Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking over the final cut of our title sequence I feel like I have learnt a lot and have come a very long way considering the reviews we got for the draft of our sequence, our first draft wasn't very well edited and got a lot of bad feedback, luckily we quickly managed to sort this out and am very happy with our new sequence, I am also very proud of me and Nicole as we managed to edit our sequence within a matter of days, which is something we didn't think we would be able to do, especially as us neither of us were experienced with Final Cut Pro and the way it works. I feel with this considered our sequence has turned out very well.
During the project we experienced a few problems, for example we had a great idea for the sequence that we all loved and really wanted to do, but it didn't fit with our original film idea, this meant we had to change our whole film idea and had to do alot more work to get the right information about our new film genre and we had to make sure our blogs were up to date with all the new information and that we were all clear with the new idea.
Throughout this project I have learnt a lot. I have mainly learnt about editing and how to use Final Cut Pro, this was the thing I was not comfortable with using and did not know how to use it at all, however I am now comfortable with the way Final cut pro works and how to use it, and could easily use it again in any other projects. I also learnt about the importance of planning ahead and planning everything correctly, within my group we planned well but not as well as we could've, we could've planned more about who was going to bring what when we were filming and what was happening in general, I learnt that its the small details like that that can make a lot of difference and if I were to do this project again I would make sure that everyone in the group knows what is happening and we all know what we are doing.
Wednesday, 16 April 2014
Evaluation question 6.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
To film the title sequence we used Esther's DSLR camera, as a photography student I am fairly familiar with how DSLR's work and how to use them but I had never used one to film before, just to take pictures so I was fairly new to using them to film, however I adjusted easily and quickly worked out how it worked.
However something I wasn't used to was Final Cut Pro which is what we used to edit the sequence. I had used Final Cut Pro once before when we edited our continuity sequences but I couldn't really remember much of what we had been taught so Nicole & myself both worked out what we had to do using trial and error, luckily we managed to work everything out fairly quickly and soon managed to edit our title sequence.
We used a tripod to make sure none of the shots were shaky, however after our first shoot we found that a few shots were shaky which meant we had to film again, if we had access to one a steadicam would have been better for the shots where the camera is moving or following the actors, that way we wouldn't of had to film again as the shots wouldn't have been shaky.
We also used photoshop to create our company logo, luckily both myself and Nicole are fairly experienced with photoshop and both know how to use it, however Nicole is more creative and alot better at using photoshop than me, so I left that to her.
To film the title sequence we used Esther's DSLR camera, as a photography student I am fairly familiar with how DSLR's work and how to use them but I had never used one to film before, just to take pictures so I was fairly new to using them to film, however I adjusted easily and quickly worked out how it worked.
However something I wasn't used to was Final Cut Pro which is what we used to edit the sequence. I had used Final Cut Pro once before when we edited our continuity sequences but I couldn't really remember much of what we had been taught so Nicole & myself both worked out what we had to do using trial and error, luckily we managed to work everything out fairly quickly and soon managed to edit our title sequence.
We used a tripod to make sure none of the shots were shaky, however after our first shoot we found that a few shots were shaky which meant we had to film again, if we had access to one a steadicam would have been better for the shots where the camera is moving or following the actors, that way we wouldn't of had to film again as the shots wouldn't have been shaky.
We also used photoshop to create our company logo, luckily both myself and Nicole are fairly experienced with photoshop and both know how to use it, however Nicole is more creative and alot better at using photoshop than me, so I left that to her.
Evaluation question four.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
We decided that the audience for our film would be females between 12 & 24 years old. We chose this age range because after doing some research and looking into other films of the same genre we found that most of these films were watched by teenagers aged from 13 to 24, so we thought the most accurate way to set a target audience for our film would be to go off of what films within the same genre had set theirs as.
Another reason we chose this age range is because they are the people who are most likely to have money to spend and time to actually go out and see a film. 12/13 is usually the age where you are just starting to get pocket money for doing household chores, so people around that age will have money to spare as they don't need to spend their money on things like bills, food and clothes as they are still young enough for their parents to do that. 16/17 is the age where you are likely to be having a first job so you will have money to spend on more leisure activities like going to the cinema. Lastly 18-24 year olds are most likely to be in stable jobs and will have a fair amount of spare money to use on leisure activities
The reason we decided females would be the main target audience is because they are the most likely to see teen drama/chick flicks and as thats what our films genre falls under we decided that females would most likely watch it.
We decided that the audience for our film would be females between 12 & 24 years old. We chose this age range because after doing some research and looking into other films of the same genre we found that most of these films were watched by teenagers aged from 13 to 24, so we thought the most accurate way to set a target audience for our film would be to go off of what films within the same genre had set theirs as.
Another reason we chose this age range is because they are the people who are most likely to have money to spend and time to actually go out and see a film. 12/13 is usually the age where you are just starting to get pocket money for doing household chores, so people around that age will have money to spare as they don't need to spend their money on things like bills, food and clothes as they are still young enough for their parents to do that. 16/17 is the age where you are likely to be having a first job so you will have money to spend on more leisure activities like going to the cinema. Lastly 18-24 year olds are most likely to be in stable jobs and will have a fair amount of spare money to use on leisure activities
The reason we decided females would be the main target audience is because they are the most likely to see teen drama/chick flicks and as thats what our films genre falls under we decided that females would most likely watch it.
Evaluation question two.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our title sequence represents social groups such as teenagers in a fairly negative way. Throughout the entire sequence you can clearly see the different stages of the social ladder. You have the outsiders/unpopular kids, the cool/popular kids, the bullies and those inbetween. Although we have mainly stuck to the typical popluar girl trend we have slightly altered it. We didn't really want our main character to be as stereotypical as the rest and chose to make the main character; the popular girl, quite alternative. She enjoys listening to rock bands and wears something stereotypically an 'outsider' would wear. I like this idea because it changes things a bit and shows that typically unpopular people can be one of the popular kids if they tried.
However with the rest of the characters we have stuck to the stereotypes. A main boy being tall and awkward and clearly not having many friends as he walks alone, and the background characters (the bullies, the inbetweeners) just as you would imagine them to be.
Our title sequence represents social groups such as teenagers in a fairly negative way. Throughout the entire sequence you can clearly see the different stages of the social ladder. You have the outsiders/unpopular kids, the cool/popular kids, the bullies and those inbetween. Although we have mainly stuck to the typical popluar girl trend we have slightly altered it. We didn't really want our main character to be as stereotypical as the rest and chose to make the main character; the popular girl, quite alternative. She enjoys listening to rock bands and wears something stereotypically an 'outsider' would wear. I like this idea because it changes things a bit and shows that typically unpopular people can be one of the popular kids if they tried.
However with the rest of the characters we have stuck to the stereotypes. A main boy being tall and awkward and clearly not having many friends as he walks alone, and the background characters (the bullies, the inbetweeners) just as you would imagine them to be.
Evaluation question one.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
After discussing in our group and coming up with some initial ideas for films we decided a teen drama was most suited to us. Our title sequence is like a short film in itself as it outlines the main plot of the film in a short amount of time and without all the details.
