The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a 2011 Swedish-American mystery thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson.
Order of Titles:
- Columbia and MGM present
- A Scott Rudin & Yellow Bird production
- A David Fincher Film
- Daniel Craig
- Rooney Mara
- THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
- Christopher Plummer
- Stellan Skarsgard
- Steven Berkoff
- Robin Wright
- Yorick Van Wageningen
- Joely Richardson
- Geraldine James
- Goran Visnjic
- Donald Sumpter
- Ulf Friberg
- Casting by Laray Mayfield
- Costume Designer - Trish Summerville
- Co-Producers - Berna Levin, Eli Bush
- Sound Design by Ren Klyce
- Music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
- Editors - Kirk Baxter ACE & Angus Wall ACE
- Production Designer - Donald Graham Burt
- Director of Photography - Jeff Cronenweth ASC
- Executive Producers - Steve Zaillian, Mikael Wallen, Anni Raurbye Fernandez
- Produced by Scott Rudin, Ole Sondberg, Soren Staermose, Cean Chaffin
- Based on the book by Stieg Larsson -- Originally published by Norstedts
- Screenplay by Steve Zaillian
- Directed by David Fincher
The titles of the production and distribution studios, along with the name of the filmmaker appear first. Usually this is the director, but it has been a major producer's name before. Then there are the two main leads before the title appears. After that it is the rest of the cast, and then it works its way up from casting all the way to music, editing, DP and Director. The Director is always the last title in film opening credits. The duration of the titles are around 3 seconds each. They are all the same size and length. The only title which stays for a little longer is the name of the author of the books and the publisher, this could be to accommodate having two titles or just leaving it there to show the appreciation of the original content. The actual title of the film appears right near the beginning after the names of the two main leads. This is also when the vocals in the background song starts and so it makes it very energetic.
Typography: All the titles are the same size and font, excluding the film title which is different for both. The titles are coloured white and are placed in one third of the frame, except for "A David Fincher Film" in which it is placed in the centre. Only the first two titles fade out, but all the others go off with the cut of the clip. One title may appear on more than one clip, but they never cut in the middle of a clip. This makes it very energetic and lively. You have to pay close attention as there's no indication of a title appearing. The titles are placed on the other side of the focus of the frame. This creates balance in the frame but also requires you to switch from the title to the other action in the frame.
Animation wise, the titles move smoothly towards the corners of frame, connoting they are trying to escape. The serif font is animated so that they extend outwards. This connotes the feeling of something growing and developing. The font for the film title is much more blocky than the other font. The ends of the letters are pointed sharply, connoting a lethal nature. This is also more three dimensional as it is not just text placed over visuals, the text interacts with the action. This lasts for one second before it is swallowed up by the liquid.
Relationship between visuals and titles: The only text that interacts with the visuals is the film title, the liquid splashes over the title and devourers it. I noticed in most films, that the most well composed and significant shot is left for last, the directors title. The other significant title relationship is the cinematographer who has usually the best composed shot in the sequence. The main leads in the film, the fewer the better, are shown in a different way near the beginning. The visuals do tell a story throughout the opening, especially with the dragon emerging from the tattoo, in parallel to the events of the film. Most of the titles don't have any relationship to the visuals.
Own Production:
I liked this font as it looked very grungy and hand written. I put it in red as it contrasted well with the background. Also since the directors credit is used for a well composed shot, I decided to use my thriller still. It is placed in the centre, much like "A David Fincher Film" in TGWTDT (above).
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