Art of the Title

1. What is the definition of a title sequence?
 A title sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound.

2. What is the function of a title sequence?
 The function of a title sequence is to introduce the film and the people who star and made the film to the audience.

3. Name three films featured in the A Brief History of the Art of the Title Sequence?
 Saturday Night Fever, Pink Panther and Iron Man.

4.

The text is pink, relating to the main character. It is all different sizes, to show the light-heartedness of the film. The P in Pink is bigger and the i has a star above it. This could be to emphasis the fact the panther is pink which is quite abnormal. I think the feeling from these titles is supposed to show it's definitely an animation, and that the film isn't too serious. The image of a panther shows the main character straight away, so we know what the film is about. We know that the film is quite old due to the quality, and also we know from that screenshot it is an animation. 

 This is the title for the film 'The Social Network'. Straight away we notice the white text inside the blue box, which looks like the 'facebook' logo. Therefore, we know what the film will be about and the title confirms that. The backdrop is of cars which is significant because there is lots of them, like a social gathering. The white text on the logo could represent innocence, which is what facebook was designed to be, lighthearted and fun. Also, the text is all in lower case, which could show it being not very formal, which social networking is. 

Title analysis of Coraline

Coraline

T1: Company in capitals, white font, central 4 seconds.

T2: Company in capitals, white font, central, 4 seconds.

T3: Company in capitals, white font, central, 4 seconds

T4: Film title, white font, central, 4 seconds

T5: Voiceover, yellow font, central, 3 seconds

T6: Voiceover, yellow font, central, 3 seconds

T7: Voiceover, yellow font, central, 3 seconds

T8: Voiceover, yellow font, central, 3 seconds

T9: Voiceovers, yellow font, central, 3 seconds

T10: Voiceover, yellow font, central, 3 seconds

T11: Central right, white font, 4 seconds

T12: Bottom right, white font, 2 seconds

T13: Central right, white font, 2 seconds

T14: Bottom left, white font, 2 seconds

T15: Top left, white font, 2 seconds

T16: Central left, white font, 2 seconds

T17: Bottom left, white font, 2 seconds

T18: Bottom right, white font, 2 seconds

T19: Top right, white font, 2 seconds

T20: Bottom right, white font, 2 seconds

T21: Bottom left, white font, 2 seconds

T22: Bottom right, white font, 2 seconds

T23: Central, white font, 5 seconds

AS Media Opening Scene

This is a Video called 'Hurting' from Latymer Media's Youtube channel.

Gladiator Opening Scene

This is the opening scene from the film 'Gladiator'

Camera

The first shot is a close up of the main character, Maximus. This signalises that he is an important character because we see him straight away. As he rides through the army, we see shots over the tops of both the armies which go into battle. These birds eye views show the extent of both armies, one which is substancial bigger than the others. The camerawork shows different sets of people at different times, showing there are many different groups of people. The camera mainly stays at eye level of below, this could be representing the high stature of the roman empire.

Editing

The editing on this scene consists of lot of different camera changes.

Sound

From the outset, there is very deep, slow and eerie music which creates the dramatic effect. The sound of the horse running is made very loud purposely, to emphasise the fact he is on the move and moving by force. As he is moving, the music becomes quicker, to build the tension even more before battle.

Mise en Scene

The main character is Maximus, played by Russell Crowe. He is a general in the Roman empire and in command of this particular army. We know this already because he is dressed in heavy armour and a fur coat. We can tell the difference between the two armies because of the costumes, with the Romans in their typical, stereotypical attire. The lighting for the scene is dark, because it is at night. This also sets the tone of the movie as dark and scary; this ties in with the war theme. The main actor is Russell Crowe, who is a well-known actor and has been in various action films before. There are lots of props in the scene like the horses which the generals ride, and all the weapons held by the armies. The setting is in a dark forest. However, it is unknown which makes the scene more mysterious and makes us ask more questions about where it is and what armies are fighting each other.

Jaws Opening Scene

This is the opening scene of the film 'Jaws'

Camera

The camera work in this scene consists of many different angles. There are the long shots at the start and end of the scene, to show the scenery is exactly the same, despite there being an incident in the middle. There are close ups to her face and medium shots of her body as she splashes about in the water. There is one over the shoulder shot when she first runs into the sea. It really emphasises the point that she is isolated with the long shots, and the underwater shot are supposed to be a view of the shark as it closes in on the woman.

Editing

There are no special effects in the scene, but the editing is about the transitions from shot to shot. For example, the long shots have a transitional medium shot before going into a close up of the woman.

