Genre Specific Analysis

In the opening to " a nightmare on elm street" a strange, mysterious character is seen to be crafting a bladed glove,. This creates enigma as you are not sure as to who is creating the glove and why. Darkness also features heavily in this opening as it restricts the viewers field of vision and shrouds the background creating a sense of mysteriousness. The viewer is only shown a small square of video and the rest is surrounded by a black background so we do not see who is making the glove. Clanging tools can also be heard, this connotes a sense of clinical coldness.

The opening of "Halloween" also uses enigma. A point of view shot is also used which restricts the viewers field of vision, a mask is also placed over the camera towards the end setting a trend for the rest of the movie. The viewer can tell what is going to happen before it actually does, this is because the lighting and non-diagetic sounds suggest a sinister event is about to happen.

"A nightmare on elm street" also creates an eery atmosphere with the titles, the plain boring font suggests a normal, safe atmosphere. But the text is distorted, showing something that should be safe and normal has been turned strange and alien.
The titles simply appear giving a plain and raw feel to the opening, this could also create an uneasy feel with the viewer as this is not usually done.




The orange titles in "Halloween" contrast with the black background, this makes them seem slightly sinister and 'edgy'. They give an idea of the plot and they give the audience the time-frame for the movie. The sharp edges in the text remind me of the pumpkins teeth, the colour is also similar to the colour coming from the pumpkin, adding to the sense of eeriness. The titles fade in and out, this could mirror the main character's sense of confusion and the way his character fades in and out and different points in the rest of the movie.

After looking into the title scenes of both movies I have concluded that they both use enigma to create a sense of uncertainty in the audience, they do this by restricting the field of vision and using darkness to keep the audience on edge. Fast and slow editing speeds create different emotions but both are suitable as they create tension and fear.