Blog Task 4 (Art of the Title) - The Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods:

Which credits do we see and in which order do we see them in?

• Distribution
• Production
• Screenplay/Director
• Title
• Main Cast
• Casting
• Co Producer 
• Visual Effects Supervisor
• Music Supervisor 
• Music (by)
• Costumer Designer
• Editor
• Production Designer
• Director of Photography
• Executive Producer
• Producer
• Writer
• Director

What font type is used for the titles (if you don't know, describe what it looks like)?

In an interview involving the director, Drew Goddard and the main title designers, Jarik Van Sluijs and Pamela B. Green, the latter tell us that all of the work has been done digitally. This means that the title font was created by them from scratch and isn't a popular or known font type, such as Arial and so on. 

Pamela Green said: "With the “type over scene,” we did shoot a lot of actual type with splatters and so forth before we got to the final for which we created a whole alphabet. We still enjoy doing things by hand — the opening, but also the “type over scene” — because you get that organic effect like it was shot on film."

How we see the font - where do we see it in the frame (at the top, bottom, moving etc...)?

The font is seen all over the frame and for no particular reason too, possibly just so it doesn't conceal anything significant in the clip behind. 

What happens behind the font - what do we see, who are we introduced to, what sound do we hear?

Initially, we see blood on a dark background which sets the tone of the movie. It goes on to introduce us to three characters in some sort of medical centre, we don't know who these characters are but it's the viewer's first glance at what's going on. The third and last scene is where the majority of the credits come in and in this, the characters are just going about their everyday lives. It switches between serious and tense scenes to casual and upbeat ones. The director intended for this to create some sort of a parody of the title sequence itself. Along with the font, we begin to see what the movie is really about, or at least become increasingly curious about what's to happen next. 

What do you like about this sequence, why did you pick it?

Firstly, I picked this title sequence because it looked interesting, which led me to clicking on the link and watching it. After that, I found that I really liked how unique it was, with the digitalised fonts and the splatters and animation. I was also intrigued due to the switches in moods and scenes throughout the whole thing. 

Anything else you can find out about the title sequence either from the designer themselves or respones to the title from other people. 

The director: David Julyan wrote us this beautiful piece of music that just builds and swells and we wanted it to reach its crescendo and then slam to, you know, the coffee machine. It was important because it tells the audience right away what type of movie this is. It sets the tone immediately. The juxtaposition between the operatic horror and the mundane breakroom is the soul of Cabin in the Woods and the title sequence sets that up immediately.