Mission Impossible 3 Title sequence
Mission Impossible 3 uses a combination of both techniques presented in Kingsman and Skyfall; the audience is brought away from the film, but is also shown short clips on top of the titles. (Please skip to 3 minutes and 32 seconds to view the title sequence of Mission Impossible 3). The cast list starts to appear on screen and short ‘sneak peek clips’ are inter-cut between each name. This is an easy way to help the audience make initial impressions of the type of film Mission Impossible 3 will be. I will use Phillip Seymour Hoffman as an example; the audience can already tell that he is the villain of the film. Security camera footage reveals his black, clothed character and the consumers can already make assumptions that he poses as a threat in the film. This is clear evidence of how displaying short clips from the film within the title sequence can work well; on the other hand it can also be a poor decision as well. Key plot points or information could be accidentally given away which may annoy certain attentive individuals. Not everyone wants to see the characters before properly meeting them in the story, and this could possibly ruin the film for some of the audience.
However overall, I believe this was a clever idea for the title sequence; combining the beginning scenes and title sequence together gives the audience a clear introduction into the film and presents them with the characters they will be getting to know.
It must also be noted that only the cast are revealed in the title sequence; the director, producer, Production Company and Film Company are not mentioned. This could be in attempt to keep the titles short and get the audience right back into the action, and I hope to be using this technique with my film. The audience will not be too distracted if you display the titles in a short and sweet way.
Sound
Sound also plays a huge part in the atmosphere for the Mission Impossible 3 opening scenes. During the opening titles the Mission Impossible signature theme tune is introduced. Iconic worldwide, the Mission Impossible theme is upbeat and memorable which immediately engages the audience; they enjoy the music and wait for the film to start- that is, after the initial movie introduction.
Not only this, but the theme tune also gives indication to the audience of what genre they are watching: action. This could be used in the title sequence my partner and I make for our 2 minute opening, but due to no funding and other factors we are unable to create such a product for our film.
Introduction with title sequence
The opening scenes to Mission Impossible 3 are tense and thrilling (see my case study for further evaluation) the entire introduction leads up to the ‘supposed’ shooting of the hostage. As this event unfolds the title sequence is immediately brought in with loud sound and the bright burning of a match. This is a good example of where the editing has enabled the film to flow, it continues on as dramatic and thriller even when the title sequence is playing. I would like to carry this over to my own title opening in a 2 minute film. Alternately, we cannot have a long list of titles, but I would still like the words to match the on screen action and become nicely incorporated with the scenery.