After analysing and watching many title sequences based around this genre I found that telling a story or the title sequence being part of the story was very popular and we found as a group that is what we all wanted to do with our own sequence. We also found from analysing teen drama and chick flick title sequences that a very popular choice of music was an acoustic guitar or something that was fairly upbeat and seemed happy. We also found that some of them had the main characters voice as a voice over narrating the story, but we thought this would be difficult to do as we were only making the title sequence and not the whole film, however it is something I would like to try if I were to do this project again.
After discussing in our group and coming up with some initial ideas for films we decided a teen drama was most suited to us. Our title sequence is like a short film in itself as it outlines the main plot of the film in a short amount of time and without all the details.
After analysing and watching many title sequences based around this genre I found that telling a story or the title sequence being part of the story was very popular and we found as a group that is what we all wanted to do with our own sequence. We also found from analysing teen drama and chick flick title sequences that a very popular choice of music was an acoustic guitar or something that was fairly upbeat and seemed happy. We also found that some of them had the main characters voice as a voice over narrating the story, but we thought this would be difficult to do as we were only making the title sequence and not the whole film, however it is something I would like to try if I were to do this project again.
Friday, 4 April 2014
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Things to be improved.
After the classes feedback we discovered a few issues with our title sequence. We found the main comment that appeared on all of the feedback sheets was the fonts and the colour of the fonts. This is something that can easily be changed and can be fixed pretty easily. We also discovered that a few people were confused by what the narrative was, this can be fixed by changing the order of the clips.
The thing I personally disliked about the sequence was the trasitions. I don't think they worked very well and made the narrative confusing and hard to follow.
The thing I personally disliked about the sequence was the trasitions. I don't think they worked very well and made the narrative confusing and hard to follow.
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Journal: Feedback
In today's lesson we all watched each others title sequences, this was a really great experience as it gave us all the chance to see how creative everyone else was and to see what their interpretation of the task was. There are some really amazing pieces of work that the class has produced and after watching theirs and comparing it to ours, I think we have noticed a few problems with ours that we can hopefully fix by the deadline.
These are the feedback sheets we got from the class:
These are the feedback sheets we got from the class:
Fonts
When doing a title sequence the fonts are always an important part since thats how people read the credits. During one of the lessons Nicole went onto Dafont.com to look for some fonts that would be appropriate for our title sequence, since there were a few that she liked, she wrote up a survey and handed it out to everyone in the class, asking them their favourite of the 4 fonts and which colour they think would look best.
The results were:
The results were:
Fonts:
Always Forever (3/10)
Jenna Sue (4/10)
Jennifer Lynne (2/10)
Sweetie Pie (1/10)
Colours:
White (5/10)
Purple (2/10)
Dusty Blue (1/10)
Red (2/10)
Monday, 17 March 2014
Personal analysis: My mad fat diary.
My Mad Fat Diary is TV series based on the book 'My fat mad teenage diary' by Rae Earl. It was turned into a TV series in January 2013 & has already made a comeback for series 2. The show follows the story of 16 year old girl called Rae Earl, who has just left a psychiatric hospital, where she has been for four months. When Rae leaves the hospital she begins to reconnect with her bestfriend Chloe and her new group of friends, however she doesn't tell them about where she has been for the past four months and sneaks off once a week to meet her therapist. Her therapist tells her to keep a diary which is what is read as a voice over.
My Mad Fat Diary – title sequence from Mr & Mrs on Vimeo.
The reason I have decided to analyse the title sequence for this show is because the main character in my mad fst diary (Rae) is very similar to the main character in our film. They are both highly influenced by music and both follow bands and they both have a tight group of friends. I also thought it would be interesting to see the difference between a film title sequence and a TV show title sequence.
The first thing we see in the sequence is a note with 'This Diary belongs to Rae Earl Private!' written on it, there are also some doodles of pizza and a girl on there. These are already clues to what the main character is like, these both show us she likes food and that she doesn't think very highly of herself as the drawing that is possibly of her, isn't drawn very neatly and didn't take much time. This also suggests that she doesn't care much for her appearance. Black scribbles then cover the outside of the note, this could suggest that her mental state isn't very well because she is using black and scribbling could connote that her thoughts are all 'scribbled'.
The next thing we see is a note with 'Mum' & a witchs face scribbled on it. This suggests that she doesn't get on with her mum particularly well. The receipt with chocolate repeated in the back tells us that she is not the healthiest girl ever and is quite large.
The next shot is of a pair of sunglasses which could imply that the area it is set in is sunny or that it is set in the summer when its hot. There is also a doodle of a naked lady which could imply that Rae is going through puberty and doesn't have anyone to share things about that with other than her diary.
We then see a doodle of her therapist Kester. The drawing is quite large which suggests that she thinks very highly of him and enjoys spending the time she can talking to him.
The title then appears and then a shot of spilt ink with 'based on my fat, mad, teenage diary by rae earl' written on it.
The next scene is a note saying 'lets do this' this suggests that she is trying to get used to trying new things and wants to live more. There is also a tape in the corner, this shows how much music means to her, the fact that the name 'Finn' is also written at the bottom suggests he is going to play a big part in Rae's life.
There is then a few doodles of birds which could suggest she feels more free than she ever has before With song lyrics/poetry written on some paper. This again shows how musically influenced she is.
The music then fades out and a shot of Rae appears.
My Mad Fat Diary – title sequence from Mr & Mrs on Vimeo.
The reason I have decided to analyse the title sequence for this show is because the main character in my mad fst diary (Rae) is very similar to the main character in our film. They are both highly influenced by music and both follow bands and they both have a tight group of friends. I also thought it would be interesting to see the difference between a film title sequence and a TV show title sequence.
The first thing we see in the sequence is a note with 'This Diary belongs to Rae Earl Private!' written on it, there are also some doodles of pizza and a girl on there. These are already clues to what the main character is like, these both show us she likes food and that she doesn't think very highly of herself as the drawing that is possibly of her, isn't drawn very neatly and didn't take much time. This also suggests that she doesn't care much for her appearance. Black scribbles then cover the outside of the note, this could suggest that her mental state isn't very well because she is using black and scribbling could connote that her thoughts are all 'scribbled'.
The next thing we see is a note with 'Mum' & a witchs face scribbled on it. This suggests that she doesn't get on with her mum particularly well. The receipt with chocolate repeated in the back tells us that she is not the healthiest girl ever and is quite large. The next shot is of a pair of sunglasses which could imply that the area it is set in is sunny or that it is set in the summer when its hot. There is also a doodle of a naked lady which could imply that Rae is going through puberty and doesn't have anyone to share things about that with other than her diary.
We then see a doodle of her therapist Kester. The drawing is quite large which suggests that she thinks very highly of him and enjoys spending the time she can talking to him.
The title then appears and then a shot of spilt ink with 'based on my fat, mad, teenage diary by rae earl' written on it.
The next scene is a note saying 'lets do this' this suggests that she is trying to get used to trying new things and wants to live more. There is also a tape in the corner, this shows how much music means to her, the fact that the name 'Finn' is also written at the bottom suggests he is going to play a big part in Rae's life.
