Film Institution Research

Dawn of the Dead - Credit still screen shots analysis

The sequence begins with a panning zoom into the beginning of  the 'Universal' logo. Quiet high pitched music begins to play as the institution title 'Universal' rapidly pans to the front of the shot.








The high pitched music in the background reaches its climax as it increases into a screeching major key, as the logo for 'Universal' forms itself in the centre of the frame.

As the Universal log slowly fades out a bold contrasting white screen becomes apparent as we then see solid red shapes beginning to come together in the centre of the screen.

The shapes then quickly link to one another which then leave the trademark logo for 'Strike' which then hovers in the screen for a further 3 seconds before it fades in to the next frame.

As the Strike logo then fades out, the red merges together to then form this fire combustion which takes over the screen; symbolising fire which therefore links into the genre of the film that is to follow; horror.








The burnt out fire then begins to slowly move backwards and form into the outline of a skull.

The burnt out skull then fades out and then back in to form the outline of a skull on an X-ray machine. This transition takes the skull from imagination to reality and adds a mystical effect to the opening sequence.



The credits now end and the horror film begins. The use of orange and brown tones throughout the opening sequence adds a sense of death and decay to the opening, as well as the use of fire which symbolises to that of danger. The smooth transition at the end from the flame skull to the X-ray skull brings the credits to a harsh reality and perhaps as a way of linking the two together; the skull has been X-rayed due to a fire related incident  Thus leaving the audience wanting more as well as continuing to watch the film to see what happens next.

Title sequence-'SAW'

Title Sequence-Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho'