Official Dallas Opening Credits now up on YouTube

[A House Divided]

I find the scrolling panels are moving too fast! And they scroll up, down, left, right and everywhere! I'm confused! The whole opening title sequence has been speeded up too much for me!

Anybody else find it too fast?

I like the new shots of downtown Dallas.

Also, it sounds odd when the theme music suddenly "jumps" from one place to the next, where they cut out a part of the original theme music.

Anyway, all in all it's not a bad opening title design but I still much prefer Wayne Fitzgerald's timeless and classic version. But at least it's not a very short opening title sequence like other TV shows today.

[TopCat]

It's very silly to say that you can make the same opening in MM ... It's even sillier to say that you can make it in 20 minutes. Good luck with that, especially if you're starting from scratch with all the footage uncut.

Dallas' title in the original opening also looks like it was made in Paint. I don't see a problem with that. It looks good enough. It only needs to be gold and not white, because it looks weird when the title is white and the cast names are gold. Yes, it's a little fast, but the jump is not at all obvious. It's obvious to you guys, cause you've seen the opening hundreds of times, but it will not be obvious to the general viewer, who hasn't.

I do think that the opening will benefit from the cast shots though.

[willie oleson]

since, with the technology available to the Average Joe and Joanne, of course someone today can make equally polished videos from their home computer that look this professional

And with the technology available to professionals (the actual creators of the show), which I think is a "little bit" more than a simple software programme, it should have looked much better.
But I seriously doubt this is the finale version.

[TopCat]

And with the technology available to professionals (the actual creators of the show), which I think is a "little bit" more than a simple software programme, it should have looked much better.
But I seriously doubt this is the finale version.

Most professional video editors use Final Cut Pro, Sony Vegas Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro. Those three are just more complicated and fully featured versions of Final Cut, Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere which are not easy to use AT ALL. I've worked with some of them in the past and using them is not as easy as it looks/sounds. If you think that your average Joe can easily make the same video. Well.. good luck with that.

The intro is good enough and it's WAY better than any fan made intro I've seen on youtube. Dunno what some of you guys were expecting. A CGI intro ala Transformers full of special effects ? They kept it simple, just like the original one.

[Mason Carrington Colby]

The transition at the 0:17 mark is very jolting. I understand they had to shorten the original tune but it doesn't flow right there.

Otherwise, I like it. The YouTube description notes an OnDemand screening - is this posted online?

As someone who edits audio professionally for a living, I can tell you there is nothing wrong with any of the edits that have been made in the "new" theme. In fact, it's more likely there weren't any post production edits made and the new theme was probably performed that way when it was rerecorded. I like it! It's still the iconic theme that everyone remembers, but it's been updated and doesn't drag on (as the old one sometimes could). Like others have said, in this day and age, it's a miracle there is any theme song and opening credits.

[Mickey Fairgate]

I just thought of this.....when Knots Landing had it's reunion, "Back to the Cul-de-Sac" in 1997, they used an updated and
remixed version of the KL season 1 theme, which was very nice.....
Therefore, I don't see why they could not have taken either Dallas' pilot theme(DVD 1) or the season 1(DVD 2) version 2 theme,
and remixed it, updated it, and kept it short and sweet, that would be the best way to start the new series, and then go from there.

[Sid Fairgate]

The intro is good enough and it's WAY better than any fan made intro I've seen on youtube. Dunno what some of you guys were expecting. A CGI intro ala Transformers full of special effects ? They kept it simple, just like the original one.

There was a forum member here that made opening credits for all 14 seasons using the original scrolling panels, and they looked amazing. I do like the new opening, but some of the transitions seem a bit odd. I also think it would look better if we saw cast pics as well. Overall, however, it's a pretty good effort. Like Snarky said, it's a big improvement over the haphazard credits from the final two seasons.

Oh, and here's one of the fan made credits I was speaking of. It's for season 14, which originally had the exploding dirt opening. Although I'm satisfied with the new credits, I still wish they were more like this:

[TopCat]

OK, here's another thought. In the past I've watched pilot episodes (especially old ones from the 70s and the 80s) that had completely different intros from the ones that were used in the actual show. What if they're treating the pilot more like a TV movie? It's two hours after all, right? Maybe that's the case.

[Sid Fairgate]

OK, here's another thought. In the past I've watched pilot episodes (especially old ones from the 70s and the 80s) that had completely different intros from the ones that were used in the actual show. What if they're treating the pilot more like a TV movie? It's two hours after all, right? Maybe that's the case.

That's a good point. The pilot episode of Dynasty had a different opening from the rest of the series, and it also showed only the names of the actors.

[david1987]

And it's way more professional-looking that the dreadful titles they used in S13 and S14 --- now that looked like something some kid would make on Youtube (before Youtube even existed!) with old shots of the city they'd previously used!

THe only thing I don't like about the later opening is where the cast shots started, it wa a few seconds later and kind of lost the flow.

[david1987]

OK, here's another thought. In the past I've watched pilot episodes (especially old ones from the 70s and the 80s) that had completely different intros from the ones that were used in the actual show. What if they're treating the pilot more like a TV movie? It's two hours after all, right? Maybe that's the case.

I think they're just showing 2 episodes back to back.

[david1987]

I just thought of this.....when Knots Landing had it's reunion, "Back to the Cul-de-Sac" in 1997, they used an updated and
remixed version of the KL season 1 theme, which was very nice.....
Therefore, I don't see why they could not have taken either Dallas' pilot theme(DVD 1) or the season 1(DVD 2) version 2 theme,
and remixed it, updated it, and kept it short and sweet, that would be the best way to start the new series, and then go from there.