There is then a few doodles of birds which could suggest she feels more free than she ever has before With song lyrics/poetry written on some paper. This again shows how musically influenced she is.
The music then fades out and a shot of Rae appears.
Sunday, 16 March 2014
Music.
In our title sequence there is no talking so music is a key feature. During one of our double lessons while Esther was editing the footage we had Nicole and I went onto a computer each and started to look for some music that we thought would be good to use. We first tried youtube for uncopyrighted music but didn't have much luck. We then went onto soundcloud & freeplaymusic.com to look for something that would be appropriate for our sequence, this time we managed to find quite a few that we both liked. After a little while of searching we both came together and listened to what each other had found. We then discovered that we both really liked an artist we had found on freeplaymusic called 'Lisa Jaeggi'. After spending a while listening to all of her songs we discussed which one we liked best and we found we both really loved her song 'Better The Devil You Know' and we all agreed that it fitted our sequence perfectly.
We are sure that this song is uncopyrighted however we thought it would be nice to email Lisa Jaeggi herself to see if it was perfectly okay to use her song, unfortunately we haven't had a reply back from her but we have done our research and can find no reason to not use it.
The email we sent read:
We are sure that this song is uncopyrighted however we thought it would be nice to email Lisa Jaeggi herself to see if it was perfectly okay to use her song, unfortunately we haven't had a reply back from her but we have done our research and can find no reason to not use it.
The email we sent read:
'Hi,
We are Welling school pupils and for our A Level Media coursework we are making a title sequence for a film that we have created. We were instructed to use a piece of either uncopyrighted music or music we have had permission to use by the writer. We found your song 'The Devil You Know' on the website https://www.freeplaymusic.com/ and were wondering if you could grant us permission to use your song, which fits in really well with our sequence.
Many Thanks,
Chloe Ridley
Nicole Simmons
Esther Sole'
Filming journal 3: In school
Th next time we did some filming we were in school. I personally found doing it in school was alot harder than outside of school. When we filmed at Danson Park we could use all the time we needed to get everything done, however in school we were working on a tight schedule due to different timetables & different lesson times. What also made it difficult was that the people we needed to act in the sequence were sometimes unavailable and couldn't do it due to having their own work to do. If the people we needed were absent or had other commitments that day we were unable to film the things we needed. Unfortunately this happened more than once. During the times this did happen we would get together as a group and discuss what we would do next and when everyone was available to film next. Luckily we managed to sort out dates & times between us and the people acting in our sequence & managed to film everything we needed,
Although there were quite a few downsides to filming in school, there were some up. For example, there were always extra people around if we ever needed any and if we needed any extra support/advice there were always the people in our class we could talk to anytime and there were always the teachers we could ask any of our questions to and get advice from.
Overall I found the experience of filming inside of school to be a little more difficult than originally anticipated, however I feel we managed to successfully overcome these issues as a group.
Although there were quite a few downsides to filming in school, there were some up. For example, there were always extra people around if we ever needed any and if we needed any extra support/advice there were always the people in our class we could talk to anytime and there were always the teachers we could ask any of our questions to and get advice from.
Overall I found the experience of filming inside of school to be a little more difficult than originally anticipated, however I feel we managed to successfully overcome these issues as a group.
Danson Park re-shoot
While editing the footage we shot at Danson Park we found that some of the shots were not as good as we had originally thought. This meant we had to re-shoot & get it all done as quickly as possible, It was quite hard to decide a date to film as we all had other commitments for the coming weekend, so we were unable to do it then, this meant we had to do it on an afternoon after school. We decided on the coming Friday.
On Friday after our Media lesson Nicole & I got permission to leave school early to go to her house to get the costume & props that we needed, we then met Esther at Danson park at 3.30 where she was ready for us to begin filming. Luckily it didn't take very long for us to know exactly what we wanted & exactly how it should look. Overall it took around 1 hour 30 minutes to shoot everything we needed.
I feel this was a very successful shoot & we are all very pleased with the way the footage we filmed has turned out.
On Friday after our Media lesson Nicole & I got permission to leave school early to go to her house to get the costume & props that we needed, we then met Esther at Danson park at 3.30 where she was ready for us to begin filming. Luckily it didn't take very long for us to know exactly what we wanted & exactly how it should look. Overall it took around 1 hour 30 minutes to shoot everything we needed.
I feel this was a very successful shoot & we are all very pleased with the way the footage we filmed has turned out.
Friday, 14 March 2014
Filming Journal
We began to film our title sequence on Wednesday 19th February. We chose this day because it was the beginning of half term and if some of the shots were't so great we could easily just go back out later on in the week and re-shoot them, luckily there was no need for this as we managed to get all the shots we needed that day.
For our first time filming I feel it was very successful. We had all the costume, props and camera equipment we needed, and managed to get all the shots we could do in a matter of hours, we also had a lot of fun and got to know each other a bit better.
As a group we decided to meet at 11.30 in Danson Park, which is where a lot of our sequence takes place. We decided that Danson Park would be a good place to film because its a big open space but it is still quite central so if we needed to get anything it would be easy enough for one of us to go home/go to a shop and get whatever we needed, luckily we were all prepared for the day ahead and didn't need to waste any time running around getting things we may have needed.
To film our sequence we used Esthers camera, we came together as a group and decided to use Esthers camera because it is the best quality camera and we would always have access to it if we needed to film anything again. We also used a tripod to make sure none of the shots were shaky and that we made sure the camera quality was at its finest, unfortunately it was a fairly windy day so some of the shots were a little bit shaky, which meant we had to go back to Danson Park at another date and re-shoot some of them to make sure they were the best we could do and the best shots we could get. Luckily we managed this and also got some extra shots we had been advised to do, so in the end it turned out to be a good thing that some of the shots were shaky otherwise we wouldn't have had the shots at the best quality.
We all worked together as a team to get the shots we needed. Nicole plays the main character in the film so she was acting, she also provided the costume. Esther provided the camera & tripod and I bought the storyboard and other papers that we needed.
Overall I think it was a successful day filming, even though we had to do some of the shots again it was still really good to get an idea of how we well we would work together when we are filming and how long everything would take and how well the shots would turn out. However, if we were to re-do this in the future I think would be a better idea to make sure that we checked how windy it would be to make sure it wont interfeir with the quality of the film.
As a group we decided to meet at 11.30 in Danson Park, which is where a lot of our sequence takes place. We decided that Danson Park would be a good place to film because its a big open space but it is still quite central so if we needed to get anything it would be easy enough for one of us to go home/go to a shop and get whatever we needed, luckily we were all prepared for the day ahead and didn't need to waste any time running around getting things we may have needed.
To film our sequence we used Esthers camera, we came together as a group and decided to use Esthers camera because it is the best quality camera and we would always have access to it if we needed to film anything again. We also used a tripod to make sure none of the shots were shaky and that we made sure the camera quality was at its finest, unfortunately it was a fairly windy day so some of the shots were a little bit shaky, which meant we had to go back to Danson Park at another date and re-shoot some of them to make sure they were the best we could do and the best shots we could get. Luckily we managed this and also got some extra shots we had been advised to do, so in the end it turned out to be a good thing that some of the shots were shaky otherwise we wouldn't have had the shots at the best quality.
