The Newsroom Title Sequence(s)

     The Newsroom is one of may favorite television series right now so I thought I would post about both seasons title sequences. The season one opening credits are my favorite due to the old school rather nostalgic look it conveys. The opening score also grabs my attention as it is much more interactive and fits the shots of the early beginnings of television news and its production. The title sequence does a fantastic job at intriguing the audience and ultimately peaks their interest in watching the show. Additionally the sequence starts out in the early days of television news and subtly transitions to a more modern feel of television news production in a seamless manner. Greg Wolf mentioned Aaron Sorkin's obsession with incorporating government and politics in his other political drama West Wing. His decision to include the title sequence in this manner does justice to that obsession while also revealing the other side of the political process which is how the news portrays issues and the internal struggles that accompany delivering those stories. Maybe I am biased because I am a television radio major but it is much more appealing and almost has a magical sense about it as opposed to the second season title sequence. Here is a look at the season one title sequence...
     

     

      The season two of The Newsroom was created by Huge Designs a design company founded in 1993. Hugo Moss was the director for The Newsroom opening credits for the second season. Although I really like the overall product of the second season it doesn't rise to the occasion of the first seasons title sequence. Even though they tried to make it interesting it just doesn't have the same feel and ultimately lacks the sense of spirit that is conveyed in the previous season. Unlike the season one title sequence the synergy between music and the the footage is just not as good, overall it is less inspiring. From start to end I just feel as if the production team figured it was a safe bet for the sequence yet there is little to set it apart as it is pretty general in the beginning and additionally while it does get better as the sequence gradually progresses the audiences attention span is lost before it hits the climax. Lastly if you look at the majority of comments about the season two title sequence it is repeatedly called out for not being up to par. Hopefully as season three premieres in Spring 2014 the series will incorporate fan criticism in their next title sequence as a large number of individuals weren't satisfied with the season two sequence and would also like to keep the theme music by Thomas Newman in the first season title sequence. Here is the second season title sequence...

West Wing opening Credits and Thoughts

For my post this week I wanted to talk about the opening credits to The West Wing because they have always sort of fascinated me for their seeming simplicity on the surface but complex compositing underneath. On the surface it seems like, well, any other television opening sequence. "Make sure to get everyone in with scenes from the show" seems to me the M.O. for many TV shows, particularly during the 90's and early 2000's. However what makes this memorable for me is how many flash frames, extra assets, and compositing is going on between each shot. The sequence flows so well that you barely notice them the first few times you watch without a keen eye, but as you watch you can pick out more and more. I watched the entire run of the show years ago, and it still took a long time to be able to see. One in particular i'd like to bring your attention to is that as the sequence goes on the black and white pictures stop covering the screen and become more like pictures on a desktop being moved around.

 For me this gives the piece a much more alive feel, like someone was going through a stack of historical photographs. The thoughtfulness of the photographs themselves are also interesting to me, in the last 5 seconds there are several of these shown, but the one ended on is the shot of the president facing away from the camera.

 Even though the show is really about adding personality and character to political figures, the title sequence ends on this, showing Aaron Sorkin's awe of the "majesty" of government, a thought that definitely comes through in his writing of the show