Alien

The background of the planet passing shows the movie is set in space, and which gives the sequence an isolated, alone feel. However, this is countered by the non-diagetic music. The music has high, almost screeching overtones, which are slightly jarring, and put the audience on edge. The music also sounds like a noisy room full of lots of small or distant creatures. This gives the feeling that despite appearances, there may be other things around. The music is also what people will recognize as music that connotates something bad or scary is about to happen. The lighting is low-key. This also adds tension, as it’s hard to make out any details, so there is no way to tell what could be lurking around. It heightens the sense of alienation felt by the viewer, which may make them feel wrong footed- as if they aren’t in control- which is scary.

The first letter of the title starts in the middle, and all the other letters point towards it. This is a reference to the fact that the alien is a parasite that comes out from the centre of your body. The font is clean and futuristic. This fits in with the fact that it’s set in space and contains aliens, as spaceships and aliens have connotations of futuristic, white, sparse settings.

This title sequence works well through slow burning tension. The title ALIEN draws the audience in, and could even be frustrating, as the word slowly appears on screen.

Halloween

The inane grin of the pumpkin stares out at the audience, as the credits come up. At first it may appear slightly silly, but as it continues to stare unerringly at the audience, it becomes creepy. Through personification, the flickering of the light makes it appear it’s blinking, which makes it appear relaxed, which makes it seem as if it’s in control, which is even more scary.

Slowly, the camera starts to zoom in on the pumpkin, but so slowly it’s almost unnoticeable. This makes it sinister, as if it’s creeping up. The tension rises as it gets closer and closer. It seems impossible to escape or get away from it, as it unerringly moves closer. However, it could also feel like it’s the audience moving, being pulled in towards the pumpkin. The flickering of the light through the holes makes it eyes look alive.

Carved pumpkins are intrinsically linked in with Halloween, and it’s connotations of horror and fright. The orange links in with the pumpkin, and fire. The letters seem to glow against the black background. As the pumpkin gets closer and the holes of it’s mouth and nose get bigger, the audience will start to wonder what’s inside the pumpkin. The light of the flame inside make it seem like a cavern filled with fire, which could be likened to, or memorative of, hell. This is fitting of a horror film, as references to hell, and evil, are often the main themes of the film. This feeling is intensified as the pumpkin fades to black, leaving only the credits and the flickering light. This is a classic horror film technique, where someone (a victim) is lost in the dark, and they know that something's there with them, and then they see it’s eyes in the darkness. When the light goes off, it feels as if the pumpkin has the upper hand over us, because it can see us, but we can’t see it. We don’t know where it is.

Dial M for MurderAlfred Hitchcock is, and was known for making horror films, so the audience may get scared and/or tense in anticipation when they see his name.

The title is written in crooked writing. This is a style of writing often connotated with Witches. It’s on slightly different levels to each letter, so it appears jumble up- a sign that the film is about normal life being jumbled up.

The title ‘DIAL M FOR MURDER’ gives the audience a clue to the story of the film- it will involve a murder/murders. The highlight on the button M shows this is the button that symbolizes murder. The orange colour is quite dramatic and stands out against the background, highlighting it’s importance.

The M stays during the titles, showing that it is an important part of the film. It appears to symbolize the fact that this button will be used a lot, therefore indicating that there will be a lot of murders.