Sound

The sound makes this scene absolutely brilliant. The non-diegetic sound changes the scene completely. It is contrapuntal because it is a usually happy and cheery song, and even the mood is good but in the end the woman gets eaten by a shark. It gets louder just before she finally gets pulled under, and it just makes the scene very ironic. The sound of the woman laughing is also ironic, but we know more than she does at time, because she is not aware that there is a shark on her.

Mise en scene

The only character we see in an unnamed woman. Like I said earlier, because we only see one woman it makes us seem like she is alone and isolated in the big ocean. Her costume is just a bikini, which just signifies she is going into the water. The lighting matches the scene well, it is quite dark but we can tell it's about the evening time because we see the sun setting in one particular shot. When the camera goes underwater, the lighting goes a lot darker and this is reflecting the bad nature of what lies beneath the surface. The scene is shown in the evening which is the end of the day, this could link to the life of the woman in the scene, because her life ends due to the shark. We are unaware from this scene exactly who the actress is, so we can't make a judgement, also there is no visible make up or artwork. There is only one prop which is the buoy sitting in the water as the woman is attacked. This is significant because at one point she clings onto, before eventually being dragged underwater.The setting is the sea, although the exact location is unknown. From the title of Jaws, we didn't know it was going to be about a shark, but this is answered straight away because the woman is running straight into the sea.

The Other Guys Opening Evaluation

This is the opening scene to the film 'The Other Guys'

Camera

The film changes camera angles a lot in the opening scene, because it goes straight into action. The changing camera angles show a lot is going on, and most of the shots are close up or medium, although it's harder to gauge because they are in cars. The movement contains a lot of quick panning around, to keep up with the action. A crane was probably involved to get the angles above the cars as they go through the streets. At times, it feels handheld but there is no first person shots.

Editing

The editing consists of lots of quick changing angles. There is some special effects like the explosion at the end of the car chase which may have been added to make it more dramatic.

Sound

The sounds are mixed, with lots of different diegetic sounds, meaning the characters can hear all of the sounds. The main sounds are of cars going through the streets, gunshots and police sirens; these all remain constant. All of these sounds are common in action films, so we know the genre of the film straight away as we hear the police sirens.

Mise en scene

The characters have very distinct costumes. The two men we see first are in a black uniform with police vest, so we know they are police officers. The bad guys are also wearing black, but they have guns and are getting chased so we know they are the bad guys. There is suitable lighting, it is set in the daytime but it is overcast so we can see the fire better at the end of the scene. It could also be pathetic fallacy, because some crime has occurred previously, we expect, for the police to be involved. The main actors are well renowned for action films, so we naturally expect an action film when first see Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L Jackson. There is no noticeable make-up used, despite them being involved in a big conflict at the start of the film. The props are very common for action films: fast cars, guns and explosions. One prop which stands out is the police siren on top of the car, which gets shot and very quickly replaced. This could reflect the very efficient service the police offer in the city, by replacing the light straight after it got destroyed. The setting is in a city, which one is unclear. We know this because the quick cut at the start of the scene and throughout the scene we can see talk buildings and lots of people. This shows that it could damage a lot and is a meaningful chase.


 

Juno Opening

This is Lara and mine recreation of the opening sequence of Juno.

We tried to incorporate many of the same props as the real version, such as the red hoodie, bottle and the tree in the first shot.

What did we learn about filming and editing?

We learnt a lot from this task in terms of filming shots. Some clips we may have shot for not a long enough time period, therefore the clip was shorter than in the real version. We found that the hardest thing about filming was keeping the camera steady. We just used hand filming because we didn't have a tripod or stand to use. This meant that some of the shots were a little bit wobbly, so we had to edit that occordingly.

Did we use any effects?

In the clip where I am walking towards the camera at 0:21, I was walking too fast so we slowed the clip down so it was longer and I wasn't walking as fast. This was a useful tool. We also incorporate some simple effects to make it look more like a cartoon.

What went well in terms of filming and editing?

In terms of filming, I think the amount of times we shot each clip was good. We shot every shot a couple of times at least, therefore we had a few to choose from. On the opening shot, we redid it about 5 times to make sure we had a good clip.

What could have gone better?

I think if we had a tripod and the camera was steadier it would have made the scene better but despite that I think we made a reasonable professional production.

Editing Test

This is a test of how we could use our editing software. We got given clips of James Bond and we put them together to make a simple trailer for the film.

Low Budget vs High Budget Films

 

Film Logo

This is the logo I have chosen for the film company I have called 'Global Studio Productions'. I chose a picture of the earth because it shows a large area, like the scale of the film company, covering films all over the world. This ties in with the name, 'Global'. I think the name will make it easy to understand to the public that we are a film making company.

Mythologicised

How are young women romanticised?

• 'Girly' colours - pinks, reds, purples
• Self image - make up, mirrors on walls, fashion sense
• Fake act - act innocent, normally bitchy
• Hearts - heart necklace or socks or wallpaper etc
• The bedroom - pink bedroom, fluffy pillows, floor rugs.

