Title Research: The Black Phone

 Hello again!

What titles are displayed during the opening sequence?

    The titles displayed go in this order; the studio name (Universal Pictures and Blumhouse), the production company (Crooked Highway), the director (Scott Derrickson), the title of the movie (The Black Phone), then follows the actor's names (Mason Thames, Madeline McGraw, Jeremy Davies, James Ransone, etc.), the people who cast the movie (Terri Taylor and Sarah Domeier Lindo), who did the music (Mark Korven), the co-producers (Jon Romano and Jennifer Scudder Trent) the costume designer (Amy Andrews Harrell), the editor (Fredéric Thoraval), Production Designer (Patti Podesta), director of photography (Brett Jutkiewicz), the executive producers (Ryan Turek, Christopher H. Warner, and Joe Hill), the producers (Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson, and C. Robert Cargill), who originally wrote the story (Joe Hill),  the screenwriters (Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill), the director's name is stated again (Scott Derrickson), and then the movie begins.

- What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

    The images prioritized heavily feature themes of going missing. Images would often flash across the screen, showcasing missing posters. The opening sequence even begins with an insinuation that child went missing; a boy riding his bike with an eery van driving by. The images, if not describing missing children, all surround the idea of children. These images focus on their school lives, e.g. school pictures and children getting off of a school bus. Furthermore, some pictures don't even appear correlated to the idea of children, showcasing the landscape around them.

- What connotations do these images carry?

    These images have been strategically placed to make the audience feel a sense of discomfort, to make the feel as though something is coming. The conjunction of the images of missing children and those of regular school children make the audience wonder what's to come if this is happening to those school children. The placement of the landscape images shows the setting of the story, emphasizing that this is happening in a regular town, providing a sense of familiarity with the story. However, the familiarity this adds makes the audience feel paranoid as this is something that although will probably not happen to them, it could.

- How does the film establish a feeling of the genre from the outset?

 The editing techniques and the short clips show much of this. The images and editing aren't made you make you jump, make you fearful, they put you on the edge of your seat. The images used aren't these crazy gory sights, they're very real things, which create suspense as you don't know why these things have happened. The very first clip shows the beginning of what happens, it insinuates a child gets abducted. The images further corroborate this thought when the missing kid posters are shown. This is meant to build suspense, rather than what its horror counterpart does which is to make you feel fear.

- What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

        This movie is for those who enjoy suspense, not knowing what comes next. This title sequence caters to those people by providing a vague idea of what's to come. You know that kids are getting abducted, but you don't know why or how. This draws those types of people in, making them wonder what's to come next.

- How has technology been used effectively? You want to consider camera angles, transitions, and editing techniques?

        One of my favorite things about this title sequence is the way it is edited. It utilizes fade-to-black scenes to give a feeling of suspense without abruptly ending it. The fade to black is slow, dragging slowly as something bad happens. By doing this it draws out the scene, building suspense. Many of the clips have been edited to appear as though they have been filmed on an old camera with glitches in the lighting. This makes what is happening more personal, as though we are getting a first-hand view from someone. This is further corroborated as many of these are shot looking upwards, and when the rest of the title sequence focuses so heavily on children, it only makes sense to think it was filmed by a child, the main target of the show.

Thank you!