Blog Post 20 - Title Sequence Remake

Blog post 3 - The purpose of a Title sequence and film opening

What is the purpose of a Title Sequence and film opening?
They are often used to showcase the cast and crew involved in the making of the movie. It promotes the actor with association to the particular genre of the movie. It also helps to improve their fan base. It is also a sign of status and recognition. For example, the most important roles are strategically.

They incorporate the logos of companies (i.e. idents) introduced involved with finance, production and distribution of the movie. This also advertises the company in a good light, especially if they are affiliated with successful movies.

They also set the scene of the film and give audience brief idea of the genre of the film, a storyline etc.

For example, Men in Black have a themed film opening. They list cast, director and the ident is shown, this sets the standard for the film.

Blog Post 7 - Title Sequence Conclusions

Concluding Title Sequences

Title sequences are most likely to be being 1min30seconds to around 3mins30seconds long, giving enough time to present an idea of what the upcoming film is going to be about.

 

Depending on the genre of the film may reflect to what font style/font size is used in order to convey the mood and feeling towards the genre of the movie. For example, in the movie Princess Diaries, the font style used may be italics in order to portray an aspect of elegance and sophistication.

 

Throughout the title sequences, I have notices that when they present the stars name, the bigger stars would usually have a larger font or would be shown longer than of someone who only plays a small character in the movie but is still quite important.

 

 

The order where title credits are most likely to be in;

 

1. Ident
2. Production Company
3. Producers
4. Directors
5. Writer
6. Stars - most known first
7. Film Title

Blog Post 17 - Genre Shortist

The three genres I may consider to choose to produce my title sequence, would perhaps be;

• Action, Comedy or Teen Drama

Action
An initial thought to why I may choose to do action is because it will be most beneficial in expanding my skills towards working with editing and filming such as altering the sound due to the suspense an action film can take upon, as with action films, there are so many different stories which could be created involving a lot of aspects with the requirements for catering a good title sequence.

Comedy
I may consider to producing a title sequence of a comedy as I enjoy the way it could enlighten someone's mood, as I do enjoy watching comedies myself. However, this may be very difficult to tackle due to the way in which you must consider your audience very strictly as not everyone finds the same thing funny, therefore it may be hard to please some people.


Teen Drama
Teen movies and chick flicks are personally my favourite, I may have considered going forth on this genre as it would be an easier process to create a title sequence of this genre as I have been very used to watching movies within this, therefore I would most likely know most concepts of a teen film compared to the other genres.

Blog Post 13 - Analysing Title Sequences

Analysis of Codes & Conventions:

1. Sematic: the way the films look
2. Syntactic: the stories the films tell

MACRO: include storyline, key themes, plot, characters, social group

MICRO: typical uses of camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene

Movie: Faster

micro
In the title sequence for this movie Faster, the camera work included a lot of shots revolving around close and extreme close up as well as angles including low angle yet also high angle and an establishing shot. Furthermore, in relation to the editing it includes match cut, film stills capturing the character as well as a shot portraying the opening of a door. Additionally, the mise-en-scene including the location and setting presents to the audience that the movie will have relation to a prison including props such as guns and card which dictates the film genre of an Action movie. Whilst viewing this title sequence, different sounds are heard such as time ticking which loops, including some aspects of Foley sound for example the punches on the doors yet also chants and people shouting.

macro
The key plot idea being introduced in this title sequence is the idea of a man being released from prison which dictates the main character being portrayed as reckless as he shoots a man. The storyline starts off as a man in a prison cell, he then gets handcuffed leading him taken to an officer, he is then released in to an open desert due to being released from prison then he runs to find a car. As this title sequence plays, we are introduced to the main character who was the prisoner, police officer and other inmates. These social groups such as the inmates are presented negatively however in a stereotypical way as they are shows to be rowdy due to banging on windows and doors.

title conventions
1. Ident
2.Producers
3.Production company
4. Director
5. Film Title
6. Stars
7.Music Producers

