Difference Between Independent and Mainstream Film Openings

The most striking difference between mainstream and independent film openings is the order of titles. Mainstream film openings often feel the need to follow a certain order of titles, starting with the staring actors and ending with the director. On the other hand, independent film openings often run the titles in a more unique fashion, usually as a way of emphasising that certain names are more important than others, although sometimes independent film titles run in an order which emphasise that nobody is more important than another within the films production.

This difference is proven by looking at the opening sequences of Catch Me If You Can (mainstream) and The Inbetweeners Movie (independent). The opening of Catch Me If You Can runs in the order of Production Company Logos -> Starring Actors Names -> Film Name -> Supporting Casts Names -> Crew Names -> Directors name. This order is more or less universal across all mainstream film openings, as virtually the same order can be seen in the opening of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which I have also embedded. Interestingly, these title sequences are only a second off being the same length, which suggests that the titles within the sequences run at the same speed.

In terms of independent film, The Inbetweeners Movie has titles which run in a completely different order to any mainstream film. In fact, it only actually has four titles - one for the each of the names of the starring actors. This could have been a conscious decision by Film4 in order to set the film apart from mainstream films in terms of opening titles, or instead could have been a decision in order to show the different kind of film, as in this film, these actors are far more important than any of the supporting cast, or even vital members of the crew such as director and writers. Unfortunately, the opening of this film is not available on YouTube, so I have done a screenshot of one of the titles in order to show the design of them. 

Another difference between mainstream and independent title sequences is the soundtrack which is featured in them. In the James Bond film Casino Royale (mainstream), the opening title sequence has been set out to a song recorded by an established American artist which was specifically written and recorded for the film. Contrasted with the opening to Kidulthood (independent), which has an instrumental opening song which was hastily produced by the director. Whilst both songs work equally well considering the differing genres, it is clear that mainstream film companies have a lot money to spend on an opening song, compared to an independent film who often have to self produce any original music. Additionally to this, a fair portion of the Kidulthood opening contains silence, in order to add to the tense atmosphere. It also makes the film seem like it has been produced in a more rough way, which is typical of independent films.

A final difference between mainstream and independent film openings is the choice of institutional logo at the beginning. Most mainstream films will show the logo of the main production company and distributor at the beginning, believing that these will be what gives the audience reassurance about the quality of the film. On the other hand, independent film openings will usually rely on an immediately hitting storyline/use of characterisation in order to hook the audience in, as they will not have a flashy institutional logo to encourage the audience to continue watching the film. The opening of Django Unchained (mainstream) uses both the Columbia logo and 'The Weinstein Brothers' in order to show its audience that it has been produced by a big company, and thus will be a good movie. On the other hand, the opening of Drive (independent), doesn't contain an institutional logo, instead relying on the big name actors and use of mysterious storyline in order to interest its audience into watching it. 

Studying the differences between these film openings has shown me the various rules which we can break and adhere to in order to make our film opening appear to be a genuinely produced independent movie, which would be the best possible outcome for our project.