Title sequences are to movies what appetizers are to food. Often underrated, they are not unimportant. A good title sequence leaves a good first impression of the film, and makes the watcher want to see more. Good title sequences can be found throughout history of film, and some have even left a profound impression on their franchise. One example of this is the James Bond series, where in the first film, "Dr. No" (1962) many of the iconic aspects of the James Bond movies were established in the first few minutes; the gun barrel sequence and the music in particular.



There is one man in particular who took the art of title sequences to a whole new, insane level. That man is Kyle Cooper.

Se7en

In the movie "Se7en", we are confronted with a serial killer who murders his victims in a way that reflects the sins they have committed in their lives. What seperates Se7en from many other horror movies is the source of these murders: normally we see one disturbed individual, with a mind so twisted that a normal sense of morality doesn't apply to him. The murderer, "John Doe" remains anonymous for the majority of the movie but despite that is still a powerful presence. It is this presence that is a powerful source of the movie's horror.

Kyle Cooper was asked to do the title sequence for this movie, and the result was nothing short of incredible.



The dynamic between the credits and the movie was perfect. It sets the tone of the movie and introduces us to the terrifying entity that is John Doe, without actually revealing him to us.

New York Times Magazine hailed Se7en's opening credits as "one of the most important design innovations of the '90s". It was this opening sequence that launched Kyle's career in a big way, and to this day he's still proud of it.

The Cooper Effect

The good book says "everything your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might." I try to do that.
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Kyle has since become an established name in the film industry. His IMDb list is impressive: He has directed the title sequences of over 150 different movies, including all three Spiderman movies, Iron Man, Superman Returns, Dawn of the Dead, American Horror Story, and The Mummy.

With everything he works on he walks the extra mile, and then some. The opening titles for the second Spider-Man movie took a year to make, and Kyle had studied both the behaviour of spiders and octopuses for it (the villain of that movie was Dr. Octopus). For the opening credits of "Dawn of the Dead" he used real human blood. And for the opening titles of "The Mummy", he did extensive historical research and designed a new font that was part Roman lettertype, part hieroglyphs. His effort doesn't go unnoticed by the audience. One critic describes "The Cooper Effect" as follows:


Zach Snyder, "Dawn of the Dead" director, said that word in Hollywood goes that Kyle Cooper is so good, that some people refuse to work with him, because they're afraid his title sequences will make the actual movie feel like a let-down. Let the implications of that sink in.



Kyle Cooper doesn't have a signature style - and that's where his strength lies. Instead, he is asked to tap into the symbolism and the atmosphere of a movie and to reflect that in the opening credits. In his own words: "Each film is a different problem to solve so each solution is different."

According to Kyle's philosophy, the best design is concept driven. While new technology opens new doors, we shouldn't use that technology just because we can; it has to serve the concept. While he frequently uses the latest technology for a project, he also finds himself using old-school film techniques, if the project calls for it. Only using the latest technology, no matter how powerful, is just another way of limiting yourself, after all.











If you want to see more of Kyle's work (and others), check these sites out:

Prologue, the production studio founded by Kyle Cooper

Art of the Title

Forget the Film, Watch the Titles