Title Analysis' - Sophie

(1) Inception
To begin with, the name 'Inception' is a good gripping name. 'Inception' suggest human action and drama, and not horror themes such as paranormal events (this works well with the thriller genre). The use of one word means that the audience are left asking questions about the films plot, story, characters, themes and so on, therefore creating enigma and mystery before the audience have seen the film. This is an effect we want to achieve with our title by using a one word name.
The film title design is key here as well for setting the genre and themes to the audience. The use of black and red makes an effective contrast between the background and the font (similar to what white and black creates), in addition the use of red reveals further meaning and information to the audience, as it indicates blood and danger. The font used is a very simple and medium sizes font which is effective for its simplicity.
Institutional Info & Actors etc.
'Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan'
Editor
Production Designer
Music
Leonardo DiCaprio 
Ellen Page
There is little (if any) institutional information, this suggests that it is an extremely well funded film.
Actors are mentioned early on in the title sequence and are quite a main focus of attention. This is most probably due to the feature of high quality actors  such as Leonardo DiCaprio. (we won't be putting our actress in our title sequence)

The whole of the title sequence is an animation. There are no images, clips or any footage in the background of the title information, just a black background. I found this effective however also slighting ineffective. This was effective in that the information surrounding the films plot and story was kept hidden, therefore adding enigma and keeping the audience guessing. In addition the colours used (black and red) work effectively at highlighting the genre of the film with black being associated with darkness and red with blood and danger.
However, personally I did find this title sequence a bit boring towards the end. As there was little information being fed through about the story, In contrast this could have been the film makers specific choice enable to make the audience intrigued in the story. 
All the sound in the title sequence is a non-diegetic sound track. the orchestral music works well to start the film off with high energy and engaging the audiences attention. For the last few seconds there is a sound bridge where the audience begin the hear the sound of rushing water/a rough sea. This quickly drowns out the soundtrack and bridges into the next scene (when the main character is washed up on a beach - hence the sea sounds). This use of upbeat sound contributes enormously to the over piece, adding energy and interest into the opening, additionally the use of a sound bridge works really effectively here to ensure continuity is intact.

(2) Dark Knight
The name of the film here is another example of a simple but effective title. The words 'Dark' and 'Knight' suggest both danger and action battles; therefore suggesting themes of fighting, good vs evil and high energy action; fitting suitably with the Thriller genre. The use of a name for the title as supposed to a place or just a general title (for example, Batman Begins as the first film of the trilodgy) grabs the audiences attention much more effectively as it raises natural questions such as; who is the dark knight? why is he/she dark? etc etc.
A running theme with the openings titles of the Batman trilodgy is that none of them contain a film title being shown during the opening titles. In fact, there isn't much of an opening title sequence at all.
Institutional Info
Warner Bros Studios
Legendary Pictures
DC Comics
Following the brief institutional information provided. There is an interesting animation that occurs on the screen which is very effective in drawing the audience in and setting the theme/genre. The cloud like feature in the frame has two main colours, deep purple and black. The combination of these colours work so well at converying danger, evil (especially the purple) and darkness.
Overall, In this title sequence I like the simplicity which I think works really well for this film and the specific sub genres / themes that occur in batman (eg/ Superheros, villains etc) however I don't think this would be effective in our thriller opening. 

(3) Transformers 4: Age Of Extinction 
The name of these films is pretty self explanatory. There is little mystery or suspense behind the name 'Transformers', however there is nothing that suggests this is a bad thing for this type of film. The full name suggests action and drama, which fits perfectly with the genre and the themes of the film.
Institutional Info
Paramount Pictures Presents..
In association with Hasbro..
Next there is a tracking (backwards) shot what is revealed to be space. As the camera moves back the frame reveals some metal space ship type constructions floating in the space as also the earth (or some kind of planet) begins to show to the left of the frame.
The title of the film is then shown on the screen very effectively, with each letter flipping round out of the background to reveal the word 'transformers'. The metal, spaced out and rigid font for the title creates a really good and effective relationship between the background and the title name. While this is happening the camera is still zooming/panning out, revealing more of the space setting and the space ships in it.
The music used during the title sequence of this film is another effective thing that I like. Starting off quiet and barely audible, It ends with a soundtrack playing as a climax, The music moves in relation to the revealing of the film's title name. The sound used is very orchestral for example, organs, horns, trumpets, drums, which works really well for the build up of sound. In addition a sound bridge is used between the soundtrack in the opening titles and the waterfall at the very beginning of the first scene.

Overall I enjoy this title sequence the most out of the three. It offers an effective amount of information while still keeping mystery into the plot and storyline, in addition there is an effective relationship between the music, background shots and the title font.