RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

For my research, I used the website Art of the Title to explore the methods film companies use in order to intrigue their viewers, through the use of a title sequence or film opening.

I chose to analyse Guardians of the Galaxy, a 2014 Marvel action/sci-fi film, because of its comedic elements; comedy is a typical convention of many Marvel films. I wanted to understand the effects of using comedy in a film opening to see whether it is an element which I then want to incorporate into my own film opening. In this title sequence, directed by Erin Sarofsky, Peter Quill (played by Chris Pratt) steals a valuable orb that is wanted by Ronan the accuser. He eventually forms a group with unwilling heroes to stop Ronan – the ‘guardians of the galaxy’.

The title-sequence opens with a camera shot that displays a canted angle of a planet. Next to the planet, typography spells out ‘MORAG, Abandoned planet’. This immediately reinforces the main science fiction genre and signifies to the audience that we are no longer in our own world and therefore anything could happen. This connotes danger and possibly even wonder, as for the viewer there is the sense of the unknown. A darkened colour palate further reveals the desolate nature of the planet, as there are not vibrant signs of life, reinforcing the viewers intrigue into an environment so opposed to any they know.

As the title sequence progresses, the audience gains a greater understanding of the harsh nature of the planet, through camera shots from all angles portraying the clear visual style that helps to establish context of the surroundings. The protagonist is shown to be struggling against the elements; connotations of danger surrounding this unknown world are emphasised and therefore the tension is increased. An effective aspect of the title sequence, is that there is a clear narrative structure within the opening. The sequence shows the protagonist moving towards a goal (the orb) and so there is a clear objective and meaning of the opening. This keeps the anticipation and intrigue strong as the viewer infers that what is happening is key to the narrative of the film as a whole. Consistently throughout the sequence, there is a use of point-of-view shots, so that the viewer has an insight into the character of the protagonist. As Peter Quill’s face is masked for the first section of the opening, the viewer is impacted to feel detached from his character. However, the POV shots help the audience to better understand and relate to his character. As Quill continues forward, he pulls out a scanner that reveals what seems to be the planet in a former life, this pushes the audience to question what lead to the planet becoming abandoned, increasing their intrigue to find out more. Diegetic, digital sound effects accompany the activation of the scanner, adding to the sci-fi feel of the film.

 

Throughout the first half of the title sequence, there is continuous sound, in the form of non-diegetic music and diegetic sound effects used to build up an awareness of the nature of the planet, e.g. rain. The music is a parallel sound as its successful in building up an eerie, mysterious ambience, highlighting the science fiction genre. As Quill reaches the structure there is a significant build-up of volume and therefore suspense, increasing the intensity of the scene and signifying to the audience that we have reached a momentous part of the opening and influencing them to question what is about to happen. The music is then halted and replaced by digital sound effects as he removes his mask, revealing his face. The revelation that the protagonist is a human, means that an aspect of the tension is released for the audience as they can instantly relate to his character, whereas before a sense of mystery was maintained as the entire mise-en-scene was unfamiliar to the viewer. The absence of non-diegetic sound emphasised the presence of ambient sounds, such as dripping and echoes of his movements in the ruins. This quiet creates an uneasy atmosphere and may cause the viewer to feel unsettled as it is clear that something significant is about the take place.

Instead, this build up of tension is broken by the sound track of ‘Come and get your love’ by Redbone playing through Quill’s cassette player. This significant tonal shift is unexpected by the viewer, and therefore emphasises the comedic elements of the music, in comparison to the desolate planet and uneasy atmosphere created previously. The audience is relieved of their anticipation through Quill’s humorous dancing in time with the music, making the film immediately more fun and appealing. The chosen Redbone song ‘Come and get your love’ has a mass appeal to a range of generations as it was (and still is) extremely popular, as the audience is likely to know the song the comedic aspect will therefore resonate more with them as they can relate to what they are watching.  As the vocals come in, bold, impactful text spelling ‘guardians of the galaxy’ fills the screen, reflecting the upbeat nature of the song. This is also comedic as beneath the lettering in the background the long-shot captures Quill dancing which is a large contrast to his surroundings demonstrating the films balance between action and comedy. As the music does not reflect the desolate nature of the planet which we see on screen, it is contrapuntal sound. A more light-hearted tone for the film is set, so the audience will have a greater desire to carry on watching as they can expect more comedic elements like this.

The title sequence is concluded with Quill picking a lock of some description, in order to access the orb. This reveals elements about his personality and nature of his work, so the audience is left wondering the significance in the wider film. The final shot is of the glowing orb, this demonstrates its importance and the audience can infer that it is the main focus of the film. It is accompanied by the music fading out, depicting its clear power.