Saturday Night FeverTitle times

by Rebecca Wilson

To have a better understanding of the FORM of an opening title sequence, and how a film’s impression can be built up around the credits, I have chosen to analyse the title sequence of Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta.

The sequence opens with a panoramic shot of the Brooklyn Bridge, zooming out, instantly showing the location of the film.

7 seconds in we see 'Paramount Pictures Presents' then at 15 seconds 'A Robert Stigwood Production‘, giving recognition to the producers from the beginning.

The shot then cuts to a person's feet (John Travolta) who is then shown walking through Brooklyn for the rest of the title sequence, suggesting he is the film's protagonist. He struts down the street in a suit and opended collared shirt connoting he is a confident, young man. In just over half a minute, the film’s setting, producer, title and protagonist have all been established.

At 26 seconds in, the name 'John Travolta' is displayed followed by 'Saturday' (32 seconds), 'Night' (34 seconds) 'Fever' (36 seconds), and then ‘Staying Alive’ by the Bee Gee’s begins. Before Travolta’s name, no music appears, giving no clue to the genre.

'Introducing Karen Lynn Gorney as Stephanie' 45 seconds in displays new actors coming on to the scene and gives them special recognition as you may have never heard of them before.

48 seconds in shows 'With Barry Miller, Joseph Cali, Paul Pape, Bruce Ornstein, Donna Pescow, continued at 51 seconds with 'Val Bisoglio, Julie Bovasso, Martin Shaker, Nina Hansen, Lisa Peluso'. These names aren’t left on the screen for long, suggesting they are the supporting actors in the film.

'Musical numbers staged and choreographed by Lester Wilson' 56 seconds in then 'Original music by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb' 59 seconds in. Pointing out the popular 70’s trio the Bee Gees will have enticed audience interest into the film, as they were part of popular culture upon the film’s release.

A break in the titles and the usual shot of Travolta walking is switched to a scene where he orders pizza for several seconds then continues his walk with the Pizza in his hand. This suggests more to the genre of film: a musical for his exaggerated walk accompanied by comedy for Travolta’s acting.

At 1:22, 'Additional Music by David Shire' followed 4 seconds after at 1:26 with "Editor David Rawlins".

"Production Designer Charles Bailey" is continued at 1:36 whilst Travolta continues to walk through Brooklyn's streets showing a close up of him carrying a tin of paint which could lead us into the story when the titles end.

"Director of Photography Ralf.D.Bode" is shown at 1:39 against a shop window which leads us into a second interlude of dialogue where the protagonist enters the shop. This shot offers variety away from watching Travolta walk, so the audience do not tire of seeing the same action.

The opening credits continue at 1:17 with ''How Deep is Your Love', 'Night Fever', 'Staying Alive', 'More Than A Woman', performed by the Bee Gees‘. Once again, revealing one by one little pieces of information leaves the audience wanting more, and to see the Bee Gees music is in the film could entice the audience.

At 2:15, "Screenplay by Norman Wexler", the protagonist shows an interest in passerby and begins to run after her switching the camera to the disgusted girl's face showing the audience what kind of character Travolta is.

At 2:22, the titles read "Produced by Robert Stigwood". The producer is mentioned twice, once at the beginning and once at the end as he is the most influential and the manager of the whole film.

After being rejected, Travolta walks away and shakes it off back to his original walk and the camera's original shot which shows "Directed by John Badham" (the second most important part of the crew) at 2:26. This is the end of the title sequence where the protagonist returns to work with the paint and the story really begins.

In the closing 30 seconds of the title sequence, Travolta continues his walk through Brooklyn with "Executive Producer Kevin McCormick" at 2:08 then "Based upon a story by Nik Cohn" at 2:12 recognising the individual efforts of certain participants in the film crew.

By analysing the opening title sequence to ‘Saturday Night Fever’, I have understood how to

use titles to entice audiences with famous names and information without distracting them from the building narrative by fading the titles in and out. I liked how Travolta was travelling to a

destination but kept audience’s attention as they wanted to know where he was travelling to. I

may use ideas from this piece in my own work, but adapt them to the genre of my choice.