Notting Hill's title sequence is something we aspire ours to be like. Like ours, it involves flashbacks of an individual's life so far, in this case Anna Scott, a successful film star. The title sequence in Notting Hill is so eloquently put together.
The fonts chosen are very simplistic and minimalistic. They don't distract the audience too much from the non-diegetic sound of a man talking over the top, which is crucial as the voice-over is important in understanding the background of one of the main character's,
Anna Scott. The colours chosen are very basic, but effective. Simple themes and fonts are beneficial for opening the film as they don't give away too much information about the film's storyline, and keep the audience intrigued. Moreover, the voice-over and the black background get's the audience wondering what the man's talking about, why they are been shielded away from this information. We could use this as inspiration for our film. We want to have a 'flashback' in our opening credits in order to save time and gain the audience's interest straight away. We want to have simple fonts similar to this, to keep the audience interest and not give too much away about our film.
This close-up shot reveals the character the man was talking about. The non-diegetic music played over the top impacts the audience's opinion instantly, with constant reference to 'She' which suggests that she is 'the one', she is everything. This instantly sets Anna's character up as an important character within the film, and an important asset that drives the narrative forward. The close-up shot allows us, as an audience, to get up close and personal with the character. Immediately creating a bond between us and the character. This would be effective in our title sequence, we hope to build the audience a bond with our main character Sarah, in hope they would support her throughout. We want to make sure we clearly establish who she is, and how important she will be to the plot.
In the next frame we have more titles/credits but an action backdrop. This close-up continues to develop the character of Anna. The background of press and photographers suggests she's an actress, someone famous, alerting the audience to her profession, some background to her character. This shot begins a series of montages of Anna, explaining who the character is and what her role will be. There is a continuance of the basic and simplistic font to prevent any distraction from the action and to make the audience aware that this character will be the main focus of the film. In our film we want to continue the action whilst playing our titles/credits over the top. In the title sequence we want to establish the importance of the penny straight away and as effectively as Anna's importance is done in the opening of Notting Hill.
Throughout the title sequence cross-dissolves are used to transition between the montages of Anna. This shot further expands on her occupation and shows that she receives vast publicity. This is a subtle hint to suggest what will happen during the film, something related to 'bad' press, how this will be her downfall. This shot is very simplistic and subtle in nature, but puts across Anna's popularity and success effectively, making the audience aware of this knowledge.
The 'flashback'' of Anna Scott's career continue, as the actor's credits come up. The simplistic font continues but with a subtle change of font colour. Close-up shot's continue of Anna. It is clear that the title sequence is very simple by this point, lots of similar fonts, colours, shots and images. It is evident that the main purpose of this shot is to tell the background story to the film, who the character is. We too want to keep our title sequence very simple. We want to put the importance of the penny across, and show who our main character is. These close-up shots allow the audience to understand the character, we want to use this in our film, to gain the audience's approval and acknowledgement of the main character straight away.
The font for the title differs from the rest of the opening credits making it stand out. It maintains the idea of simplicity, but is very fitting for the title sequence. The white font stands out from the action backdrop, and is clear to the audience. The title appears to be the only 'normal' element of the shot. The title remains balanced, where the rest of the shot is cantered. This suggests the uncertainty of Anna's profession, and the possibility of it becoming unbalanced. All along the titles remain upright, suggesting the certainty of Notting Hill, as though it'll bring her everything she'll ever want and more. This is extremely effective as it stands out enormously from the rest of the title sequence.
There is a cross-dissolve between the two main characters. The cross-dissolve shows them almost facing one another, despite not having met one another yet. This suggests to the audience what is yet to come, suggesting that those two characters will meet, but the audience is unaware of how yet. This keeps them intrigued, and encourages them to continue watching the film to find out how. This cross-dissolve allows the audience to find out who William Thacker is.
The final shot is a crane shot of the main character walking down the street. The audience find out information about William Thacket, as he begins a non-diegetic narrative of who he is and how he met Anna Scott. This continues the theme of the character's providing insights into their lives, whilst action is displayed. This shot sets the location for the film, making the audience aware of where the film will take place. The main character stands out clearly amongst the crowd as he continues his narration, keeping the audiences attention throughout.
