Search results
Jul 16, 2024 · Many shows from the mid to late 2010s onward have opted for instrumental-only theme songs, but they still have memorable music in their title sequences, with Game of Thrones being a prime example.
- Jessica Kosinski
- 23 sec
Aug 28, 2017 · Despite the minority of shows that take the minimalist approach, title sequences in the 21st century suggest the range of what we consider popular or commercial television is getting broader and broader, that long or short, cryptic or thematically clear; titles sequences are not just endured by audiences but enjoyed – adding to a show’s depth by providing a piece of visual art that can be ...
Jan 26, 2016 · Good question, what you are talking about is referred to as an Opening Monologue or less often, Opening Narration in which (typically) a character recalls either a kind of mission statement or quick summary to set up the show. I've found some references to this TV trope which you can read below.
Note that movies opening and closing credit sequences differ a lot from television ones (in particular, you rarely see the name of the production company in a TV show's opening credits.) However, there's a lot of variation on the basic theme, because the placement and styling in the credits sequence is often part of an actor's individual contract with the studio.
- Making The Magic Happen
- 24, Dexter and Game of Thrones
- Halt and Catch Fire, The Leftovers, and Mad Men
- Stranger Things, The Sopranos, and True Detective
- A Celebration of Story
The best opening TV titles have one important thing in common: the creative directors and teams who make them happen often don’t want you to think about how they were made, or who made them. “As a director, one of the greatest compliments you can give me is ‘I had no idea you did these titles,”Alan told us. He says the key job of any filmmaker is t...
24: Concept in 15 seconds
As opening titles go, 24’s is the essence of minimal: a simple animated graphic of the number “24” in a typeface that recalls the digital display of your dad’s old alarm clock.But simple doesn’t mean unsophisticated, because in 15 seconds the opening manages to succinctly capture the whole concept of the show. As Patrick put it to us: “It totally serves the fundamental of the story, which was about time running out.” Form mirrors content with the alarm clock aesthetic, but also the added touc...
Dexter: A Closer Look at Theme
Throughout its eight-season run, Dexter explored the life (and murders) of a serial killer lurking in plain sight by living an everyday life. That may have been the concept of the show, but thematically it was about something deeper: how darkness lurks within all of us and our normal-seeming world. For Art of the Title, creative director Eric Anderson recalled something that came up in developing the titles: “Everything, no matter how mundane or beautiful, has an undercurrent of violence to i...
Game of Thrones: A Functional Guide
Old TV shows like Gilligan’s Island orThe Brady Bunchoften had openings that served very functional purposes: to introduce (or remind) viewers, in very spelled out ways, what the show’s core concept was. Now, Game of Thrones may not seem like a logical successor to Gilligan’s Island, but their openings do share a utilitarian purpose.In the case of Game of Thrones, that purpose is to familiarize viewers toa place, not a plot. Showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff have said they didn’t necess...
Halt and Catch Fire: Capturing the Journey
The opening of AMC’s Halt and Catch Fireis unconventional in several ways that make it stand out. There’s the overwhelming all-red color scheme few would consider tackling. Then there’s also the fact that the characters are digitally distorted to the point of nearly being unrecognizable. Or the fact that the characters are essentially relegated to background status in favor of a little moving pixeled dot making its journey through the credits. But what drives the opening title sequence so fir...
The Leftovers: Setting the Tone
If you want a case study for how opening titles can both capture and influence the show you’re about to watch, look no further than The Leftovers. In Season 1, the opening titlesoffered a solemn Church fresco-like depiction of the Rapture-like circumstances of the show, where 2 percent of the world’s population mysteriously vanished. But Season 2 did something unconventional: it offered an entirely new opening, with artistic photographs of everyday moments, left partly vacant by silhouettes o...
Mad Men: Setting the Mood
Chances are just reading the words “Mad Men” has now summoned the iconic opening title into your mind. It’s become inseparable from the show, which testifies to how significantly it represents the classic AMC series. Most significantly? It’s mood. Because we’re so familiar with it now, it’s easy to forget that Mad Men’sopening titles are, well, kind of strange. After all, there’s something almost eerie about how Don Draper’s counterpart steps into his office, accompanied by odd music, and the...
Stranger Things: The Power of Typeface
If you’ve ever doubted the power and influence of typeface when it comes to design and storytelling, look no further than Netflix’s darling, “Stranger Things.”For viewers with certain pop culture inclination, the moment they first saw the opening titles, geeky delight likely surged through their veins. The combination of a moody pulsing Blade Runner-like synth score, coupled with a genre-rich nostalgic typeface, conjured an instant shorthand evocation of the 1980s pop culture of John Carpente...
The Sopranos: Establishing a World
If there’s a Ground Zero for the current Golden Age of television and opening titles, it’s The Sopranos. Back in 1999, it broke from tradition by foregoing the standard practice of showing a show’s cast. Instead, it offered something more abstract, artistic, and self-contained. In particular, it’s a “little movie” conveying the world of Tony Soprano. To be precise: New Jersey. Starting with Tony pulling out of the Lincoln Tunnel into The Garden State, the sequence tracks the world he rules, a...
True Detective: (Double) Exposing character
It first goes without saying that the main titles for True Detective are beautiful. The aesthetic alone would earn these titles “iconic” status. But that would mean overlooking what makes it especially remarkable: how it comments on and reflects character. Patrick Clair says that when he met showrunner Nic Pizzolatto, the sequence was conceived around character. “He said that True Detective was using the polluted, exploited, broken landscapes of this part of America as a metaphor for the brok...
“When a showrunner comes to us, they may have spent 10 years developing their story. When I’m given the honor of 45 or 90 secs, regardless of how poetic or abstract it may be, the titles have to point to and celebrate that story.” These are the words Alan Williams shared with us when giving his overall take on this genre of art and media collaborat...
Art of the Title. – A compendium and leading web resource of film and television title design from around the world, including interviews and behind-the-scenes materials. "Forget the Film, Watch the Titles". Watch the Titles. – A collection of title sequences and interviews with designers. "Greatest TV opening credits of all time".
People also ask
Why do TV shows have opening titles?
What makes a good opening TV title?
What makes a good opening title sequence?
Why do TV shows have a title card?
Are opening credits presented over a title sequence?
What is a creative TV title sequence?
Jul 7, 2016 · Modern opening credit sequences are often works of art with stories of their own and an entire team dedicated to making them shine. Game of Thrones, for example, had 35 people and three months to ...
