credits ordering, timings and style individual detailed anlysis of 3 opening credits sequences (2 must be Thriller)

Shutter Island opening credits (analysis)
the credits are a dark red, which often connotes and is associated with danger or bloodshed. the credits flicker flash when they appear, they also go in-between focus and blur as if someone is struggling to see or suffering from a physiological trauma which links in with the films plot as the main character (Leonardo Dicaprio) investigates the disappearance of a murderer who has escaped from psychiatric hospital located on an island. the dim lighting of the prison cells in the first shot make the credits difficult to read, and in the second shot in which the shot spins around a spiral staircase your attention is immersed in the film as you have to use a lot of concentration to read the credits as well as taking in the shots. Interestingly we get the creator of the film, the producers and screenplay in the credits first before any of the main actors are mentioned. the style of the credits being obscure and flashing away quiet quickly is very similar to Se7en's opening credits which indicates themes of the film i.e. mental illness (psychologically not stable) and this use of credits has a very mysterious eerie impact on the audience, they become more immersed and engaged with the film as a result of the way the credits appear. The white font implies a more neutral mood, the font doesn’t imply any danger, and it’s much safer and stable.

at 0.13 seconds the credits change; whilst they are still the same font they are white instead of red, and the shots that are playing out with them are less distracting and make these credits much easier to read, the events happening in the foreground in comparison to the spiral staircase shot are much more simple, the shot isn’t a busy. As an audience we start asking questions; who does that hand belong to and why are they lifting a tile enigma codes (questions) like this help to achieve a sense of mystery and effectively keep the audience intrigued

at 0.29 the credits of the actors start to appear, each actors credit has a separate shot i.e. Ben Kinsley’s shot appears to be a close up of a chair near a fire place, whereas after a black out Leonardo Dicaprios credits appear next to a new shot; a foot pressing down on a gun then pushing it away. Mark buffalos credit is alongside a dark night outside with snow. Arguably it could be said that each shot indicates something about the actors character and what they are associated with and significance they have later on in the film ( the gun plays an important role in Dicaprios character).

During the music credit (Robbie Robertson) the shot is black, however we start getting clearer glimpses (becomes more noticeable) of possibly a film reel or flickers of words (which has been done almost throughout the opening sequence) being played and the reel becomes less faded and becomes more concentrated.

At 0.53 there is an establishing shot of an island shortly followed by the films name in the Credits 'shutter island'. The font is the same as the previous credits but much larger (to signify importance) and has gone back to the dark red colour, which evokes a sense of danger. The shot quickly zeroes in on the words until it passes through the circle of the R which is followed by a blackout. The way it quickly zooms in on the words suggests that’s where the film is taking us and presumably the establishing shot of the island implies that this is the location which the film is based around and where key events will take place.