We all worked together as a team to get the shots we needed. Nicole plays the main character in the film so she was acting, she also provided the costume. Esther provided the camera & tripod and I bought the storyboard and other papers that we needed.
Overall I think it was a successful day filming, even though we had to do some of the shots again it was still really good to get an idea of how we well we would work together when we are filming and how long everything would take and how well the shots would turn out. However, if we were to re-do this in the future I think would be a better idea to make sure that we checked how windy it would be to make sure it wont interfeir with the quality of the film.
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
The Main Character
The main character in our film is a teenage girl in her last years of secondary School, she is quite a popular girl and gets along with everyone in the school. In her spare time she listens to music and likes to spend alot of time with her friends watching movies and just talking, when shes not with he friends she likes to sepnd her time on social media websites and watching her favouite tv shows.
Her fashion sense isn't very popular but she is a very care-free person and does what she wants. She wears alot of tshirts made by her favourite bands and tv shows on and very rarely follows any fashion trends there may be. She also wears skinny jeans and owns several pairs all in different colours. She also owns many, many pairs of converses and likes to wear a different pair everyday. She also tries to change her nail varnish colour very week.
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
The importance of Typography
Today in class we discussed why the font used in a film's title sequence is so important. We looked at several titles sequences and as a class looked at how that reflects the film.
One of the first things we discussed was sans serif and serif fonts. Sans serif fonts are fonts without serifs (the edgy bits) at the end of strokes, these fonts are commonly associated with western/FBI/police films. Serif fonts are the opposite; fonts with serifs at the edge.
The first title sequence we looked at was the 'Catch me if you can' title sequence. http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/catch-me-if-you-can/
We found that the flow from each of the names was very smooth but there was constant movement, the smooth constant moving could represent the main character in the film. He is always changing his identity, however he is smooth so that nobody notices what he is doing, another thing that gives us this idea is the fact that throughout the title sequence the main character is seen in many different occupations, suggesting he is always moving and always changing. The font used is also a Sans serif font which again suggests the main character is smooth. We can also notice that this title sequence has been influenced by Saul Bass as there are alot of straight lines used to fit into the scene, which is similar to what Saul Bass does.
The next title sequence we looked at was the 'Lord of war' title sequence. http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/lord-of-war/
In this title sequence the names of the big stars and the main crew are focused to the centre and the other cast & crew are not as noticeable as they are put to the side. We also noticed that the writing is white and fairly small, this means that it is not the main focus, when we watched it we all found ourselves focusing on the story of the bullet in the background and not what the text was saying. The text itself is also in capital letters which suggests the seriousness of the film.
Th next and last title sequence we looked at was 'Forrest Gump' http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/forrest-gump/
Throughout this entire sequence the names were centred, this shows that is what the audience is supposed to be focusing on. The font used is a serif font, this suggests the film is set in the past as serif fonts are associated with the past and old newspapers. The background is also not too busy so it is easy to read. There is also a very gentle feeling to the sequence, the fact that there is also a feather floating around in the background makes this calm and gentle than the other two sequences we watched.
One of the first things we discussed was sans serif and serif fonts. Sans serif fonts are fonts without serifs (the edgy bits) at the end of strokes, these fonts are commonly associated with western/FBI/police films. Serif fonts are the opposite; fonts with serifs at the edge.
The first title sequence we looked at was the 'Catch me if you can' title sequence. http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/catch-me-if-you-can/
We found that the flow from each of the names was very smooth but there was constant movement, the smooth constant moving could represent the main character in the film. He is always changing his identity, however he is smooth so that nobody notices what he is doing, another thing that gives us this idea is the fact that throughout the title sequence the main character is seen in many different occupations, suggesting he is always moving and always changing. The font used is also a Sans serif font which again suggests the main character is smooth. We can also notice that this title sequence has been influenced by Saul Bass as there are alot of straight lines used to fit into the scene, which is similar to what Saul Bass does.The next title sequence we looked at was the 'Lord of war' title sequence. http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/lord-of-war/
In this title sequence the names of the big stars and the main crew are focused to the centre and the other cast & crew are not as noticeable as they are put to the side. We also noticed that the writing is white and fairly small, this means that it is not the main focus, when we watched it we all found ourselves focusing on the story of the bullet in the background and not what the text was saying. The text itself is also in capital letters which suggests the seriousness of the film.Th next and last title sequence we looked at was 'Forrest Gump' http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/forrest-gump/
Throughout this entire sequence the names were centred, this shows that is what the audience is supposed to be focusing on. The font used is a serif font, this suggests the film is set in the past as serif fonts are associated with the past and old newspapers. The background is also not too busy so it is easy to read. There is also a very gentle feeling to the sequence, the fact that there is also a feather floating around in the background makes this calm and gentle than the other two sequences we watched.Film Pitch 2
After speaking as a group and with some advice from Miss Alme, we have decided to change our film idea. The reason we have decided to do this is because we had an excellent idea for a title sequence, however it didnt really go with the genre and style of our original film idea, but we thought the title sequence idea was too good not to use & it was just easier to change our entire film idea.
Our new idea is a romance drama teen film. It starts with a young girl walking home, she takes the same route everyday & everyday a boy who walks the same way as her tried to pluck up the courage to talk to her. He eventually gets an excuse to talk to her when she drops her book. He gives it back to her & they start talking, they then begin to walk home with eachother everyday and become bestfriends, however the only way they talk to eachother in school is by exchanging notes through lockers because of their different social statuses. Her ex-bestfriend finds out about the two of them and tries to ruin her reputation as one of the popular kids, she succeeds in ruining her social status and begins to bully her, the bullying mostly occurs online until she attempts suicide. When she eventually comes out of hospital she has to attend group therapy to help her recover, when she arrives she sees him. as the group begins discussing problems and how they can be overcome she finds out more about him than she ever could have. They stand up for themselves in school and all is resolved.
Our new idea is a romance drama teen film. It starts with a young girl walking home, she takes the same route everyday & everyday a boy who walks the same way as her tried to pluck up the courage to talk to her. He eventually gets an excuse to talk to her when she drops her book. He gives it back to her & they start talking, they then begin to walk home with eachother everyday and become bestfriends, however the only way they talk to eachother in school is by exchanging notes through lockers because of their different social statuses. Her ex-bestfriend finds out about the two of them and tries to ruin her reputation as one of the popular kids, she succeeds in ruining her social status and begins to bully her, the bullying mostly occurs online until she attempts suicide. When she eventually comes out of hospital she has to attend group therapy to help her recover, when she arrives she sees him. as the group begins discussing problems and how they can be overcome she finds out more about him than she ever could have. They stand up for themselves in school and all is resolved.
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Codes & conventions of Teen drama
.jpg)
The genre of the film we are doing falls under a few genres, the main 3 are Romance/Teen drama. Some of the key features of a Romance film are that they explore the themes of, love at first sight, unrequited love, forbidden love, obsessive love, tragic love, etc. our film idea is more along the lines of, love at first sight and eventually tragic love. Romantic films serve as escapes for audiences and allows them to fantasize about having a love like the characters on screen, especially if the two people overcome any obstacles there may be in the way of their love, live a 'happily ever after' or declare their love for each other after years of ignoring it.From watching a few title sequences that feature our genre, I have discovered that they usually feature a lot of red and pink, which connotes love and passion and also anger and death.
