Alexander D: Analysis of title opening [The Last of Us]

The Last of Us - Title Sequence from Henry Hobson . Bootsmith on Vimeo.

WHO IS CREDITED?

00:01	Naughty Dog	Production Studio
00:10	Bruce Stradley	Game Director
00:10	Neil Druckmann	Creative Director
00:14	Erick Pangilinan	Art Director
00:17	Michel Hatfield	Lead Technical Artist
00:20	Travis McIntosh	Lead Programmers
00:20	Jason Gregory	Lead Programmers
00:24	Mike Yosh	Lead Gameplay Animator
00:26	Christian Nakata	Lead Environment Artist
00:29	Jacob Minkoff	Lead Designer
00:31	Eben Cook	Lead Visual Effects
00:35	Ryan M James	Lead Editor
00:38	Phil Kovats	Lead Audio
00:41	Michael Knowland	Lead Character Artist
00:43	Vivian Ding	Lead Lighting
00:45	Erin Daly	Lead Multiplayer Designer
00:47	Shaun Escayg	Lead Cinematic Animator
00:47	David Lam	Lead Cinematic Animator
00:50	Nate Wells	Lead Artist
00:54	Gustavo Santaolalla	Music
00:57	Ashley Johnson	Starring
00:57	Troy Baker	Starring
00:59	Evan Wells	Co-President
00:59	Christophe Balestra	Co-President

POSITIONING

• The names in the credits are placed in the blank areas of the screen, shown in the .gif below. This centres player's/audience's attention to the blank background and the text. Additionally, it is easy to read the text  - in HELVETICA font.

ANIMATION

• Viral infection animation goes on in the background, sticking to the plot of the game (in which a mutated strain of the cordyceps begins to spread and infect the human populace, turning them into infected monsters). This also corresponds with the sound in the background, which is explained further below.
• The text has an animation as well: fading in from the right, left or middle.

TIMING

• Because it is a video game, the audience will want to get going with the game as soon as possible, as opposed to patiently waiting to begin the adventure that awaits in the game. As such, the titles are shown for the maximum duration of 3 to 4 seconds, enough time for the audience to see the people responsible for the game, and to keep the player from putting down his controller to make himself(or herself) a cup of tea.

CONTENT

• The chosen crediteers are those who have been responsible for the design, creative edge and overseer production of the game. Without these people, there wouldn't be a game - which underlines the order in which they are shown. Below are some of the crew mentioned in the title sequence:

• Production Studio	Naughty Dog, who've been responsible for adventure games such as the Crash Bandicoot franchise, and the critically acclaimed Uncharted franchise. They're the overall production company, under which the below people are employed.
  Directors:	The Game Director is shown first. His role is important, as it is his job, just as with a film production, to ensure that the development of the game is successful. Creative Director, is the key person during the game development process, overseeing any high level decisions that affect how the game plays, looks or sounds. The Art Director or Lead Artist works with the Game Designer in the first instance and devises the game’s visual style and directs the production of all visual material throughout the game’s development. The Lead Artist is responsible for the overall look of the game. The Lead Artist is mentioned twice, meaning that the lead artist mentioned later is responsible for a smaller aspect of
  Artist (Technical)	The Technical Artist functions as the link between the artists and the programmers. They ensure that the art assets can easily be integrated into the game without sacrificing either overall artistic vision or exceeding the technical limits of the chosen platform. The Technical Artist works part of the art team and coordinates closely with the Art Director as well as the Lead Programmers.
  Programmers	The lead programmers lead the programming team, which for a large scale production such as this requires the cooperation between two people - which is why they're shown simultaneously. The programming team includes:  Gameplay Animator  Environment Artist  Lead Visual Effects  Character Artist  Lead Lighting
  Lead Designer	The Game Designers are responsible for devising what a game consists of and how it plays. They plan and define all the elements and components of a game: its setting; structure; rules; story flow; characters; the objects, props, vehicles, and devices available to the characters; interface design; and modes of play.

SOUND

• The style of non-diegetic sound chosen in this title sequence is a sole, somber guitar. This is to put the player into the mood of being on their own or at least somewhat distant from civilisation.
• A newsreel from multiple news channels and radio broadcasts are played alongside the abovementioned guitar. This also helps establish the fall of society and some of the history behind the viral outbreak. This coincides with the animation in this title sequence.

WHAT CAN WE USE THIS FOR?

• What we can take from this title sequence is the importance of who is credited. The overall director, be it film or game director, is usually the first person who is credited. However, the production studio is the very first aspect to be shown to the audience, which will catch the attention of die-hard fans of that particular studio - they'll know what to expect from that studio.
• The positioning of text is very important. If we are to follow the rule of thirds, we will be able to pull off good text positioning.
• Additionally, any blank spaces left in the shots can be utilised for credits - though we have to be careful not to make the shots look messy or too "full".

ICT note:

For the .gifs above, I downloaded the video from YouTube and stuck it into a video-to-gif software. From there, I was able to take the video and convert it into a gif, and select the frames that I wanted to include. However, in the conversion, some of the quality was lost from the original video, despite running them at the highest conversion rate possible.