Title Design Research: Thriller

 Title Design Research: The Dark Knight Rises

The fourth movie is “The Dark Knight Rises”. It is 2 minutes and 5 seconds long. It is an action and thriller movie, and was found on www.watchthetitles.com

1. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? Which ones?

     There are quite a few titles displayed in this sequence. Them having the Producing & Collaborating Companies, Distributing Companies, & Director. This also includes the Title Designer/Director and the Additional Modeling/3D Animation.

2. What connotations do the images carry? (How do you they make you feel)

     The connotations behind the images are very unsettling and dark. This specific title sequence did an excellent job of making the audience feel a sense of apprehension. The almost threatening and aggressive manner of certain elements used in the sequence helps give the thrilling chill that the audience is meant to anticipate. The hardcore/tense music played throughout the clip also does a good job at accentuating these key elements that make the sequence so enticing.

3. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? (Can you tell what genre the film is)

     The genre is truly displayed through the many elements of thriller that are used. The sporadic cuts made between each clip really feed into the genre. Along with the gloom, blue coloring that is seen. The breaking of glass and ripping of newspapers adds to the tension and excitement and keeps the audience on their toes. The lack of CG that is instead substituted with live action shots is something that brings attention to the darker elements of the Director’s style. 

4. What conventions are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

     The conventions that are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience are using the usual theme that is considered signature for the franchise. It is known that DC’s style of films is a lot darker and gloomier, so having a title sequence with the same atmosphere just seems fitting. There’s hacky, nervous editing, the macro footage, and the cutting up of newspapers, which are all familiar elements. Using them in the context of such an iconicly morbid film is the most respectable path to take in this type of film. The way in which this challenged conventions is the unusual fact of this title sequence being entirely created as part of a class assignment by a student of Communication Design from Istanbul, Turkey. This isn’t something seen very regularly in the film industry and adds an incredibly special and unique charisma to the sequence.