Dyer's theory

Dyer's theory could apply to lots of different groups of people.

1. Teenagers - We always get very bad reviews in the press,  with some teens creating the stereotype that all of them wear hoods, carry guns and are in a gang
2. Foreigners - We assume all foreigners come into the country to take our money and jobs, when in fact they are usually hardworking and friendly, and usually take the jobs that we wouldn't want to do eg car washing
3. Black Adults - Many think all black males have an asbo, carry a knife and father 5 children at the age of 18. 

These stereotypes are stirred by the media, and therefore we come to think that many of these people do in fact fit the stereotype when they usually don't.

Hall's theory

This is the film poster for Gladiator, a film set in the roman empire.

From this poster we think he is an ultimate fighter, fighting alone against over competition and being victorious. However, during the film we find out he is in fact working with other fighters to get to the caesar, and eventually kill him.

Presentation Evaluation

Our presentation was for a sci-fi film based at the over 18's.

Our scores on average were:
Relevant/Intriguing/Catchy film title - 8
Interesting Characters and appropriate cast - 8.6
Was interest created for the audience? Enigma codes? 8.6
Narrative suitable for target audience? Will it attract customers? - 8
Does the narrative fit the genre? Are the conventions in place? - 8.6
Is the film different? - 8.6
Good ideas for marketing the film? - 8.6

Overall, I think we achieved very positive marks for our presentation and film, despite it being a hard genre to work with.

We only got one negative comment on our sheets, which was on the 'narrative suitable for target audience' which was that it might not be very successful. This was the only negative comment however.

Narrative Opening

This is the opening sequence to the film Kickass.

Enigma Code:

Why is there music over the titles?
Who is talking?
Who is standing on the building?
Why are they dressed in this way?
What building is he on?
Why did the man jump?
Who is Kick-Ass?

Action from the scene:

Man standing on building
People looking up
Man jumps off building and hits car

Semiotics?

The titles in the sky
Pan view over the city
Man dressed in superhero costume
The Yellow Taxi

Photo Analysis

For our photo analysis, we took 3 shots for the genre 'sport' and the target audience were 'teen boys'.

This is me playing football, we chose this action shot because it shows clearly what sport I was playing and also where I'm playing it. The school in the background shows exactly where this shot is, therefore helping the viewer understand more.

This is a shot of me playing basketball. Once again, the school is in the background showing the setting. The boys in the background are playing football whereas I am playing on my own, as far as the viewer can tell. This could foreshadow future events, such an loneliness.

The last shot is of me, once again alone, on the running track. We tried to keep the same sporting genre throughout, with most of the sports being generally male sports such as football. We emphasised the running track in this shot, and this low angle shows the whole body. The dark clouds could be pathetic fallacy, when the weather reflects a characters mood.

UCL Nightmare

 

Poster analysis

This is a 2009 film called Paintball. It is a Thriller set in a forest, location unknown.

Denotations: Cracked glass, face mask, red paint/blood, trees

Connotations: Danger from the red paint; failure to breath through the mask; bullet hole through the mask; blood on the ball (suggesting it's not a ball); dark woodland behind the face; eye wide open suggesting she is shocked.

What do we think this film could be about?
The film could be about a paintball game gone wrong, with real bullets instead of paintballs.

Opening sequence analysis

This is the opening 4 and a half minutes to the James Bond film 'Quantum of Solace'. It is an action film and starts straight away with a car chase through Siena, Italy. At first, it is a rural setting but they end up driving into an old, urban town. It is set in the modern era, we know this because of the fast, modern cars and police uniforms. 'Quantum of Solace' is a revenge film, with James trying to avenge the death of a compatriot from the previous film, Casino Royale. The cars are a main icon in the beginning of the film; with them being well known and very expensive. They are recognisable and automatically attract you to the film. The film is told by the characters; the main one being James Bond, a secret agent who works for MI6. He is a very mysterious man, with his age and lots of other background information unknown to everybody but himself. He is being chased by two men, presumably gangsters, who are driving an Alfa Romeo. We do not learn anything  more about these two people, but we assume they were chasing James' car in search for the man James had kidnapped - who is revealed at the end of the car chase.
 The editing of this first scene is extraordinary, with lots of different camera angles showing the chase. Most of them show James' car, and there are lots of side shots of him as he is driving. These shots as placed into the movie to make it feel like you are there watching the car chase live. The camera angles also work well with the sound, normally of the cars, to produce a great chase scene. Before the chase, there is dramatic music which creates the tension until it immediately throws you into the chase. The music slows down considerably after the chase, and becomes more mysterious as James drives into his secret garage and eventually opens the boot of the car.