Title Research: Two Eyes Staring

Retrieved from: Watch the Titles website
Movie: Two Eyes Staring (2010)
Genre: Horror

• How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? 

There are 14 titles to the opening sequence, the last title always being directed by.

• What images are prioritized in the opening sequence? 

They use symmetrical ink blot style effects for almost every title showing the idea of there having to do with two's. Within the symmetrical figures it shows clips of two girls, paper eye masks, and journal entries or letters. In one it show someone putting some type of powder into water.

• What connotations do the images carry? 

The images carry a dark and creepy feeling with them. It shows two similar looking girls alone outside in a garden type scenery by a pond, which in most cases never ends well. They also show some type of writings and it looks like they're either writing to someone or taking notes on someone.   

• How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The music that plays through the opening sequence of the film has old classical music and adds to the horror genre by giving it a creepy feel to it. The conventional codes of a horror are followed through the darkness of the introduction and the blurring of some of the clips along with the mysterious energy that is meant to perplex the audience on the situation.

• How does the film establish an enigma from the outset? 

 The titles show the effect of decaying images that kind of open up into the ink blots. He uses innocent looking images to show a sense of threat that foreshadows the atmosphere of the movie. The ink blots were originally used in psychological tests which shows that there is some sort of psychological issue that lies beneath.

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

 The clips within the ink blots were to depict innocence and also perception. The style he used, which was the ink blots, were also uses for showing the doubling of characters and a psychological issue. He used this style to create a dreamy but also spine-chilling feeling.

• How has technology been used effectively? 

The title sequence consists of just two layers the live action images and the layer with  the animated ink blots. They made a lot of ink blots and scanned those and filmed close up clips and clips pf the two girls. For every shot they looked for just the right shape and size. They experimented with different fonts, but it turned out that a solid sans-serif worked best. They aimed for a more ‘decayed’ look. They wanted the typography to be static and readable, to focus the attention on the images.