Blog post 14 - Genre conventions

Conventions of a Action Film
Massive Destruction






 Up beat nerve raking music











 Motivation..Killing

Conventions of Action Genre Films

Fast and Furious 7
The mood of the opening of the film, is quite calm initially as the main character seems to be simply visiting a relative in hospital. This is quite contrasting to the genre of the film being action. It's only after the main character starts to walk through the hospital that the genre of the film is established as the audience can see the turnover tables and the people who have been injured or knocked out. Then when the character goes down another floor more is revealed to the audience, that being that the whole building has been attacked, causing their to be fires, and damage everywhere. I like the way that the director has chosen to do this as it is a less conventional way to introduce an action film and I find it is far more effective in establishing the genre of the film being action.
The titles appear in a very discrete way appearing on the side of the screen, however the way they exit the screen is very creative as they either are crushed by falling objects in the scene or wizzed out of the screen. The beginning of the film opening is very calm and therefore the only sounds that can be heard are those which are within the scene so the main character talking to the injured patient in the hospital bed, however as more is revealed to the audience and the genre is established, the music becomes louder and more dramatic almost drowning out most of the sounds that are authentic within the scene. This is a good use of asynchronous and syncronous sound that is used within  film openings. From the research I have conducted I would say that the target audience of the film would be males who are aged between 40-54 as that is the common target audience for most if not all the Fast and Furious films.

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation

The genre is immediately established when the audience are shown, the agent headquarters and hear the agents communicating with each other via transmitters. The urgent tone in their voices tells the audience that what they are trying to do is time limited and therefore the rest of the film opening is going to be fast past like many action genre films. Another indication that the genre of the film is action is by one of the characters watching the plane in camouflage, this puts the audience on edge as they feel that they are forever waiting for something but they are not sure when it will come.
Highlighting this element of surprise, again a common theme of action genre films.  The credits in the film opening are quite stylised and dramatic as they do not appear discreetly within the acting scenes but they appear in scenes of their own with dramatic music and in front of moving images. The audience can mostly hear the dialogue that takes place between the two agents over a transmitter, however as the scene develops this dialogue becomes much shorter and faster and the sound of the plane intensifies. Finally when the action begins to take place so Ethan trying to get the package of the plane, dramatic music is played. Again this is a good example of synchronous sound in title openings. Again from my research I would say that he target audience for this film would be aged between 40-54 and male.


Terminator 2

The genre signifiers of this film opening is the explosions, and fiery background. Along with that the use of special effects to create the illusion of circling helicopters and lasers being used tells the audience instantly that the film is an action film but with a twist of science fiction as it it common in action films to have the use of heavy machinery and is common of science fiction to have special effects. The tiles are discrete in the sense that when they appear on the screen they do not dominate it (except from the title) but rather they appear the side of the scene. However they do appear over dramatic moving images such as a fiery scene in which many explosions have taken place and what's mainly left is a scene full of fire and burning. The main sound that is heard is the narration of the story by a voiceover almost explaining why things are happening. It's only occasionally that the voice over is stopped and the authentic sound from the actual scene is heard. I like this as it emphasises a what's happening much more as it goes from being quite clam and quiet to being loud.
Again the target audience of the film is likely to be between 40-54 and male.

In conclusion when making our film, it will be vital that our target audience is aged between 40-54 and is male as this has been common for all the action films that I have looked at. It is also important that the sound that I create in my film is synchronous with what is going on in the scene as this adds further to the audiences understanding

Blog post 8- my favourite film

Man of steel analysis

One of my favourite films are all of the superman movies but most specifically Man Of Steel.

The order of credits
Ident
Production company's
Actors
Casting by
Costume design
Visual effects
Music by
Co producer
Film editor
Production designer
Director of photography
Screenplay
Executive producer
Based on
Directed By
Film title

I feel this remake of the Official title sequence captures the true mood and story that needs to be portrayed through the Man of Steel film.
The title sequence begins with a birds eye shot moving in towards the galaxy, following whats seen to look like a UFO, the shot soon changes from a close up view of the UFO to a pre recorded video on a person computer screen.
The dramatic beginning gives the audience an idea of whats to come throughout the rest of the film as it introduces the main character "superman" during the news report.
The Sequence concludes with Supermans symbol of an 'S', a relatable image to all cartoon fans before ending with a fade in of the The films title. .

Blog post 11- BFI statistics yearbook

Genre

According to the BFI statistical yearbook 2014, the 3 most successful film genres at the UK box office were Animation, action and comedy. The 3 genres with the least success at the UK box office were Romance, Documentary and war. 

In 2013 - 2014 comedy had the largest number of releases, releasing 153 films, one of which being 

*The hangover part 3*

During the same year 33 animated films and 47 action films were made. Information on genre tells us that film producers will create films associated with the most popular genres to make the most profit. 

Audiences

In 2013, 15-24 year olds made up the largest proportion of cinema admissions in the UK.

In this age group the comedy film The Hangover part III was the most successful, where as with the over 50s British comedy drama Quartet was most popular. 

A wide range of genres appealed to women, whereas action films, comedies and thrillers such as Alan Patridge: Aloha papa were seen as most popular amongst men. 

