Analysis of an Opening Title Sequence

Abertura: American Horror Story - Asylum from Televisual on Vimeo.

This is the opening title sequence to the third season of the popular horror drama, 'American Horror Story'. The season was first aired on 'FX Horror' on the 17th of October 2012. Each season the show follows a different narrative in a different time period, but it often uses the same actors to play characters in each season and many say that this relates to how all the seasons will culminate. This 'OTS' is from the third season, 'Asylum', which based in a 1960s mental asylum.

This opening is just over one minute in length and is made up entirely of dis-jointed and highly-stylised shots of character and setting. The titles appear on screen in a signature bold font on a black background that is seen in all the seasons.


The sequence is very concept driven and does not display much information about the characters or plot. The dark lighting and disconcerting music create a creepy atmosphere that conforms with the horror genre.

The pace of shots is synced to the changes in tempo of the music, which makes the sequence flow and immerse the audience, which is essential to the horror genre.

The titles are set at regular intervals and start by introducing the main actors featured in the show. It ends with the show title which is typical in most opening title sequences, especially those for television programmes.

The sequence creates an enigma for the show by only representing the theme and not introducing any of the characters or plot through anything other than fast-paced shots that say very little about the characters in question. This draws audience attention as they will want to discover the characters in the show.

Sudden crescendos in the music are designed to shock the audience and create a foreboding atmosphere that will scare the audience. This is a well known musical technique in the horror genre, but is particularly interesting here as it is such a sudden contrast from the low-level clanging sounds in the rest of the track.