ANALYSING OPENING TITLES - Alien

Alien (1979) - Ridley Scott

•      Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto.
•      The sequence beings with a panning shot of space, the slow subdued pace creates tension and the use of dark colors add to the mystery.
•      Adding to this, the beginning of Jerry Goldstein's eerie score subtlety sets the tone of the film, creating tension.
•      The title appears letter by letter which again adds to the mystery and keeps the audience attentive, trying to guess what its relevance is. But the genius is the slow reveal of the title, not even one letter at a time, but one element of each letter at a time, the long, disquieting lines taking eventual shape, much as the titular creature reveals itself one stage of its life cycle at a time before finally emerging as the Alien later in the film.
•      Overall the titles are small and simplistic, so the audience is not deferred away from the main title (‘ALIEN’) 

Does it set up particular genre expectations?

The setting of the opening sequence of space immediately sets the scene. Not only that the film title, ‘ALIEN’ instantly notifies the audience about the theme of the film and adds to the sci-fi genre.

Does it introduce particular characters to the audience? If so, what does it tell the audience about the character?

The titles just present the main actors of the film. The opening titles don’t actually give away anything about the film, which does add to the subtle mystery that complements the film.

Does it introduce the setting of the movie? If so, what does it tell the audience about the setting?

The use of an interstellar expanse backdrop,  again slowly adds to the tension. Plus the use of the infinite black of space makes us wonder what is lurking within it. The overall effect is of this very slow paced, minimalist title sequence is the tension created is almost haunting to some degree and certainly leaves a lasting impression on the audience.