HW 2b - Analysis of titles in film openings (DYM)

THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)

"The Wizard of Oz" order of credits:

1. Distribution company logo - Metro Goldwyn Mayar
2. Title with institution logos underneath
3. Director - Victor Fleming
4. Actor names
5. Screen play writers, adaptation creator, and author f the book
6. Film score information
7. Photography information
8. Directors (etc) and institution logos
9. Producer - Mervyn LeRoy
10. Director - Victor Fleming
11. Message to audience

MONSTERS, INC. (2001)

"Monsters, Inc." order of credits:

1. Distribution company logo - Walt Disney Pictures
2. Production company  logo - Pixar Animations Studios
3. Distribution company - Walt Disney Pictures
4. Production company - Pixar Animations Studios
5. Title

SIMILARITIES:

• Have original film scores.
• Use consistent fonts for the text.
• Use a white text colour scheme.
• Portray the main theme of the film through mis en scene. "The Wizard of Oz" uses the pan of the sky as the background to link with the theme of the sky throughout the film, and "Monsters, Inc." uses the theme of the doors and the monsters in the main graphics. 
• Credit distributing companies and production companies.

DIFFERENCES:

• "Monsters, Inc." uses a much more random title effect, whereas the titles in "The Wizard of Oz" just dissolve in and out.
• "The Wizard of Oz" uses a medoly of the film score as the background music, with the titles appearing on the screen regardless of the music. "Monsters, Inc.", however, has an original song unique for the opening titles, with the titles appearing and the graphics moving synchronised to the music.
• "The Wizard of Oz" has  lot more credits, contrasting to "Monsters, Inc.", which only credits the production company and distributor.
• The focus of the "Monsters, Inc." opening is the graphics, probably because the target audience is families, so it has to remain entertaining for young audiences. However, the target audience for "The Wizard of Oz" is also families, but has lots of text and a very dull background. This could be because it is engaging in the music, or because it is conventional for films of that era.