I’ve seen a lot of movies and I’ve watched a lot of TV shows. In turn, I’ve seen many, many title sequences. I’ve always been a huge fan of them. The beauty of title sequences in live-action (television and movies) is that they can add another layer of creativity in a medium that doesn’t typically feature motion typography as a method of storytelling. I saw Thor 2 the other day. The title sequence was super creative, but the style of the credits didn’t seem to fit the style of the film. I think that’s really important.
Here is a list of my top 7 favorite television and top 3 favorite movie title sequences. Why 7? Why 3? Because it adds up to 10. And everyone likes even numbers, especially the number 10. Here’s my listicle.
TV
7. The IT Crowd. I’m not a huge fan of the show, but the opening uses smart visuals are creative typography to make it seem digitized. My favorite moment is at the end where there is a simulated network server error.
6. Freaks and Geeks. This yearbook photo-type intro is a great way to open a show set in high school.
5. Lie to Me. The first season of this show is incredible. Sadly, the quality of Lie to Me plummeted quickly. These credits are awesome though. There are a lot of subtle choices here with the typography.
4. Dexter. Blood splatter, man! Pretty great visuals, and a lot of symbolism in the comparisons between brutally murdering someone and making a healthy breakfast.
3. Community. Oragami fortune teller. Classic. This is a really fun way to use typography in a title sequence.
2. Fringe. The Fringe credits are flighty, scientific, and a little spooky all at the same time. The words that fly through add a bunch of different elements, theories, and keywords that pop up in the plot of the show. These are intelligent credits. Did you count the fingers on the hand? There are six.
1. Game of Thrones. The Game of Thrones intro is majestic and beautiful. It feels kind of like an interactive board game mixed with an African safari that happens to be set in Middle Earth. Great typography. Great visuals. That’s what you get with an HBO budget.
Movies
3. Fight Club. Director David Fincher really appreciates a good title sequence. And this sequence transitions beautifully into the flow of the film.
2. Superbad. Superbad feels like a 70s buddy film…sort of. It feels as throwback as it can for a film made in 2007, and this disco-like intro helped set the tone for the film before it even began.
1. Se7en. David Fincher again. And another Brad Pitt movie. Se7en is my favorite title sequence from a movie. Take a look. It’ll make your skin crawl.