out, and to make the audience feel slightly uncomfortable as cold colours are not associated with being a warm or friendly, the opposite of what a home should be, making it questionable whether this home is comfortable, adding to the possibility of a haunting.

There is approximately 6 seconds of (almost) complete darkness, adding to the tension. Another light is used to attract the audience, making them a reoccurring theme or motif in this opening sequence. The outline of a decrepit old woman's face shocks the audience, leaving them terrified, the key aim of a film of this genre. The face, music and light disappear for a fleeting moment, leaving a pause for a sharp outtake of breath, luring the audience into a false sense of security for a short amount of time, just over a second.

This is arguably the most shocking part of the title sequence due to the abrupt restart of the music, with the strings being amplified, causing high levels discomfort for the audience. On top of this, the title 'Insidious' flashes on the screen, the bright red again has connotations of danger, which are heightened by the soundtrack playing at this point, and the jagged edges of the font used make it stand out against the background, it also looks slightly 3D which again makes it clearer/starker against the abyss like background.

The sequence then jumps to an image of a large house which looks empty, another conventional feature belonging to this sub genre, evoking feelings of unease as they are usually the locations of such hauntings, especially given the title. This time, the image is in black and white with only the names in colour, drawing attention to them and perhaps giving them credit. The way the text is mirrored and then floats away is reminiscent of a ghost, again fitting with the conventions of horror thrillers.

Now the audience is able to see the inside of the house, which looks equally as sparse, and almost soulless. This could indicate to the audience that the house has been left in a hurry or abandoned, with derelict buildings being another common feature in such films.

To sum up, in 'Insidious' the title sequence is used to showcase the cast and crew, to establish the genre (or in this case the sub genre) through text - including font style, editing effects such as the flickering text, and the colour scheme- mainly black, white and red. All other colours are muted or lessened. It can also help to convey the overall tone, which in this case evokes feelings of danger and unease, both due to the soundtrack and the colour red being repeatedly used.