Evaluating Opening Credits

 

Title Shots

The establishment of a good title shot is of the utmost importance for anyone hoping to create a well-made piece of media. Any good title shot provides a slight insight of what's to come while also capturing the reader's attention to make them interested in the events of the show. Setting the mood is the responsibility of the title shot and all of the following are title shots of some of my favorite series that I believe were done in a superb manner.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

The font of this title card gives a cool 90's hiphop feel to the show which is perfect considering this is the story of Will entering an entirely new environment, bringing with him a swagger that is entirely new to the posh and rich environment that would come to surround him. The graffiti and tasteless drawings in the background add to this showing how the people around will may view his behavior as unpleasant. This title card accompanied by the iconic intro song and visuals of Will changing locations makes for a perfect title shot.

The Pink Panther

Growing up, Pink Panther was undoubtedly my favorite cartoon. The tall, thin lettering of the title card along with its pink color coincides with the panther in all of his glory as he goes about his business. The font choice gives a rather cool feeling to go along with the iconic soundtrack and the slickness of the panther. For a show in which our main character doesn't speak, the title card is the closest we get to words in this show, and it is wonderfully done so as to not ruin the mood of the show while also not providing any misleading expectations of a real plot surrounding the panther, simply him living his life with the chill atmosphere that surrounds him. Simply put, the title card perfectly shows how the panther is just THAT GUY.

Invincible

A relatively new show to Netflix, Invincible is a superhero themed series that can feature the not so common sark twist far more often than the average hero flicks. This is made evident by the blood showed in the title card, which grows more and more prominent as the amount of episodes increase and the conflict grows ever more dangerous and life-threatening. What I especially love about this title shot is how they transition to it. Rather than having it come at a break in the story or at the beginning of the episode, they input it whenever the character is about to say the actual title of the show, cutting them off. This provides an almost comical atmosphere to contrast the dark events that are constantly taking place.

Adventure Time

Adventure Time is an iconically weird cartoon and even now, after I have aged several years, I find it especially weird and even find myself catching on to certain jokes or topics that I may have missed as a child. The title card sports a medieval looking font which goes well with the story as they would appear to be a severe lack of technology and architecture, the main characters even living in a gigantic tree house in the middle of no where as opposed to a home in a city. The sword piercing through one of the words provides the viewers with a hint as to what this story will hold for them, which will surely be filled to the brim with action. This title shot also gives a hint as to the personalities of our main characters as the enthusiasm of Finn, the human boy, is on full display while Jake, the dog, just appears to be lazing around while tagging along.

Redline

Redline is an animated movie of an action packed space race in which the characters are more than willing to place their lives on the line to obtain all the wealth and glory that comes with winning. The title sequence features all red silhouettes of the extravagant vehicles speeding towards the screen. The silhouette allows the viewer to be left wondering what these vehicles look like while also being provided of a sneak peak of what's to come. The red silhouettes leaves an enormous red dust trail, forming a perfect streak across the screen. This "red line" serves as a location for the title card to be placed in whit text as this is the only location in the background that is not in white. The perfect steak across the screen also appears as a race track, following the them of the action packed race that is to come.