UK films appealed to all demographic groups but its main focus is on those who are 45 and about. 

Animations such as Wreck it Ralph, Despicable me 2 and Monsters university were of particular appeal to the 7-14 age group. The most significant amongst them being the One Direction documentary. This shows those within this age group enjoys animation. 

The 35-44 age group include mostly parents and carers therefore they would see a lot of child friendly or children based films such as frozen, the crowds and jack and the giant slayer. 

Action films appealed strongly to the  25-34 age group through films such as Django unchained, Fast and Furious 6, rush and trance. 

The C1 social group were attached to a range of genres including, action, sci-fi and drama. Popular titles amongst this audience group were Rush, Captain Philips and Gravity. 

Through looking at the tables for popular films in London and Scotland results showed, those living in London preferred action dramas such as Django Unchained and fast and furious 6. Where as in Scotland the films Star Trek into darkness and sunshine leith were most popular. 

Black and minority ethnic groups were over represented among buyers of cinema tickets, video rental and digital film. Disabled audiences were over represented amongst video buyers. 

Blog Post 13

Jack Reacher - Action
Micro analysis
There are some micro elements of this title sequence. This title sequence begins with an ident/production. The camera work has used a variety of shots and angles, in this particular one, there has been an establishing shot. This makes the audience have a brief idea of what they are looking at. It also sets the scene of the movie. There is a tracking shot, that follows the van as it drives which makes the view follow where its going as if they are travelling alongside it. Another shot is used was extreme close-ups, for example, of different parts of his body, like his fingers, as they were adjusting something. The editing used was cross cutting, the camera switches between one location and another, showing both sides of perspective, in a way. There was a lot of seamless editing, making it seem like an ongoing clip when it wasn't. There was a lot of zooming, especially when on the targets of the shooting to give the effect that they were being spotted through the gun's eye view. Another piece of editing was the credits spread over the opening sequence. The mise-en-scene used was the landscape, giving a natural lighting and background to the setting of the movie. There were also bullets and gunpowder shown in use. These are conventions of Action genres, which makes the audience assume that the movie is going to be an action movie. There was non-diagetic music, a musical score. This was just a background instrumental over the movie which made it more dramatic.

Macro analysis
The key plot was introduced quite early on into the title sequence. The main plot was that some people had been shot by a man, who is assumed to be a skilled sniper, and this sniper has fled the scene. The order of the storyline is that it begins with preparing him the bullets he is going to use. It then goes on with the rest of the preparation then you see him actually targeting the people he is going to shoot.

Blog post 17 - genre shortlist

The three genres that I would consider to choose from to produce my title sequence are;

-Action

-Horror

-Romance

BFI Statistical Yearbook 2014 Answers

Chapter 4
1. Animation, Action and Comedy
2. Romance, Documentaries and War
3. Adventure
4. 28,816
5. 27,383
6. 22,383
7. That often producers will produce more films for a specific genre they think will be popular but this isn't always correct, therefore causing less popular genres to have more films made.

Chapter 15
1. 15-24
2. The Hangover Part III
3. Sunshine on Leith ( Scottish Musical)
4. Thriller, action and comedy
5. Animation, Documentaries, Musicals (just a broader range of genres in general)
6. Female
7. One Direction, Wreck it Ralph and Despicable Me 2. It tells us that people of this age group like pop documentaries and animations.
8. This is likely to be because they are taking their children to the cinema as carers and parents and therefore they are the most common films for that age range even they they are older than the target audience the film was aimed at.
9. Django: Unchained, Fast and Furious 6 and Rush
10. Rush and Oz Great and Powerful.
11. For people that lived in the UK they preferred the films such as Django: Unchained, Fast and Furious 6 and Gravity. Whereas the people that lived in Scotland preferred films such as Sunshine on Leith, Filth and Star Trek into Darkness. This could suggest that the people that tend to go to cinemas more in the UK are of the 15-24 age bracket, whereas in Scotland the people that are going to watch films are the 40+ age bracket. This is because when looking back at the information the films that were most common in the UK were films popular amongst young people, but the films that were common in Scotkand were common amongst older people.

Blog post 6 - Analyse two film sequences

Gone Girl (2014) — Art of the Title
This title sequence has a lot of different features. At the start, there was an ident (20th Century Fox). There was a instrumental throughout to give a dramatic effect to the opening. There were also several establishing shots, which gave a sense of surrounding, which sets the scene for the audience. The title, oddly, was small and simple, it was not the centre of attention as usual but the fact it was the only text on the screen for that moment, made it more effective and visible. There were medium shots, that showed one of the characters, doing normal things, which makes the audience wonder why the camera has chosen to focus on him and what is so wrong or different about him. There were opening credits that showed some cast and directors etc. The fact that the title sequence was eerie and quiet, leaves a building of suspense.


