Immersing titles

Logo At the start of the title sequence it shows the word serenity on a logo which represents the name of the movie they have cleverly immersed this by making it the name of the ship which is branded with the same name and logo which fades in from the black background very subtly into space so it is hardly noticed and your focus is drawn towards what the log is on as they slowly pan out of the shot to show more and more of the ship establishing from the start that it is a sci fi setting. Themes The pan out shot establishes that it is in space but they are constantly throughout the sequence trying to establish a western kind of setting hence the old tattered back ground on the logo and the fact that it has been done with old style painting.

Blurring Effect
Deliberate Effect The motion shots are usually intentionally blurry they used an old style of filming to achieve this and didn'tt improve the quality with editing this was to deliberately give it an old feeling by using a similar style of filming to what would have been used in old western films. They did this because they used zoom on cameras which isn't often seen as it makes things blur and messes with the quality of the thing being filmed however by doing this they add to the tension gives it a unique form of realism that makes the shots much more immersive to an audience. Peering Effect Also in another close shot we can see into a cabin where you have a calm looking man who has his hands in his pockets (denoting his casual stance on things at the moment) talking to the pilot whilst there flaming ship drops out of orbit this adds to the comedic aspects of the sequence the close shot also shows a technique they repeat through out which is filming things through windows so that its like your peering in on there lives rather than watching a film

Casual Characters
The characters shown is this part of the sequence are arguing fairly calmly despite that fact that which was mentioned in the dialogue that they could crash and burn at any moment this adds to the humor and really sets the scene for how they are going to establish certain characters. In this establishing shot they are trying to show there two main themes working in union for instance we have some sci fi space like equipment flashing in the back ground whilst having a pilot dressed in clothes not normally seen however they also show the other character wearing an over coat which looks very similar to the kind worn in old westerns They have worked the titles into the moving scene by simply putting them in front of the characters whilst they go about their activities in the title sequence this almost portrays a kind of humble approach to the scene which is reinforced by the scenery around them later on. The titles are in the background helping to portray that peering in affect where you are there looking on these peoples lives as if they were real people and this was really happening which makes it hugely more entertaining. The titles are either written with a ghostly blue font or a practical white font this is because blue is a sci-fi associated color and the standard font for title tends to be white this is the makers of the movie trying to fit in with some forms of stereotypical convention in the media.

Status in the shots

Status Music Throughout this part of the title sequence they have some music playing in the back ground which is based on a western in origin as it is mostly acoustic guitar which is stereotypical for western movies. The shot also shows the medical lab behind them also helping with the sci fi setting as it looks futuristic but they deliberately make it so that you only get to glance at that equipment as they are trying to make the audience focus on the characters more and make they allow the audience to imagine what medical related gear would be in there so that they feel more involved.

In the close up shot they are trying to show a little bit of insight into the characters themselves for instance Malcolm is holding the intercom device which stereotypically is used by people who have power which makes the audience immediately realize that he is a leader and a key individual to the plot. In the other establishing shot they are literally again looking in threw the window reinforcing the peering affect but it also shows Malcolm using defiant body language this is done to once again prove that he is in power and that he is in control.

Location/tour
In these establishing shots they are trying to portray the scene around them which is on a dark and cramped spaceship hence the futuristic style lighting and the cramped clustaphobic kind of feeling and the dark lighting adds to the mystery of the sequence as you dont know where they are going or what they are doing the makers of the film are being deliberately vague in an attempt to enthrall their audiences attention and they pull it of quite well. They also continue expanding on the peering affect as you follow the captain of the ship as he walks through it stepping over the same obstacles he does and viewing everything over his shoulder which creates an affect that makes the audience feel as if he is giving you a tour of the ship and he is slowly giving you insight into their lifestyle which means the characters are used to revel the mysterious that the camera shots and misenseme try to create which works extremely effectively.

home
In the back ground of this establishing shot we see some groceries and other stereotypical house hold appliances in the back ground as well as a sudden change in the lighting used as well as a more open and expansive environment in stark contrast to earlier establishing shots where it was dark and cramped. The lighting becomes an almost warmer color its brightly lit and it shows a vibrant yellow color which is done deliberately to be hugely different to earlier on in the sequence where they were trying to show the dark side of being out in space but here they are trying to show an emotional connection to the ship so that people know this is the characters home. The Groceries are there to also paint this homely picture later on in the sequence you are taken to the engineering section where everything is a brown rusty color and everything is brightly lit but it is shown as clustaphobic Once again the camera almost peers over his shoulder to view what's going on in the scene this adds to the cramped feeling as you imagine yourself stood behind someone in a cramped corridor but it also reinforces the touring of the ship feeling that they are trying to show.

How it ends
They finish stereotypically with the directors title at the end I believe this was to ensure the focus was drawn the scenes going on behind the titles rather than to the peoples names this was possibly an attempt to be humble or to show that they aren't trying to break convention. However they do defy the running theme they maintain through out the title sequence which was the peering in affect that is kept going through out the entire sequence with the exception of 1 close up shot of a women lying down this is to show how she is different to the rest of the characters that were shown they are trying to draw focus to her and emphasize how much she stands out. The last establishing shot we see shows the spaceship comically struggling to land this was done not just to add to the humor but to cleverly show the reference of the ships brand being firefly which is why it physically looks like the bug (a firefly).