Title Research: Midsommar

Midsommar (2019)
from www.artofthetitle.com


It is traditional that our fair queen shall choose…
—STEV

What titles are displayed during the opening sequences?


During the cut segment of this opening sequence of “Midsommar” the title is actually never shown. Director Ari Aster is known for subverting genre conventions, matter of fact, film conventions in general. Knowing this, the title was likely revealed at the end of the film, wrapping up the contents of the film. 


What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?


In this opening sequence, only the names and credits are prioritized. No other images are shown, as just contributors to the film, that being actors, crew, and companies/institutions involved, names are displayed. This is over a plain black screen and instrumental music, maintaining focus on them with little going on outside of those words. 


What connotations do these images carry?


The cursive font and flower images shown carry a calming peaceful mood. This, along with the flowery instrumental music create a stark contrast to the actual film's content. Midsommar is a horror film, which creates contrast all throughout with bright and light imagery, which is reflected in the design choices of this title sequence. 


How does the film establish a feeling of the genre from the outset?


These images do not establish any feeling represented in the horror genre, making them an example of creative subversion. While horror sequences usually contain tense music and sharp fonts, Midsommar uses a flower all uppercase font and images of flowers over names. This exact contrast to the scary horror genre may create a feeling of uneasiness, therefore being scary in its own way.


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


Aster knows his audience, so this contrasting, flowery, title sequence appeals to the expectations of creativity and uniqueness. Audiences will go into this film intrigued, as the light title sequence could not possibly correlate to the “horror” film they paid to see. Curiosity is created with this choice. 


How has technology been used effectively? You want to consider camera angles, transitions and editing techniques.


 One piece of technology that was used effectively was the inclusion of the flower images onto the displayed names, again conveying an intriguing “optimistic” mood. Besides that, there are no dramatic transitions; names simply fade in and out of the sequence.



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