Last night I made a takeoff of the credits using photos.of my town, family names, similar reveals for each photo and an edit of the JR Retudns theme. That theme seems to lend itself more easier to editing like the new one.

[Nemos]

The first time I saw the new credits I was disappointed, but the more I look at them, the better they seem. I enjoy the fast pace of both music and screen scrolls, especially the part where Linda Gray is credited. It would be very difficult to include shots of actors in this short opening, but if they manage to do it (maybe for season 2), I think it would look spectacular. As the rest of you, I agree that "Dallas" letters must be yellow and I don't like that the title is scrolling on screen, it should "shoot up" like in the original. The problem with it is that, at the part of the tune where "DALLAS" title jumps in the original, already Jordana Brewster is credited. (Is it just me, or does it seem to you that her name stays on screen for much longer then of any of the other actors?) A possible solution could be to place the title "Dallas" at the end of the opening sequence, above the roof of Southfork. And it seems that they have played with that idea last year, when first trailers were released.

[SOAPYFAN]

It's very silly to say that you can make the same opening in MM ... It's even sillier to say that you can make it in 20 minutes. Good luck with that, especially if you're starting from scratch with all the footage uncut.

Sorry but I disagree

As an editor myself - I've done this sort of thing before in Adobe Premiere CS5. Yeah your right in saying it would take longer than 20 minutes if you include the whole capturing and logging of the city tapes. But I meant in terms of actually putting the titles together. It dosn't take alot to add keyframes to move images on and off the screen, the same with the logo. That's what I meant in terms of 20 minutes.

With the actor credits going behind the buildings is a very nice and stylish edit, but like I said a very easy way to edit. All you have to do is crop the buldings and place them on top of the text timelines, then obviously add the correct keyframes. I'm not saying it looks rubbish, but like I've said in previous posts - they've had over 2 years to come up with somthing and for it to be just locations and actor names it seems abit rushed.
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But like a previous poster said - I believe we still have changes to come to the titles, so maybe the cast will be incorparted at some point.
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I also have a question: Didn't the producers say they did a poll to see if the old titles should be remade - but they got more reply's saying that looked outdated or somthing along those lines

Well going by this thread it seems the 'original 1978-1989' style of titles' are more popular then originally thought.

[Miss Lush]

It's not "classic" and it's also not "fresh & new".

I agree with that. The magic word is: mediocre

It's decent but not exactly spectacular.

I think their art direction in general is quite poor, the Southfork sets look equally mediocre.

It's 2012 for God's sake...everything looks like stuck in the year 2000. I could understand if it was the average Joe, but we're talking about high-society-rich people here...

[CarlD]

It's nice to hear the Dallas theme again, so many shows have given up on opening themes.

This is so true Scarlett.

I like it in general, but was a lot shorter and spliced up (compared to the original) than I was hoping for.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised though, if there's a season 2, that the opening theme is gone, and we just have the actors names flashing at the bottom of the screen.

[kristin_shepard]

As someone who edits audio professionally for a living, I can tell you there is nothing wrong with any of the edits that have been made in the "new" theme. In fact, it's more likely there weren't any post production edits made and the new theme was probably performed that way when it was rerecorded. I like it! It's still the iconic theme that everyone remembers, but it's been updated and doesn't drag on (as the old one sometimes could). Like others have said, in this day and age, it's a miracle there is any theme song and opening credits.

I agree. And there is no way to please everyone. To have the intro at all is fortunate for us. In the original Dallas, the intro was always spruced from year to year like the model change of a car. The theme would be tweaked as well, with different drums added and slight rearrangements made in the structure of the tune. The only thing I would like is the new Dallas logo from Mason Carrington's picture of Southfork be the logo that scrolls across the opening credits. Also, would't mid seeing some sliding footage of a field of oil drills. \ Other than that, I am fine with it. Looks slick and I especially like the scene of the glass skyscraper where Brenda Strongs name is introduced. And perhaps they may indeed give us the three-way split panel back if there is a season 2. But remember, it is hard to fit all the characters into a :47 second intro if they did that and to have a 3-way split with footage of all the characters would be an actual spoiler at this point anyway.

[Sid Fairgate]

I agree with that. The magic word is: mediocre

It's decent but not exactly spectacular.

I think their art direction in general is quite poor, the Southfork sets look equally mediocre.

It's 2012 for God's sake...everything looks like stuck in the year 2000. I could understand if it was the average Joe, but we're talking about high-society-rich people here...

Well, to be fair, the Ewings never lived like high society rich people. That sounds more like the Carringtons of Dynasty to me.

The problem I have with the new Southfork interior is that it looks like any ordinary suburban home. The original Southfork interior may have been small, but at least it had that Texas manor look to it. When I think of Southfork, I think of wood paneling and ornate wallpaper, not pastels.

What's also interesting is that they failed in their attempt to include architecture from the back of the house. As you walk in the front door, the breakfast terrace should be in the left rear of the house. However, they have it located directly in the center rear of the house where the room with the fireplace and french doors should be. So it's a pretty odd design all the way around.

[Miss Lush]

I thought season 9 (DVD 10) Soutfork looked very much rich-folks-home without overdoing it a la Dynasty.

The new SF looks nothing like that, it looks cheap in every sense of the word, like Ann is a regular at IKEA...which is nice for ordinary people but not for people with money like the Ewings.

[Sid Fairgate]

I thought season 9 (DVD 10) Soutfork looked very much rich-folks-home without overdoing it a la Dynasty.

The new SF looks nothing like that, it looks cheap in every sense of the word, like Ann is a regular at IKEA...which is nice for ordinary people but not for people with money like the Ewings.

Yes, that's true. The expansion and redecoration after the SF fire was much needed, but the new IKEA look just doesn't work.