The title sequence for the romance drama film 'One day' features pictures of a couple on a pin board. It also features a slow, romantic song. All the title sequences I watched heavily feature music with an acoustic guitar in the background, I think this is something we should include in our title sequence.
Some other things that feature in romantic/teen drama title sequences are meeting the main characters, and discovering things about them. This is key within most title sequences, but in a romance drama title sequence you should be able to get to know the characters and feel like you know them by the time the film starts. From watching many romance & drama title sequences we have felt like we know the main characters of the film within just a few minutes. This is something we would like to include in our title sequence. We would like the audience to feel a connection with the main character and feel like they know them and is someone they could be friends with by the time our title sequence is over.
Our genre also falls under 'teen drama'. A teen drama is a type of drama series that mainly focuses on the lives of teenagers and the teenage characters. In this genre there is usually a character who is an underdog, this character could be new to the school or is already an unpopular person. There is also usually a narrator in a teen drama. This gives the audience an idea of how that character feels and allows us to see the film from that characters perspective. In a teen drama title sequence there is usually music playing in the background. This is either upbeat or acoustic guitars/slower music. Music always plays a big part in a teen drama film, it will also play a big part in our title sequence.
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Conventions of a title sequence.
A title sequence is the method by which a film credits production & cast members utilizing visuals and sound. The opening credits list the most important members of the production & they are either on a black screen or over action. There may or may not be accompanying music. The aim of an opening sequence is to establish characters, settings, & genre.
Usually a title sequence will contain:
Usually a title sequence will contain:
- Details of the cast and crew
- The films title
- An introduction to the characters or character type
- Indication of place
- Indication of historical period
- Information regarding mood & tone
- Introduction to signature theme tune
- Information about genre
- Questions that the viewer finds intriguing (sets up enigmas)
- Patterns & types of editing that will be echoed in the remainder of the film
- Mise en scene & cinematography that will be echoed or elaborated upon later in the film.
- Name of production companies
- Producer
- Name of title
- Director
- Other key crew
- Executive producer
- Top billing actors
S.T.I.N.C.S.
S. Setting: Where & when is this film set?
T. Theme: What is the mood of the film?
What is the film really about?
I. Iconography: Costumes, Makeup, Props, etc, relevant to the genre.
N. Narrative: What is the story about?
C. Characters: Who are they?
What will they be like?
S. Style: Cinematography, sound, editing.
What will the film look & feel like?
T. Theme: What is the mood of the film?
What is the film really about?
I. Iconography: Costumes, Makeup, Props, etc, relevant to the genre.
N. Narrative: What is the story about?
C. Characters: Who are they?
What will they be like?
S. Style: Cinematography, sound, editing.
What will the film look & feel like?
Saturday, 25 January 2014
Barthes' Enigma theory
Barthes' enigma code is a theory that suggests a media text portrays a mystery to draw an audience in, pose questions & as such, become intrigued in the piece. For instance, a murder mystery will often not reveal the identity of the murderer until the end of the story which poses the question, 'who is the murderer?'
Barthes' theory of the 5 codes is a way of grouping signifiers according to the role they play in the text.
These are categorized as:
Barthes' theory of the 5 codes is a way of grouping signifiers according to the role they play in the text.
These are categorized as:
- The Hermeneutic Code- The voice of truth, This is an element in a story that is not explained, & therefore exists as an enigmas for the reader, raising questions.
- The Proairetic Code- The voice of empirics.
- The Semantic Code- The voice of the person.
- The Symbolic Code- The voice of the symbol.
- The Cultural Code- The voice of knowledge.
Personal Analysis: The perks of being a Wallflower.
The Perks of being a wallflower is a film based on the novel by Stephen Chbosky. It is about a 15 year old boy called Charlie. Charlie is an outsider in high school and struggles to make friends, especially after the suicide of his best friend & trying to cope with mental illness, this is until 2 seniors (Sam & Patrick) take him under their wing and help welcome him to the real world.The reason I have chose to analyse this titlesequence is because some of the genres featured are similar to ones we are using in our film, for example, Romance & Drama.
The first thing we see in the title sequence is the production companies names (Summit entertainment).
We then see a black screen with 'summit entertainment presents' in typewriter font, in the background there is also the noise of someone typing on a typewriter, this suggests that the main character enjoys writing and maybe aspires to be a writer. This also suggests that a typewriter is going to be a key feature in the film, and something we can expect to see alot of. This is followed by 'a mr. mudd production', this is still sticking to the typewriter font & sound.
The next thing to appear are the stars names. This may make the audience think of previous films these actors have been in and what their characters might be like and how different they may be compared to other films they have seen with this actor in it.
The title then fades into blackness and we begin to see moving lights, we can almost immediately assume these are in a tunnel. The fact that this location is featured suggests that it features once again in the film and is a key part for the audience to recognise. Later in the film we find out this location is of some importance to the 3 main characters and has an awful lot of meaning. The travelling through the tunnel continues as names of cast and crew appear on the screen in the typewriter font.
Personal analysis: Saul Bass- Walk on the wild side.
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/walk-on-the-wild-side/
The first thing we see in the title sequence for walk on the wild side is the production company names. However the first thing we notice is the music. The music has a sense of mystery to it making the audience wonder what the film will be about and if there is a big mystery and what it could possibly be, this makes the audience intrigued and want to watch on. The production company name then fades in and a pair of cat eyes appear, this is quickly joined by the rest of the body. The camera then begins to zoom in on the cat, this could suggest that the cat is of some importance to the film and is something we could expect to see fairly often. The title then fades into the screen and fades out to an aerial shot of the same black cat walking down a street, the names of who is starring then appear. This then fades out to a side view of the cat walking down a street, this could suggest change within the main characters life or a change within in the film. It then fades to a shot of the cats body walking towards the camera, this could suggest that any problems in the film may be faced head-on. A little later there is a side shot of the cat in front of a fence, it when switches to behind the fence, this could suggest that something bad happens in the film and the main character/a character ends up either in prison or in stuck somewhere/somehow. Sometimes the cat cannot be seen as it is being blocked by something, this suggests that, again, there is a sense of mystery to the film, as we want to know why the cat is walking behind things that obstruct our view of it.
There is then a scene of a fight with another cat. This suggests drama within the film, so there may be a dramatic fight where someone gets injured but the main character comes out find, just like the black cat does. It could also suggest a fight between 2 races as one cat is black and the other white. This scene is very fast paced which suggests that the film is calm and peaceful until something very bad happens. This then fades out to the black cat walking alone again. The fact that the cat is walking alone and fights with the only other cat along his journey suggests that one of the characters likes to be alone and doesn't make friends particularly easy. This then fades out to a man standing alone near a road in the middle of nowhere. This relates to the cat because like the man, he was always alone. This tells us this character is often alone and does not have many friends, a car then drives down the road and the man tries to hitchhike but they drive straight past him, this again, like the cat, suggests he does not make friends easily and people would rather leave this man alone. The screen then blacks out and the sequence ends at 03:03 minutes long.
