Source of inspiration

Eminems 3am music video contains a lot of Genre Conventions we would like to use as  Enigma Codes in our Title Sequence.
For example we see Eminem in a bath full of red liquid which we automatically associate with blood, this suggests a dark and scary tone which is what we're aiming for with our final product.
We also see knives and footprints on the ground which suggests a crime has taken place.
The settings also suggest a horror as they are set in mysterious and dark places.

Title Sequence Institution Research

Script practice

Jolly Snow Script

25 Word Pitch

Two sisters, one attracts, one kills. Dexter meets Friday 13th the film is messed up which represents the mental state of both characters and their past.

Synopsis

 

soundtrack analysis

Here is an analysis I did for the sound within the title sequence of the movie 'Coach Carter'. The task was to analyse all its features and discuss how the sounds establish a particular genre, time period, tone, location and characters.

Credits Timeline

                                                     Credit timeline for Batman Beyond:     

                                                             Return of The Joker

Credit Timelines are used in order to plan where titles will be placed once the title sequence has been constructed.

I used the title sequence of Batman Beyond to plot which titles came up and also the time the titles came up so that when our title sequence is created we have an idea of how the titles should be spaced out and also the order of the titles.

The title sequence was 02:08 minutes long and had 20 titles within that time frame. The spacing between the titles didn't have a continuous pattern as it didn't have equal intervals but this is the typical expectation within a sequence.

Text Analysis

The text in the title sequence for Girls is extremely large which emphasizes the key themes that may rise, it suggests a female dominated movie which could involve drama, romance or comedy. The colour of the background also highlights the fact that it is aimed towards females as purple is stereotypically associated with girls. The font style is very simplistic but it reflects elegance. The font colour being at one extreme end of the colour spectrum also makes it stand out even more. The text is easy and clear to read. The title seems to have been made at the production stage as it is not complicated and although it is relevant to the plot it doesn't particularly represent one specific character.

    

Where as the text in Ali G Indahouse is very modern and glamorous title which immediately suggests this is aimed at a modern teenage audience or early 20's.
The colour gold represents jewellery and wealth which could be seen as a key theme within the film and represents the modern youth culture of today who are heavily obsessed with jewellery.
just like the Girls title the font style is very simplistic and block type lettering which is large which again places even more emphasis on the title.
Again like the Girls title it is very easy to read.
The text could have been either during the pre production stage when storyboards are being created as they must have had a clear picture of how the main character should be reflected through the title or it could have been made post production once they had a clearer idea of how the character will be.

Anatomy of a Murder

                             


This video was created as our own interpretation of Saul Bass' Anatomy of a Murder, we used this as a practice for an abstract Title Sequence.
We used the first 20 seconds of the original sequence to create the sequence.
We also focused on the amount frames and shots needed in order to make it flow better without drastic jumps.

9 Key Frames Analysis

                    

Favourite Opening Sequence

We were asked to create a presentation based on our favourite title sequence and discuss all its features.
We had to comment on the conventions they used and what they connote and also discuss why we like it and how it is effective.



              
                                                  My favourite title sequence

      

Saul Bass

Conventions of a Title Sequence

These are the Conventions we typically see in many title sequences which help us make assumptions on what we are about to watch and whether or not it is worthwhile watching.

Themes and Style

The themes present in films are usually reflected in the movies title sequence. The theme is the basic ideas drawn from a certain subject which is used to build up the storyline. The theme helps the audience create assumptions on the genre,location or the narrative of the film. The style focuses on how the sequence reflects those themes it looks such as the editing techniques, colours used and the camera angles method and aesthetics Some may choose to use a cold opening so that the viewers do not lose interest and even if the title sequence is included the action being presented at the start can be seen as an enigma code to keep the viewers wondering what will happen next.

Opening Sequences

The opening credits are present at the beginning of most movies in text form to acknowledge and credit the most important people in the production of that particular film for example the actors, the editor or even the writer whereas the title sequence is the action used to give the viewers an idea of where the film is set or who the characters are so that they have a little idea of what to expect during the film. 

In an opening sequence you can have conventions such as non-diegetic sounds such as a soundtrack to create an atmosphere, graphic matches can also be an effective technique in a title sequence. Some editors may choose to make the opening sequence quite abstract so that it doesn't give too much away it may just give you a clue as to where it's set or the genre of the movie. Some movies start off with a Cold Opening which is when a little bit of action or dialogue within the movie begins to take place before they show the opening sequence. Some opening sequences are entirely animated whereas some are based on real characters and real settings which also helps determine the genre. A narrator can also be used to set the scene.

      

CSI: Harris South Norwood - Title Sequence

               
                             

We recreated the title sequence to CSI Miami and this was used as a practice for our own title sequence we will be creating.

This was useful in helping me improve my filming and editing techniques, it also helped with judging the right transition times and editing pace for a short sequence.


            

Preliminary Task Evaluation

For our preliminary task we had to work in a group to create a short continuity clip. We had to film someone walking through a door, walking across the room and exchanging dialogue with someone else. it also had to include editing techniques such as match on action, shot reverse shot. We had to make sure all the clips did not break the 180 degree rule.

As a group we chose to film our preliminary task as a Parents evening so we started with a tracking shot of the parent and then a match on action of him opening the door, he walks across then
takes a seat in front of the teacher, which was captured as a two shot, they shake hands and then the dialogue begins and the parent and teacher talk shot reverse shot is used and over the shoulder shots are also used. 

The continuity of the video could have been better if we had filmed more footage before and after the clips we needed because it would have made it easier to match the actions, because the ending of each footage put together cuts off quite fast and makes the editing pace quite fast and for a clip that is meant to seem realistic, the editing makes it seem very unrealistic.

Another problem we faced whilst filming was that we played back the footage quite a lot so when we forwarded the tape to finish recording the footage ended up too far down the tape so it made it a little harder to retrieve our work.

Preliminary Task

This is our preliminary task which is the first practice at both filming and editing our own footage so far. The action presents a parents evening and a conversation between a teacher and parent.

                             

Continuity Editing Task

Continuity Editing is making the existing footage consistent and continuous so that all the action is in chronological order and makes sense to the audience viewing it.This can be done through filming or editing parts to fit together.This task was given to us to use as practice for other videos we will be editing throughout the year. We used footage that was recorded by Year 13 students and opened the files in Final Cut Express so that we could put the footage together and cut out the unnecessary clips. This task was very helpful because prior to this I'd never edited a continuous sequence so this helped me prepare for my preliminary task!

                                     

180 Degree Rule

This is a storyboard created to shot 6 shots we took following the 180 degree rule

The 180 degree rule is a rule that must be followed whilst filming, the scene is usually shot on one side of the two characters or objects so because of that the viewers acknowledge what is on the left and right side and to avoid problems they stick to one side of the imaginary line between the two characters.

The line in the middle is never crossed.

                                               
It is important to use the 180 degree rule when filming because the audience will get very confused it the characters continue switching places especially if they look a like or they are not familiar with the characters it is best to stick to one side. Another reason why it is important is because if they didn't stick to the rule the two people having a conversation would be facing the same way and their eyes wouldn't be aligned which would affect the illusion of conversation.

if you want to change the direction in which you film the two people you have to break the 180 degree rule and you can do this effectively by using a tracking shot to move around them so that the audience aren't confused.

The 180 degree rule will help in the preliminary task to plan out where to film the shot and when it comes to filming the dialogue we will follow the 180 degree rule so that it is not confusing and if we do break it then it is done the right way.