Melis Hussein

Titles Analysis
In this title analysis, I will be looking at the titles of two films that are in the hybrid genre of fantasy adventure. My first film is The Wizard of Oz (1939) and my second is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). I have decided to use these two films as I am able to compare and contrast between the developments of technology within film and the historical context, and how it has changed through time. The Wizard of Oz is a timeless classic fantasy adventure film. The titles used within the opening sequence of the film are kept to a minimal in terms of the variety of colour, placement, speed and transition. To begin with, the titles read Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Presents. Firstly the entire colour of the opening titles is in black in white, connoting the period in which the film was set in and filmed (1930s). The logo of the lion is iconic to Metro-Golwyn-Mayer Production Company as it featured at the beginning of all of their films. Target audiences can identify (uses and gratification) that the film will be a Metro-GolwynMayer Production simply because of the iconic lion. The lion is also intertexual to the production company because it is their trademark, as featured on the title. The colour of the titles is white, connoting the innocence of the film and that it is likely to feature fantasy adventure elements. The target audience can be identified (uses and gratification) through the use of titles. This is done by which the colour white is stereotypically associated with purity, childhood and innocence. This theory is proved to be correct as the certification for The Wizard of Oz is PG. Furthermore, the background in which the opening titles feature is of clouds. I think this is a particular key convention of the film as the narrative sees the protagonist Dorothy Gale have a dream about a fantasy world that initially starts from the coming of a cyclone. The image of clouds is intertexual to The Wizard of Oz because it is a common theme that runs throughout the film. The size of the titles is fairly normal, noticeable enough for the target audience to identify (uses and gratification) who the production company are that present the film but not too big that the name of the production company could over power the actual title of the film. The lack of variety of different camera angles/shots/compositions used to show the opening titles within the opening sequence is evidence of the period in which The Wizard of Oz was set. Throughout the opening titles, although they fade in and out of focus, are similar sizes, typography, colour and placement. The transition in which the opening titles appear show there is evidence that a film technique has been used. Moreover, the simplicity of the presentation of the opening titles connotes the simplicity of the 1930s. The focus was on the acting, setting, and characters and how they appealed to a mass target audience of families, rather than the focus of todays film industry in which it is vital to capture the audiences attention right from the start with the titles, otherwise it is highly likely they will lose focus within the first few minutes of the film; having a knock on effect on revenue and box office sales.

Melis Hussein Additionally, layering has been used to present the titles. This is an effective editing tech as the titles could be seen as being transparent. The effect that this has on the target audience is that it makes them feel like there are in a dream. (Binary oppositions- dream/reality) The transitions between the titles are slow and calm, whilst the background is of clouds. This conveys the idea that at soon as the film has begun, they want the target audience to feel as though they are dreaming, hence the genre of this film being fantasy adventure. The titles appeal to the audience because of the simplicity. During this period of time, there was no need for over edited titles and confusion. I think that in comparison to the opening titles of todays fantasy adventure films, The Wizard of Oz has used simple typography (font) and colour (white) to show the titles. As mentioned above, the opening titles of The Wizard of Oz link to the narrative. Dorothy is whisked away to a fantasy land and this is done in her dreams and by a cyclone. MetroGoldwyn-Mayer has used the background of the clouds so the target audience can identify (uses and gratification) what the films content could potentially be (cyclone, clouds, fantasy land, dreams). Another aspect of the titles that represents the fantasy adventure genre and the time period in which it was set in is the dedication towards the end of the titles. This is stereotypical of the early 20th century in film because they often featured dedications. To the Young in Heart we dedicate this picture. This part of the dedication informs (uses and gratification) the target audience that it is likely to be a fantasy based film because stereotypically, it is young children/people who are the mass target audience for fantasy films. The duration of the titles vary, from five seconds to fifteen seconds. For example, the first opening title of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lasts for ten seconds. This is significant as it is the first sighting of the film that the target audience view. From the start, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has already captured the attention of the audience due to the iconic roar of the lion. The facial expressions and opening of the lions mouth adds to the effectiveness of the title. The production company want to be unique in the sense of having audience appeal, and the significance of the lion definitely makes the company distinctive and memorable. The opening titles represent the genre because they include stereotypical conventions that a target audience would expect to see in a fantasy adventure film. For example, the background in which the titles appear over is iconic to the film and the genre. The genre of fantasy film is centred on the topic of idealism and making audiences believe that somehow, unimaginable circumstances (e.g. Dorothy being swept away by a cyclone to a fantasy land in the hope of returning home some day) can occur in reality. Overall, the opening titles of The Wizard of Oz (1939) do conform to the conventions of the fantasy adventure film genre. Analysing this film has allowed me to see just how far film technology and film development has excelled to the present day. The simplicity of the titles is important due to the fact that The Wizard of Oz is a family film and is suitable for all ages, hence the certification (PG- parental guidance), while the hybrid genres are fantasy, adventure and family. Furthermore, the narrative of the film means that it has appealed to a mass target audience of families. This way, families are able to watch the film together and have different purposes e.g. children would want to be entertained (uses and gratification), while parents would want to escape (uses and gratification) from their everyday lives and feel as though they are in a calm, relaxing, and tranquil environment.

