RESEARCH: What makes a good title sequence according to Kyle Cooper?

Kyle Cooper is highly credited in the film industry especially for his part in title sequences. He is accredited for single-handedly revolutionising title sequence designs as an art form.  He then continues to explain what makes a good title sequence.

According to Kyle Cooper, the following conventions make a good title sequence:

        1.    A good flow that goes straight to the film.

           2. A good expectation that gets the audience excited and creates suspense belief.

In the popular film called “Se7en” he mentioned that font is important. He said it’s vital because it fits with the tone of the film and correlates with the film. The font in the film was handwritten to match with the tone and atmosphere of the film to make the audience engaged. Cooper credited other title sequences for the films “Deadzone” and “To kill a mocking bird”. He likes Deadzone because of the simple typography that made the tone of the film spooky. Moreover, he liked non-diegetic sound as it creates tension for the film. Cooper also liked “To kill a mocking bird” as it portrayed a theme of obsession. He praised the typography for being integrated because it sets the tone and atmosphere. The horizontal line contrasted the roundness of the marbles to create a visual image for the audience.

Furthermore, Cooper elaborates on the definition of “story based” which means a specific back-story that provides a metaphor. He also listed the problems a studio could face after an audience test screening which are:  1. Budget problems and 2. The audience don’t understand the title sequence. From this troubleshooting of test screening, studios use the two and a half minutes reasonably. They could use this time to save time, add information or make the title sequence a prologue. In the horror film “Dawn of the Dead”, the title sequence informs the audience on the worldwide carnage by showing us horrific scenes which give additional information for the viewers.

Lastly, Cooper believes that title sequences are important to a film as it gets the audience ready for the film for where they need to be which is to be right here watching the film.  

Deborah.