  Ginger Snaps (2000) — Art of the Title
Ginger snaps - being an older movie, would probably not have been as advanced as Gone Girl, which was released in 2014, but it did show a variety of different features - starting with an ident. In this more gory  film, we see different shots of what seems to be dead bodies. It shows opening credits, with the actors and actresses starring, and directors. There is a soundtrack in the background playing also. We see a very faint high angle shot, which is close-up on a character. There is also a birdseye view shown in another shot. The different shots and angles are shown in different 'snapshots' of different dead bodies in different scenes, in which we can definitely tell that this must be a horror!

Blog Post 4 - How a film opening attracts an audience

From watching the documentary, Thomas Sutcliffe said, "Films need to seduce their audience into long term commitment. While there are many types of seduction, the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistible." :I think Sutcliffe is implying to create a good opening, you need to grasp the attention of the audience.

Also, Jean Beineix said that creating 'instant arousal' can cause a risk of too many questions being asked along with the possibility of confusion. Beineix went on to say that the bar is then set too high and the amount of excitement is then expected throughout. Beineix follows the theory that the opening should build up to the film slowly and gradually, without giving anything away.

"A good opening will make the audience feel that they do not know nearly enough yet, and at the same time make sure that they do know enough." This implies that you need to keep the audience hooked without giving away too much. The key is that the audience need to be able to make an initial judgement.

The Shining (opening sequence) gives a feeling of suspense as you think that its just a scenic setting but the camera follows the car showing that they are heading into danger. The fact that the camera angle is from a high angle and trailing the car means, there may be something behind them, this leaves the audience asking who would be following them or what danger are they driving into.

 

Blog Post 5 - What makes a good title sequence?

What makes a good title sequence?
- Kyle Cooper's view

Kyle Cooper, an American designer of motion picture title sequences, believes there are three main features of a good title sequence.

The first is that it dovetails seamlessly into the film properly. For example, if a movie had a title sequence that stopped abruptly, with the film beginning afterwards, this may cause the audience to lose interest, also it is not as professional. So this is good because it gives the film a good flow between the title sequence and the main body of the film.

The second is that it 'gets you excited ' and makes you want to just be there. For example, if the film starts with a bang, and something that's more exciting, it will leave the audience wanting to know more. This is good because it means the film  has already mad contact and connected with the audience.

The third reason is that is sets an expectation. For example, a title sequence of bad quality, would make the audience think that the movie is not going to be of good standard. So the reason it is good for the title sequence to set an expectation, is because it will make the audience have high expectations.


In the title sequence of 'Se7en', different styles are explored - however they all ultimately follow one theme. Some of the opening credits on a blank screen made the sequence more effective because the text was flashing, instead of just being still.

Blog Post 17

Genres that I may decide to choose from to do my film from;

-Action
- Comedy
- Romance

I have chosen to action is one of the genres that I may choose to do for my film as there is a wide range of possibilities and storylines that can be created without it becoming repetitive or boring. I also like action films as they give the director an opportunity to use different sound effects and different music style in the film opening in order to establish the film genre to the audience clearly but also make the audience interested in watching the rest of the film. Action genres also allow for the use of varied camera equipment to allow your to be able to shoot some of the classic scenes in action films, for example car chases and fighting scenes.

I like comedy as it can prove very rewarding if done right. By getting the audience laughing it engages them in the film they are watching but also makes them feel relaxed and in turn helps them enjoy the movie experience as a whole. Comedy also like action allows you to have many different storylines but to still be able to make your film a comedy . The only disadvantage of doing a comedy genre film is it is quite hard to achieve as you will need to really understand and know your target audience well in order to create a film which with comedy they will enjoy and be able to engage in.

Finally I like romance films as they give an assurance to the audience that their will be a specific plot, however this can sometimes be frustrating as it can make all romance films become repetitive and less varied in comparison to action and comedy genre films.

Genre Conventions in Action Film Openings

Codes and Conventions of Action Films

Many action film title sequences use close up camera work, birds eye views and higher angles. They also tend to have quite loud and exaggerated sounds to emphasize actions that are taking place for example a fast car race or a battle field scene.The editing tends to have sharp cutting scenes rather than smooth transitions, with the key points of the storyline or its history being introduced to the audience. There also tends to be a group of people who are introduced either positively or negatively depending on their significant roles within the film.

Pictures from Fast and Furious 6 Opening Scene:

 

Pictures from Terminator 2