Melis Hussein The second film I was be analysing on titles will be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Harry Potter is one of the biggest film franchises ever to be made. I decided to carry out a title analysis on this film because I thought it would be a good comparison for The Wizard of Oz in terms of the time period in which they were both set in and filmed. Harry Potter does not go straight to the titles of the film. It features scenes from the ending of the previous film (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010). This give the target audience an indication and informs (uses and gratification) as to what the film will entail (follows from the previous films- creates narrative through the film franchise of Harry Potter). The use of entertaining (uses and gratification) the target audience with the use of scenes from the film is that an enigma is created. What will Voldemort do next? Will he finally be able to defeat Harry? Will he be killed himself? All these questions are already running through the target audiences minds purely due to the fact that the film is giving them a taster as to what the film will entail. Typography (font) has not changed from the first film. It is intertextual to Harry Potter and is an element in which the target audience can identify (uses and gratification) with the Harry Potter franchise, whilst also being able to understand that although this film is a continuation of the previous ones, it still has its own ground and importance- final conclusion to the Harry Potter Sequel. The Warner Bros logo is a trade mark of the production company, whilst also being iconic to Harry Potter because in every film of the sequel, the transition and positioning of the logo has always maintained the same- slowly coming out from behind the clouds. Harry Potter does not feature a great deal of titles. This is so the target audience to do lose focus on the action that takes place. In the 21st century of film, audiences are not very bothered by the opening titles because they just want to watch the film and be entertained (uses and gratification). Personally, I think not including opening titles is risky for the production company because they might not know any background information on the film, although in this case of Harry Potter, this is highly unlikely because of how recognised the franchise is within the film industry. The speed/duration of the titles/clips is of a slow pace. This creates an enigma for the target audience because along with the eerie music, the slow pace of the titles builds up suspense and the sense of the unknown- what is coming next? Will it scare the audience? Will they be entertained (uses and gratification) by the fact that there is an immense build up to the beginning of the film? (enigma code). The colour of the background when the Warner Bros logo appears should be noted as it is significant when identifying (uses and gratification) the genre of the film and its narrative. To begin with the colour of the background is white with a hint of dark mist in the middle. As the titles continue, the colour of the background quickly changes to a dark, sinister black. The colour transition is important because it tells the story of the narrative: the colour white represents Harry Potter and his innocence, honesty and kind nature, whilst the overpowering darkness of the colour black represents Lord Voldemort and his continuous and ongoing vendetta to kill Harry and become the most powerful wizard ever to have lived. Binary

Melis Hussein oppositions can be applied through the colour of the titles- white/black, innocence/evil, good/bad, Harry/Voldemort. Furthermore, the transition and placement of the production companys name (Warner Bros. Pictures) is intertextual to Harry Potter. Within every Harry Potter film, the transition has always been that the Warner Bros logo moves in on to the screen, making it seem as if the target audience are going through it. This is a point of view (POV) shot, that allows the target audience to see what the character sees from their perspective. This is a good editing technique to use within film because it creates suspense and encourages the target audience to want to be informed (uses and gratification) further of what the narrative has in store for them. Additionally, the transition of the scenes/shots works to the advantage of the production company. Using black outs between each scene of the opening sequence create anticipation and the sense of unease because blackness/blackouts/darkness is associated with wickedness, immortality and death- ironically, these themes are all included in the film, and are traits of the anti-protagonist, Voldemort. During the opening sequence of Harry Potter, there is a split use of film and text (titles). The beginning shows prior events to the film (Deathly Hallows: Part 1), followed by the Warner Bros logo and trademark, then its events that occur within Deathly Hallows: Part 2, followed by the title of the film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. This is particularly effective because its unexpected. Although through the sequel of Harry Potter, the titles have appeared in similar ways, this particular film holds significance because it is the last one. Showing prior events has informed (uses and gratification) the target audience of how the last film ended, refreshing their minds so they are up to date with the narrative of Harry Potter. The typography is specifically important when discussing genre. The typography of the title of the film allows the target audience to identify (uses and gratification) with Harry Potter, because the typography is intertexual to the Harry Potter franchise as it has maintained the same throughout all of the Harry Potter films. The jagged texture of the typography connotes the themes of wizardry, spells and power as the titles look as though they have been distorted, perhaps by a spell and perchance by Lord Voldermort attempting to destroy any trace of Harry Potter. The speed of the title of the film is slow paced so the target audience can identify (uses and gratification) that it is a Harry Potter film. Overall, in this titles analysis, I have identified (uses and gratification) that the opening titles of The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) share comparisons/contrasts. A comparison they share is the iconic imagery of clouds, although a contrast is the diverse camera shots/angles/movement/composition that are used in Harry Potter, although not in The Wizard of Oz. This is linked to the time period in which both the films were set in and how film technology has developed over time. *YouTube and my personal DVDs were the sources of how I was able to conduct this title analysis.*