Supernatural Title Cards – A Deep Analysis – Part One
Season Four Title Sequence
No explosion here, just the rapidly frantic beating of crow’s wings giving a feel of panic and confusion. Crows have long been associated with magic and occult, so a good way to portray the sinister, malevolent angels of the Winchester world. Done in black and white photography, the sequence really sets the mood of gloom and depression, and anyone who remembers the Birds (also film in black and white), understands the terror and death that follows those rapidly beating wings. Certainly announces the coming of the angels, even down to their dark shadowy wing silhouettes.
The lighting and contrast in the sequence, black wings against the white sky, enhances the split between life and death, good and evil. The sequence then slowly begins to materialize the blood red “SUPERNATURAL”, evoking all those feelings associated with the color. As the wings fade to an all black background, we’re returned from ancient times to the present day. The rapidly zooming, in and out focusing of the letters repeats the panic and confusion of the present time reminding us of the Winchester’s dark, violent, and deadly reality.
This is the only audio track that includes a scream, a terrifying one at that, which always struck me as unusual as ear-piercing, blood curling screams are a mainstay of horror. However, after this title sequence, no way you could think anything from that world would be anywhere near our sense of reality. The title sequence does its job.
Now *that* was some tasty meta. At least 75,000 bonus points for the mention of Lovecraft, I’ll have to check my actuarial tables.
For the season four title, I always associated the wings with ravens, those denizens of the battlefield, companions of Odin, Huginn and Muninn, memory and thought, appropriate for this show, given how important memory (family, hunting, tradition) and thought (skills, techniques and grimoires, if you will) are.
I love all five, but I’m kind of partial to season one for the details you mentioned, it’s representation of a coldness, of a lurking in the dismal fog, almost an ubiquitous Lovecraftian cosmic indifference that Sam and Dean bring a humanity to.
Unbelievable! Video sections – breath taking. Marvelous Sable Green. Keep the articles coming. Best I’ve ever read.
Fascinating! I am very partial to season 2 with season 3 title a close second.
And Randal. A Lovecraft fan! I read them many years ago and they were the most bone blood chilling stories ever. Unknown unimagineable forces of nature and ancient ancient sleeping horrors slowly awakening. 😯 😯 😯 😮
Great video! Loved seeing them all together like that! My favorite has always been season 2 when the A becomes the pentagram. I barely noticed any change the next season until I realized the pentagram didn’t come up – I thought I was going crazy when it didn’t. Finally I realized that they changed every season! I love the fact that they’ve done that.
Thanks for commenting all. Randal, ravens are a good analogy. I’ve worked with crows as an animal rehabilitator, and they can really be nasty and HIGHLY protective of their young. A pack of crows taking on a raptor is a frightening sight to see. Guess that’s why I thought of them right off.
Matilda, Bevie and MyMADWorld so glad you liked the videos. A big thank you goes out to Alice who got those all embedded for me, and some of them gave her a lot of grief.
Hope you all enjoy the second half!
Sablegreen, This is an excellent piece. I love how you gave us the video of all the title cards and then broke each one down individually.
I frequently will pause and step still by still through these title sequences to try and catch all that is there. Season 3’s always intrigues me because the first explosion comes forth with two skeletal-type hands coming forward…chilling!
Season 4’s has so many elements with the wings, the scream and the sound of knives slashing (makes me think of the angel swords) and the swirl of Season 5 was used with great glee by so many to fade from the teaser which frequently involved blood splashing or splattering.
The alternatives, especially the second one from Season 1 has a very X-Files feel to it, not surprising, and while I like them, I’m definitely partial to what they did go with.
All of them are awesome and I eagerly await Season 6’s.
Thanks for tackling this unusual subject…I see there’s a part 2, I’ll digest that a little later!
Hi Sablegreen
I always liked that each season had it’s own title card. Kind of gave each year its own identity.
I think season 2 is my favourite.
As for season 3, I never knew it was a pentacle they were showing before the supernatural lettering showed. I could never make it out.
Season 4 always reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, that movie scared the hell out of me when I was a kid.
And Season 5, I always took it to represent ‘Blood is thicker than water’, especially after the deterioration of the brother’s relationship. Kind of game me hope that things were going to get better.
With articles like this, do we really have do be afraid of Hellatus? My foot! Thanks, dear, for this labour of love.
Where Randal finds his Lovecraft, I see my Poe… the wonderful thing is, that all the symbolism leaves enough to personal interpretation…
I have loved all the intros, as they were unusual in tv land, and I do love the bloody one of season five. Being also a fan of high quality vampire stories, that might come natural….
Love, Jas
Elle2, Karen, Jas..Glad you liked the videos. Elle2, season 3 has so many different elements and is so much more complex than the others which is why I like it the most. I also really liked the first unused season 1 video’s images and graphics, but the audio didn’t go well with it. While I really liked the one they used, I also would have liked this one with a different sound track.
Karen, when I saw season 4’s title card the first thing I thought of was Hitchcock’s The Birds. He gave new meaning to bird flocks.
Jas, love Poe. One of the SPN novels was based on the Poe stories. Wish they would do that as a two part episode in s6. As for this being a labour…not on your life! This was pure joy the whole time. I’ve always had fun doing articles for this site, but this one was the most fun ever. 😀
Thanks for enjoying the piece.
Awesome, fascinating, wonderful analysis–could heap on more superlatives but you get the idea :D. You especially made me view season 3’s differently, its feel of cosmic coldness and the sense it evokes of being between worlds… Thought the eruption of clouds always had a pretty hellish look to it because for me it very much echoed the eruption of demon smoke from the Devil’s Gate.
Personally I’m partial to seasons 2 and 4–I loved the burst of flame and the pentacle star fading into the A, thought that was very cool. For S4, I loved the dark menace of the chiaroscuro effect of the crows’ wings and, like you pointed out, the way that echoed the darkness and mystery of the angel storyline.
Oooh, new season means new title card–can’t wait!!! Off to read part 2.
Glad you liked the article. Season three was always the most mysterious for me, and season 2 was the most energetic of them all. Season 4 just seemed a little ‘quite’ compared to the others, but fit the season wonderfully. Thanks for commenting!
De nada, you deserve it! Thanks for including the alternative S1 title cards too–I really, really liked the first of the two, actually, but can see how a more sudden, abrupt title card is better suited to transition from the teaser to the rest of the episode. Second one, I agree with elle2, felt very X-files to me… Anyway, one more superlative can’t hurt, so great job!!!
De nada, you deserve it! Thanks for including the alternative S1 title cards too–I really, really liked the first of the two, actually, but can see how a more sudden, abrupt title card is better suited to transition from the teaser to the rest of the episode. Second one, I agree with elle2, felt very X-files to me… Anyway, one more superlative can’t hurt, so great job!!!
Ooops… how’d that happen? Excuse the duplicate post, sorry…
ElenaM, funny you liked the first alternative. My mother LOVED that one. She played it a lot. Really I did too. It was very colorful and really depicted the urban monsters and myth they were dealing with in s1. I wouldn’t mind if they switched to something along this format for s6.
I agree with you and Elle2 though, the second was very X-files-ish, wouldn’t want to see it on SPN.