Title Sequence Review: Gattaca (1997)

 

Gattaca (1997)

 

Gattaca is a film about genetic manipulation and its consequences in the future.  For someone new to this movie, the title sequence would be foreign and confusing.  However, to someone that is familiar with the film, they’d recognize what is going on.

The title sequence begins with an extremely tight, almost microscopic shot.  The picture and the sound is amplified to exaggerate the hugeness of an object that in reality is very small, such as a fingernail clipping or a hair.  I remember the first time that I saw Gattaca, I thought that the falling skin cells were snow.  Slowly, the camera pans out and the audience recognizes the larger-than-life objects for what they really are.

The entire title sequence is very controlled.  There is a specific, monochromatic color palate; first blue and then yellow-orange.  There is some sort of symmetry or linear movement in each frame.

I also like how the letters C, G, T, and A are bolded in the credits, since these letters represent the four bases that form DNA.  This small detail is still significant.

There really isn’t anything about this title sequence that I would change.  Its purpose is to prepare the audience for what is to come in the movie, and it is successful.