Only Fools And Horses
The opening
sequence of only fools and horses starts off with an establishing picture of a
marketplace showing the viewer the atmosphere and background of the characters
lives they are about to witness. Then you see the name of the show partially
wipe into the picture and wipe out. This is quite common in comedies to show
the name of the show first, then the name and then the actors which is what is
present in the only fools and horses opening sequence.
In the
sequence throughout what is going on in the foreground there are still images fading
into each other of a dirty, traditional market town. This essentially is to give
the viewer the atmosphere of the lifestyles of the main characters but the lack
of movement in the pictures may suggest a lack of movement in the lives of the characters
from their everyday routine.
The theme
music in this title is a classic that anyone alive during this era will know
the tune and will be able to hum along. This is due to the simple nature of the
wording and actual tune in the background that is played that is catchy and
easy for the viewer to remember.
The Fresh Prince Of Bell Air
The opening
sequence of the fresh prince of bell air is one of the main reasons the show
was as popular as it was. Millions of viewers would go quiet to hear the opening
sequence of the fresh price due to its upbeat, catchy theme song and the amusing
scenes that accompany it.
The into
starts with Will Smith (The fresh prince) in a kings throne spinning around
with a backdrop of graffiti. This scene sums up the full television series in
which a “fresh”, street, common young man goes to live with is rich uncle in Dell
Air. The throne represents the lifestyle he leads now but the backdrop shows a background
of “streetlife” and the spinning may be representing a lack of stableness
between the two extremes.
Another use
of this opening title is to show the audience the essential background knowledge
of the main character. The opening scene shows how will went from being a
basketball street wise young man being
sent to live with his rich relatives. So when jokes are being made within the
show the audience can connect with the main character and feel involved.
The whole
show revolves around the contrast between Will’s street life background and the
life he now leads in Bell Air. The opening sequence catches this in essence by
the use of the theme song and the scenes that accompany it its catches the
essence of this perfectly. For example one of the lines in the theme song “ drinking orange juice out of a champagne
glass, is this what the people of bell air live like, hum this might be alright”.
Red Dwarf
The opening
scene starts off with the very recognisable establishing shot of the red dwarf
ship. This is also to show the audience that the program they are about to watch
is set in the future, may be unrealistic and they are based in a spaceship.
The opening
sequence is only thirty seconds long but it fits in about ten clips from the
show showing all the characters and main locations within the program. All the
clips that are shown are very fast pace with allot of movement to show the very
active, fast pace nature of the program.
As very
common with comedies the name of the show is shown first and then the writer.
The Simpsons (animated)
The opening
scene for the Simpsons, as seen in the link, has never really been changed. The
swoop into Springfield, the POV shot of Bart writing lines on the blackboard
and the always funny gag of homer getting hit by the car and into the living
room remains. Over the last 20 years the opening sequence has been re-mastered
but the crucial element that made the series famous are still there. This
connects viewers old and new to the show.
An example of a opening sequence that not really fit for purpose, but is great.
The tomorrow people.
( not a comedy but an example of how a
title sequence doesn’t always fit the program but can still work)
A hit TV
show, watched by thousands yet the into makes no sense or resemblance to the
show whatsoever. There are a few links to the futuristic world that the characters
live in but that’s about it. There are many questions I would have about this
opening sequence. Why does the name of the show keep on fading in many times?
Why are there zooms into random objects such as a stop motion hand? A foetus? Some
scaffolding framing a some people by a volcano? I would understand if the hand was an
essential part of the program but it’s not. It’s only featured in the opening sequence.
Yet the strange thing is everyone who remembers the tomorrow people remembers
the intro with the futuristic theme tune and the random stop motion hand. This
may bear no resemblance to the actual program yet it’s a very remember able and
gives the audience these questions listed above and makes the viewer want to
view on to see what the show is all about.
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