Analyzing Credit Sequences

All credits to ME!

A major element in movie openings is the credit sequence where all the people that worked to put the film together are acknowledge. This includes but is not limited to the writer, producer, director, cinematographer, editor and major actors. 

I am not sure if I should incorporate the credits in small writing on mise-en-scene objects or if I should include a credit sequence where the writing is the most important thing on the screen. I am going to conduct research to make my decision and get inspiration on how to include the credits in my production. I decided to take a look at a few credit sequences from existing romantic comedy productions in order to do my research. 

Spanglish 

The opening scene of this movie is longer than 2 minutes and the credits are scattered throughout the opening. They are not the main focus of each scene as context is being given by the protagonist's daughter's college essay. While she begins explaining why her mother was the most influential person in her life the credits appear in the lower half of the screen with a delicate font, similar to this one:  

The font matches the initial vibe of the film and it is not distracting from the scenes taking place. I like this way of showing the credits because for my portfolio project, I only have 2 minutes and I don't want the credit scene to take time away from my opening, therefore I think incorporating them while the scenes are happening is a good idea. 

Just Go With It

This opening scene does not include as many credits as I would like to include as it only shows the production studios. The opening focuses more on the context that is being explained than the credits. As I was watching I was expecting more credits to show up on the screen but they did not, it is a simple detail I would not have noticed before taking this class but now I felt like it was missing.  Nonetheless, the few credits and the title were in a font similar to this one:

I definetly plan to include more credits than just the producer since I think it my opening would be incomplete without them. I will have to find a font that matches the aesthetic of my opening, so I will keep that in mind during the planning and production process. 

The Proposal

In contrast to the previous opening, this one includes numerous credits. These appear on all different parts of the screen and they fade out as the next one is fading in. This was a little overwhelming as there were also scenes going on but I liked that the font was easy to read and if I was not watching it intentionally focusing on the credits I would not have been overly distracted by them. 

For my opening, I think I will be showing the credits at the same time as the scenes and I will try to make them noticeable without distracting the viewer from the scenes happening at the same time as I feel this is the most appropriate approach for my chosen genre.