Kyle Cooper

Kyle Cooper

Catalogue of Work

Quotes

• Seven (1995)
• The Mummy (1995)
• Dawn of the Dead (2004)
• Iron Man (2008)
• Sherlock Holmes (2009)
• The Walking Dead (2010)
• American Horror Story (2011)

'Each film is a different problem to solve so each solution is different.'

'A great title sequence sets an expectation.'

'I try to make the typography in service of the story that we're trying to tell.'

(Discussing Se7en)

Se7en Title Sequence Analysis

The lighting and colouring throughout the sequence is dark, dull and desaturated, connoting dark themes and suggesting the genre of the film. There are many close-ups of a character's hand, avoiding the person's face/body, hinting they are trying to hide their identity. Props include a razor blade, scissors, needle and thread, and tweezers. They all seem dirty and unsanitary, therefore feeling out of place and making the audience uncomfortable. A Bible is shown and 'GOD' cut out of paper, showing religious themes. There are also pictures of brutal murders, again giving discomfort to the audience. The sound is very distorted and even jumpy at times, feeding into the thriller genre. The typography with the credits is scratchy and jittery when appearing on the screen, creating a tense and unsettling atmosphere. They all have different positions on the screen to make the audience focus on them and adding to the jittery effect.

Biography

Dawn of the Dead Title Sequence Analysis

• Born July 1962.
• Studied graphic design at Yale University.
• Worked as a creative director at R/GA, an advertising agency.
• While he was there, he created the title sequence for Se7en (1995), which inspired younger designers.
• When he was making the Se7en title sequence, he thought they were behind what was happening in music videos, commercials and print.
• He founded a creative agency with Peter Frankfurt and Chip Houghton, called Imaginary Forces as part of R/GA.
• He then left Imaginary Forces in 2003 and founded the creative agency called Prologue.
• He wanted to create main titles that were raising the bar creatively.

The sequence starts with bold red font, which appears to blow away and turn into dripping blood, suggesting the horror genre. Besides the title which is big and in the centre, the credits remain the same colour and size. However, like Se7en, they are in different positions on the screen, therefore drawing the audience's attention to them. Grainy news footage is shown in short, quick clips in between the credits which all have this blood effect. The news credits narrate the story and inform the audience about what they're going to see. There are short, loud bursts of screams, zombies growling and blood squelching. These make the audience tense and uneasy. An upbeat song plays about 1/4 of the way through the sequence, yet the lyrics connote death. For example, 'everybody is gonna be treated all the same', suggesting no matter who the characters are, they will die.