The first thing we see in the title sequence for walk on the wild side is the production company names. However the first thing we notice is the music. The music has a sense of mystery to it making the audience wonder what the film will be about and if there is a big mystery and what it could possibly be, this makes the audience intrigued and want to watch on. The production company name then fades in and a pair of cat eyes appear, this is quickly joined by the rest of the body. The camera then begins to zoom in on the cat, this could suggest that the cat is of some importance to the film and is something we could expect to see fairly often. The title then fades into the screen and fades out to an aerial shot of the same black cat walking down a street, the names of who is starring then appear. This then fades out to a side view of the cat walking down a street, this could suggest change within the main characters life or a change within in the film. It then fades to a shot of the cats body walking towards the camera, this could suggest that any problems in the film may be faced head-on. A little later there is a side shot of the cat in front of a fence, it when switches to behind the fence, this could suggest that something bad happens in the film and the main character/a character ends up either in prison or in stuck somewhere/somehow. Sometimes the cat cannot be seen as it is being blocked by something, this suggests that, again, there is a sense of mystery to the film, as we want to know why the cat is walking behind things that obstruct our view of it.
There is then a scene of a fight with another cat. This suggests drama within the film, so there may be a dramatic fight where someone gets injured but the main character comes out find, just like the black cat does. It could also suggest a fight between 2 races as one cat is black and the other white. This scene is very fast paced which suggests that the film is calm and peaceful until something very bad happens. This then fades out to the black cat walking alone again. The fact that the cat is walking alone and fights with the only other cat along his journey suggests that one of the characters likes to be alone and doesn't make friends particularly easy. This then fades out to a man standing alone near a road in the middle of nowhere. This relates to the cat because like the man, he was always alone. This tells us this character is often alone and does not have many friends, a car then drives down the road and the man tries to hitchhike but they drive straight past him, this again, like the cat, suggests he does not make friends easily and people would rather leave this man alone. The screen then blacks out and the sequence ends at 03:03 minutes long.
Saul Bass
Saul
Bass was born on the 8th of May 1920 on died on the 25th
of April 1996 at the age of 75. He was an American graphic designer who was
best known for his designs of motion picture title sequences, film posters and
logo designs, he is also known as one of the greatest graphic designers of the
20th century. He became well known in the film industry in 1955
after creating the title sequence for ‘The Man with the Golden Arm’. The film is about a man called Frankie
Machine, he is a skilled card dealer and a one-time heroin addict, and he
spends 6 months in jail and rehab to help him. When he is released his old drug
dealer gets in touch with him to restart his old habit but Frankie doesn’t want
any of it, His drug dealer Louie is then killed and the police suspect his old
buyer Frankie. Bass chose an arm as the central image of the title sequence, he
chose it because it’s strong image relating to the central characters heroin
addiction.
Bass is famous for his use of simple, geometric shapes and their symbolism. He uses these shapes to create abstract images. Often in his work the images he creates delivers powerful messages to the audiences. These shapes were hand drawn by Bass himself. He had a talent of creating images with powerful meanings and could easily capture the mood of a film with the simple shapes
and designs he came up with.Even though Bass is most famous for his work in film he started off creating film posters, He was first hired by director and producer Otto Preminger. He then moved onto creating title sequences, creating ‘Carmen Jones’ (1954) as his first one. After working hard to become one of the most well-known graphic designers he was rewarded with an Oscar in 1968 for his short film Why Man
Creates.
Bass once described his main goal for his title sequences as being to ‘’try to reach for a simple, visual phrase that tells you what the picture is all about and evokes the essence of the story”.
Bass is famous for his use of simple, geometric shapes and their symbolism. He uses these shapes to create abstract images. Often in his work the images he creates delivers powerful messages to the audiences. These shapes were hand drawn by Bass himself. He had a talent of creating images with powerful meanings and could easily capture the mood of a film with the simple shapes
and designs he came up with.Even though Bass is most famous for his work in film he started off creating film posters, He was first hired by director and producer Otto Preminger. He then moved onto creating title sequences, creating ‘Carmen Jones’ (1954) as his first one. After working hard to become one of the most well-known graphic designers he was rewarded with an Oscar in 1968 for his short film Why Man
Creates.
Bass once described his main goal for his title sequences as being to ‘’try to reach for a simple, visual phrase that tells you what the picture is all about and evokes the essence of the story”.
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Film pitch.
This week in our media lessons we were put into groups, in our groups we had to think of a film idea.
Firstly in my group we discussed an idea for a horror film, the film would be set in a house where a man gets possessed by an evil spirit. We all agreed this could be quite hard to do and had already been done, but with females getting possessed, showing them as weak and vulnerable. We thought a male getting possessed wouldn't be as typical and could instead switch the roles with the male being shown as weak and vulnerable.
Our second idea was a zombie film, it would be set in a graveyard and in a town where a man is visiting the graveyard to put flowers at his friends grave, in a twist the mans friend comes back to life as a zombie and the chase begins. We also agreed that this would be fairly hard to film and sounded fairly like every other zombie film.
Our last film idea and the one we decided was best was set in a park where a teenage girl was walking her dog, while she is walking her dog she begins to hear voices but soon notices there is nobody there. After a few minutes the girl is kidnapped and wakes up in a alternate universe. She soon realizes she has to get out of the world she is in and back to the real world, however to get back she has to complete several tasks in a given amount of time & pass the 'curse' onto someone else in the real world. Sadly the teenage girl doesn't complete the last task in time and is trapped in the alternate universe. We all agreed that this was the best idea and the one that was the most obscure.
After we had discussed ideas and all agreed on a final idea, we had to create a pitch for our film. We used powerpoint to create multiple slides explaining our idea, who would star in our film, roughly how much we would spend creating the film, how much we would spend on advertisement etc, roughly how much it would make, when it would be released and who the target audience is.
The first slide included the name of the film, which we have changed to 'Alternate' since.
The second slide includes a few pictures of films that are fairly similar to ours, for example, The Chronicles of Narnia, Pans Labyrinth & Heroes.
The third slide is some research we did into roughly how much the film would make and how much it would cost. We studied the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. We found it made $291, 709, 845 and they spent $180, 000, 000 on the film in total, from this we decided how much we would like to spend on the film, which is what is on slide five.
On slide four, we looked at the film super 8 and how much that made and what it cost etc. The budget was $50,000,000 and in total made $126, 975, 169. This also helped us to decided how much we would spend on our film.
Slide six is the plot of our film. During this we decided this we decided who we would choose to play each character, We decided that the main character(the teenage girl) would be called Lucy and would be played by Amanda Seyfried. The girls brother would be called Jack and would be played by Ryan Reynolds. The stranger that takes her to the alternate universe would remain nameless and would be played by Benedict Cumberbatch, and the leader/queen of the alternate universe would be played by Tilda Swinton.
The next slide is what the classification would be. We decided then it would be a 15, however after getting some feedback from the class we have changed it to a rating 12.
