Thief Title sequence analysis

Audience/ Genre

As I have discovered through my research, the genre tends to aim for a male audience stretching from young adults through to approximately middle aged men (18-50). This is apparent in the title sequence of 'Thief' as it holds a dark, eerie mood which is made by the music, dark lighting and lack of introduction to characters, we see them but we are not fully introduced as they don't talk and are mainly seen in longer shots which withdraws any personal feeling shots that may let us feel comfortable with the characters. The audience are appealed to via the grim feeling mood, going in to the introduction of robberies, the mood for the film is set and the basis of the film is brought in instantly through shots of a robbery, this is successful I feel for a crime-thriller.

Sound

Sound of raindrops on a concrete floor open the scene by overlapping the institution titles to instantly set a mood of suspicion which is a helpful device for a crime-thiller title sequence I feel as it sets up the mood from the off which creates great anticipation for the remainder of the movie as we are given a hint at what to expect and by having a tense mood, as is in thief we as an audience feel tense from the start which is good for the suspense of a crime-thriller. Music kicks in to the background which adds to the mood of the title sequence as it is in the same tense feeling and therefore builds on the intensity of the opening sequence, highlighting the danger of what the basis of the film is.

This title sequence is massively assisted by the use of sound over the others I have studied which I will be sure to consider in my own title sequence.

Narrative

The narrative given in the title sequence sets the film up to be a dark one, we follow a character at the start getting into a car with no explanation of where he is going or who he is. The shifty nature of the opening scene is a useful one to consider as it differs from 'reservoir dogs' and 'oceans 11'. As the man enters the car we are revealed the back alley from a low angle shot which is foggy, this setting a location whilst building on the mood further. We are given radio talk which hints at police involvement or an accomplice to the robber which shows there may be some conflict to the main thief or if it is an accomplice we are revealed more of the crew. The final narrative we can take is the small seeming robbery taking place at the end which hints at ;humble beginnings' for the operation, we assume then room for expansion in their operations.

Representation

The title sequence to 'Thief' gives a grim representation to the life of crime that it follows, this may seem like an obvious choice for a crime-Thriller but typically they represent the life in a brighter light than expected. The dark lighting is the main hint that it is casting the criminals in the dark light, it is denoted on a literal level whilst connoting it for the mood too. The representation contrasts with films such as Reservoir Dogs are an important thing to consider, Crime-Thrillers can be broad so the title sequence is important for hinting at what direction it will be going.