Title Research: Insidious

What titles are displayed during the opening sequences?

Film District, Alliance is a title that is seen, which I'm assuming is the producing companies collaborating for the making of the movie. It also says "Film District Presents",  in the opening credits. And says "A James Wan Film" which I'm assuming is the director of the movie. 

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

There's lamp that is first introduced in opening sequence. And the camera pans from a little boy sleeping on the bed, a lava lamp, a single-lit candle, and then to the title of the movie, "Insidious" in all caps in red letters. After showing the title it shows the credits of the cast members and black-and-white images of the interior and exteriors of a house. These black-and-white images shows a bird-eye view of a staircase, low angles showing a door to a bedroom, windows, dining room, etc with low-key lighting.

What connotations do these images carry?

These image of a sleeping boy and a single-lit candle feels a bit ominous and gives a sense of danger to the audience. And the series of black-and-white images of the low-lit houses that isn't occupied gives a sense of isolation, and makes the viewers wonder why there isn't people living in the house. 

How does the film establish a feeling of the genre from the outset?

The title sequence uses non-diegetic sounds of stings that sounds like shrill violins playing quickly, making almost shrieking noises, this establishes a terrifying mood in the viewing experience already. Also, the fact that the opening sequence starts with a pan to a little boys sleeping on the bed and is accompanied by these non-diegetic sounds automatically set an ominous tone. 

What strategies are use to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

The target audience is clearly for viewers that watches horror films. The way they attracted horror-loving viewers is embodying horror elements and conventions. The title sequence has these shrill stings throughout, it uses low-key lighting in the cinematography, and it shows ominous images of houses, picture frames of families, and a sleeping boy. These elements in the title sequence would be immediately identified as a horror film, establishing the rhetoric of terror effectively. 

How has technology been used effectively? You want to consider camera angles, transition and editing techniques.

The pans, crane movements in the beginning of the title sequence effectively shown the ominous images that introduces the movie. The use of these camera movements makes the viewer wonder what next image will appear on screen, as the movements seen are relatively slow. This shows that the right camera equipment for these smooth camera movement effectively establishes a rhetoric of an ominous tone. Additionally, the transitions, particularly the fade-ins for the black-and-white images of the house also adds to the ominous tone effectively in the title sequence. If jump-cuts were used, it wouldn't be able to execute the ominous vision. This shows that the editing software effectively establishes the rhetoric of the film.