COMPARING TITLE SEQUENCES

 C O M P A R I N G   T I T L E   S E Q U E N C E S

Grease and American Horror Story's opening captures the essence of both narratives well. 

GREASE

The genre of the film is established almost immediately through the use of the quirky, brightly coloured 1950s style font for the film title as well as through the use of the non diegetic soundtrack of 'Grease' by Frankie Vallie. It indicates at the fact that this is a film with a more positive tone, and perhaps even depicts that Grease is of the musical genre due to the correlation between the lyrics of the song and that of the narrative. 

This idea is continued throughout as this is repeated with other credits. For example, this can be seen in: 

'Dances & musical sequences staged & choreographed by Patricia Birch'

'T-Birds alphabetically Barry Pearl (Doody), Michael Tucci (Sonny), Kelly Ward (Putzie)'

'Music supervision Bill Oakes'

The title sequence heavily features typical American figures from the 1950s, such as Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, presenting the location and time period.

The narrative is also hinted at subtly throughout the film. The most predominant way in which this is done is through the introduction of the characters; they are introduced through mirrors, hinting at the idea that perhaps they are teenagers as they seem to be more vain. Additionally, they are introduced through the word 'as', suggesting once again that this is a musical as this adds a theatrical element to the film. The way in which they approach the mirrors also presents their personalities:

Danny can be deemed as an unkempt, popular rebel. This is because his room is illustrated as rather messy through the use of clothes and various items being scattered around his room with an unmade bed, and his hair is tousled; this signifies his rebellion and untidiness. He also looks into the mirror with caricature-like exaggerated features, such as his smirk and sharp jawline. 

Sandy on the other hand can be deemed as Danny's love interest as she is introduced immediately after him. She heavily contrasts him as her room is tidy, and there is an element of fairy-tale like undertones to her being as she is surrounded by animals and her beauty is effortless. Due to this, it can be assumed that the film's narrative will follow the romantic relationship of the two, and their interesting dynamic.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: MURDER HOUSE

The narrative, genre and tone are established immediately within the opening shot. A POV shot is shown, interrupted by quickly paced depictions of disturbing children/babies accompanied by a piercing sound that is cruel to the senses. A eerie non-diegetic soundtrack of string instruments in pizzicato also plays. This crafts the sense of 'creeping around' - exploring things that aren't meant to be explored. The angle also depicts that investigation is taking place within the narrative due to the torch lighting. It is made clear that the opening is representing the horror genre with mysterious and unsettling tones. 

The font of the credits also capture the tone as it is rather gothic in the colouring of black and white. Some of the credits include:

Dylan McDermott

Connie Britton

Jessica Lange

Not many characters are introduced, however, many symbolic shots are shown. This encourages the audience to immerse themselves into the plot, and feel as if they too are uncovering the secrets of this location (presumably the basement of a house as that is what is shown).

Though the information given to the audience is contemporary and limited, this adds to the element of suspense. However, it can be concluded that the piece is set in America due to the title, 'American Horror Story'.

In conclusion, I believe both are successful opening title sequences, however, the American Horror Story sequence captures the genre more and is emotionally captivating, however, the Grease opening summarises the narrative more. As a personal taste, I prefer the American Horror Story opening as it is thought provoking and is rather open ended, encouraging me to want to view more of it.