Firstly in my group we discussed an idea for a horror film, the film would be set in a house where a man gets possessed by an evil spirit. We all agreed this could be quite hard to do and had already been done, but with females getting possessed, showing them as weak and vulnerable. We thought a male getting possessed wouldn't be as typical and could instead switch the roles with the male being shown as weak and vulnerable.
Our second idea was a zombie film, it would be set in a graveyard and in a town where a man is visiting the graveyard to put flowers at his friends grave, in a twist the mans friend comes back to life as a zombie and the chase begins. We also agreed that this would be fairly hard to film and sounded fairly like every other zombie film.
Our last film idea and the one we decided was best was set in a park where a teenage girl was walking her dog, while she is walking her dog she begins to hear voices but soon notices there is nobody there. After a few minutes the girl is kidnapped and wakes up in a alternate universe. She soon realizes she has to get out of the world she is in and back to the real world, however to get back she has to complete several tasks in a given amount of time & pass the 'curse' onto someone else in the real world. Sadly the teenage girl doesn't complete the last task in time and is trapped in the alternate universe. We all agreed that this was the best idea and the one that was the most obscure.
After we had discussed ideas and all agreed on a final idea, we had to create a pitch for our film. We used powerpoint to create multiple slides explaining our idea, who would star in our film, roughly how much we would spend creating the film, how much we would spend on advertisement etc, roughly how much it would make, when it would be released and who the target audience is.
The first slide included the name of the film, which we have changed to 'Alternate' since.
The second slide includes a few pictures of films that are fairly similar to ours, for example, The Chronicles of Narnia, Pans Labyrinth & Heroes.
The third slide is some research we did into roughly how much the film would make and how much it would cost. We studied the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. We found it made $291, 709, 845 and they spent $180, 000, 000 on the film in total, from this we decided how much we would like to spend on the film, which is what is on slide five.
On slide four, we looked at the film super 8 and how much that made and what it cost etc. The budget was $50,000,000 and in total made $126, 975, 169. This also helped us to decided how much we would spend on our film.
Slide six is the plot of our film. During this we decided this we decided who we would choose to play each character, We decided that the main character(the teenage girl) would be called Lucy and would be played by Amanda Seyfried. The girls brother would be called Jack and would be played by Ryan Reynolds. The stranger that takes her to the alternate universe would remain nameless and would be played by Benedict Cumberbatch, and the leader/queen of the alternate universe would be played by Tilda Swinton.
The next slide is what the classification would be. We decided then it would be a 15, however after getting some feedback from the class we have changed it to a rating 12.
Thursday, 16 January 2014
Napoleon Dynamite timeline
00.00 - 00.01 = red carpet
00.01 - 00.06 = plate with food and 'fox searchlight pictures' written in sauce
00.07 - 00.07 = plate taken away
00.08 - 00.09 = white carpet
00.10 - 00.14 = plate with food and 'paramount pictures presents' written in sauce
00.14 - 00.15 = plate taken away
00.15 - 00.16 = blue carpet
00.16 - 00.21 = plate with food and 'in association with mtn films' written in sauce
00.21 - 00.22 = plate taken away
00.23 - 00.24 = shot of wallet
00.25 - 00.29 = shot of UFO abduction card, with 'starring Jon Heder' on it
00.30 - 00.36 = preston high school card
00.37 - 00.38 = green carpet
00.39 - 00.44 = plate of food with 'Jon Gries' written in sauce
00.44 - 00.45 = plate taken away
00.45 -00.46 = green carpet
00.47 - 00.48 = mustardy carpet
00.48 - 00.53 = plate of food with 'Aaron Ruell' written in sauce
00.54 - 00.55 = mustardy carpet
00.56 - 00.56 = green flooring
00.57 - 01.01 = tin of food with 'Efren Ramirez' written in sauce
01.01 - 01.02 = tin taken away
01.02 - 01.03 = green flooring
01.03 - 01.04 = mustardy flooring
01.04 - 01.08 = food with Tina Majorino
01.09 - 01.10 = mustardy flooring
01.10 - 01.11 = wooden flooring
01.12 - 01.15 = ninja star with 'with diedrich bader' written on it
01.16 - 01.16 = wooden flooring
01.17 - 01.17 = blue patterned carpet
01.18 - 01.19 = books placed on carpet
01.19 - 01.20 = book opened
01.20 - 01.26 = takes out library book return card, the card says 'casting by Jory Weitz'
01.26 - 01.27 = put card back
01.27 - 01.28 = open new book
01.29 - 01.34 = takes out library book return card, the card says 'music by John Swihart'
01.35 - 01.36 = put card back
01.36 - 01.37 = pushes books away
01.37 - 01.38 = carpet
01.38 - 01.42 = box of sweets placed on carpet, the box says 'Edited by Jeremy coon'
01.42 - 01.43 = box flicked away
01.43 - 01.45 = beige carpet
01.46 - 01.53 = lip balm with 'Production design by Cory Lorenzen'
01.53 - 01.54 = blue carpet
01.55 - 02.01 = drawing placed onto screen with 'Director of photography Munn Powell'
02.01 - 02.02 = blue carpet
02.02 - 02.03 = beige carpet
02.04 - 02.09 = drawing placed onto screen with 'Executive producer Jory Weitz'
02.10 - 02.11 = mustardy carpet
02.11 - 02.12 = stripey carpet
02.13 - 02.17 = 'produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt, Sean Covel' appears on the screen
02.17 - 02.18 = stripey carpet
02.19 - 02.19 = laminate flooring
02.20 - 02.30 = pencils, rubber and protractor placed onto floor with 'Written by Jared Hess and Jekusha Hess' written on it
02.30 - 02.31 = pencils, rubber and protractor wiped away
02.32 - 02.33 = blue carpet 02.33 - 02.37 = plate of food placed down with 'Directed by Jared Hess' written with sauce on it
02.37 - 02.38 = burger bun out on top of burger
02.38 - 04.01 = black screen
00.01 - 00.06 = plate with food and 'fox searchlight pictures' written in sauce
00.07 - 00.07 = plate taken away
00.08 - 00.09 = white carpet
00.10 - 00.14 = plate with food and 'paramount pictures presents' written in sauce
00.14 - 00.15 = plate taken away
00.15 - 00.16 = blue carpet
00.16 - 00.21 = plate with food and 'in association with mtn films' written in sauce
00.21 - 00.22 = plate taken away
00.23 - 00.24 = shot of wallet
00.25 - 00.29 = shot of UFO abduction card, with 'starring Jon Heder' on it
00.30 - 00.36 = preston high school card
00.37 - 00.38 = green carpet
00.39 - 00.44 = plate of food with 'Jon Gries' written in sauce
00.44 - 00.45 = plate taken away
00.45 -00.46 = green carpet
00.47 - 00.48 = mustardy carpet
00.48 - 00.53 = plate of food with 'Aaron Ruell' written in sauce
00.54 - 00.55 = mustardy carpet
00.56 - 00.56 = green flooring
00.57 - 01.01 = tin of food with 'Efren Ramirez' written in sauce
01.01 - 01.02 = tin taken away
01.02 - 01.03 = green flooring
01.03 - 01.04 = mustardy flooring
01.04 - 01.08 = food with Tina Majorino
01.09 - 01.10 = mustardy flooring
01.10 - 01.11 = wooden flooring
01.12 - 01.15 = ninja star with 'with diedrich bader' written on it
01.16 - 01.16 = wooden flooring
01.17 - 01.17 = blue patterned carpet
01.18 - 01.19 = books placed on carpet
01.19 - 01.20 = book opened
01.20 - 01.26 = takes out library book return card, the card says 'casting by Jory Weitz'
01.26 - 01.27 = put card back
01.27 - 01.28 = open new book
01.29 - 01.34 = takes out library book return card, the card says 'music by John Swihart'
01.35 - 01.36 = put card back
01.36 - 01.37 = pushes books away
01.37 - 01.38 = carpet
01.38 - 01.42 = box of sweets placed on carpet, the box says 'Edited by Jeremy coon'
01.42 - 01.43 = box flicked away
01.43 - 01.45 = beige carpet
01.46 - 01.53 = lip balm with 'Production design by Cory Lorenzen'
01.53 - 01.54 = blue carpet
01.55 - 02.01 = drawing placed onto screen with 'Director of photography Munn Powell'
02.01 - 02.02 = blue carpet
02.02 - 02.03 = beige carpet
02.04 - 02.09 = drawing placed onto screen with 'Executive producer Jory Weitz'
02.10 - 02.11 = mustardy carpet
02.11 - 02.12 = stripey carpet
02.13 - 02.17 = 'produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt, Sean Covel' appears on the screen
02.17 - 02.18 = stripey carpet
02.19 - 02.19 = laminate flooring
02.20 - 02.30 = pencils, rubber and protractor placed onto floor with 'Written by Jared Hess and Jekusha Hess' written on it
02.30 - 02.31 = pencils, rubber and protractor wiped away
02.32 - 02.33 = blue carpet 02.33 - 02.37 = plate of food placed down with 'Directed by Jared Hess' written with sauce on it
02.37 - 02.38 = burger bun out on top of burger
02.38 - 04.01 = black screen
Personal analysis: Napoleon Dynamite.
Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 comedy about a high school student, called Napoleon Dynamite, who lives with his grandmother and his older brother Kip.
We can tell right from the start of the sequence that Napoleon may live with an elderly person or someone who likes a particular style. We can tell this because the carpets are fairly old fashioned and the colours are very bright and do not stick to one particular colour like what we would expect to see in a modern day household.
Also at the start of the clip there is birds chirping in the background which suggests that this film is set somewhere in the suburbs. We can tell this because if it was set in a city there would be the noise of traffic in the background. The fact that it is set in the suburbs could also suggest that nothing exciting ever usually happens there and it's not particularly interesting.
From this clip we can also tell that the main character is a fairly unhealthy, teenage boy. We can tell this because there is alot of unhealthy foods, and alot of sauce on the plates used at the start, and the foods used throughout the clip are fairly unhealthy. However there is one shot (00.58) where there are some healthier foods, this suggests that Napoleon is trying to be healthy but does not want to give up his fatty, unhealthy foods. There is also a shot (01.39) of a box of sweets, that say 'a fat free food' this also suggests that he is trying to be more healthy but again, does not want to give up on unhealthy foods. The sweets also suggest that he may have fairly bad teeth.
The shot of the cards in Napoleons wallet (00.25) suggest that he is a bit of a geeky, unpopular character. We can tell this because he has 'UFO abduction insurance'. Not many people are willing to admit that they believe in aliens, so Napoleon can't have many friends as not many people will have that in common with him. Later on in the clip we also see that he has a book about Bigfoot and a book about science, this also suggests that he is geeky and is a skeptic.
We also learn that Napoleon is fairly organised and doesn't like to be in trouble as he is checking when his borrowed library books are due back, this also suggest he is a bit geeky and likes to read. We can also see that he is organised because later in the clip (02.21) he has school equipment out and is prepared. This again, could make him be seen as geeky. The fact that his pencils are sharp suggests that he like to draw and is always doodling whenever he can.
We can tell right from the start of the sequence that Napoleon may live with an elderly person or someone who likes a particular style. We can tell this because the carpets are fairly old fashioned and the colours are very bright and do not stick to one particular colour like what we would expect to see in a modern day household.
Also at the start of the clip there is birds chirping in the background which suggests that this film is set somewhere in the suburbs. We can tell this because if it was set in a city there would be the noise of traffic in the background. The fact that it is set in the suburbs could also suggest that nothing exciting ever usually happens there and it's not particularly interesting.
From this clip we can also tell that the main character is a fairly unhealthy, teenage boy. We can tell this because there is alot of unhealthy foods, and alot of sauce on the plates used at the start, and the foods used throughout the clip are fairly unhealthy. However there is one shot (00.58) where there are some healthier foods, this suggests that Napoleon is trying to be healthy but does not want to give up his fatty, unhealthy foods. There is also a shot (01.39) of a box of sweets, that say 'a fat free food' this also suggests that he is trying to be more healthy but again, does not want to give up on unhealthy foods. The sweets also suggest that he may have fairly bad teeth.
The shot of the cards in Napoleons wallet (00.25) suggest that he is a bit of a geeky, unpopular character. We can tell this because he has 'UFO abduction insurance'. Not many people are willing to admit that they believe in aliens, so Napoleon can't have many friends as not many people will have that in common with him. Later on in the clip we also see that he has a book about Bigfoot and a book about science, this also suggests that he is geeky and is a skeptic.
We also learn that Napoleon is fairly organised and doesn't like to be in trouble as he is checking when his borrowed library books are due back, this also suggest he is a bit geeky and likes to read. We can also see that he is organised because later in the clip (02.21) he has school equipment out and is prepared. This again, could make him be seen as geeky. The fact that his pencils are sharp suggests that he like to draw and is always doodling whenever he can.
Monday, 13 January 2014
The Art of the Film Title Throughout Cinema History
Read article, link it to blog and show that you have read and understood it by picking out at least five points which are of interest to you and copying, pasting and commenting on them.
1. 'Note that variations of the director’s name are featured in five ways' I like the that the director has his name featured this many times. I find it interesting that he would choose to do this, and I also wonder why he chose to do this. I think its a very unusual thing to do, I like the way he has used different fonts each time his name has been wrote, I also think its a good idea to include the directors name several time because it makes people more aware of who they are and what they do. I have never seen this been used in a title sequence before, therefore many directors may not like this style and may not like to be that heavily featured.
2. 'Animation effects like the ones you see in rotoscopes actually pre-date film. But the power of filmmaking was enormous, and it tempted thousands, including many artists, to try their hand at this new medium' I like that filmmaking creates so many opportunities for so many different people in so many different jobs. I think using artists to create title sequences is a great idea as drawings and animations are so interesting to look at. Using artists also allows people to discover new interests and other peoples work.
3. 'The power of minimalism is shown in the opening sequence for Ridley Scott’s “Alien” (1979).' I think its interesting that such a huge film has a not so huge title sequence, when you would've thought that it being a huge film would have a big, expensive title sequence. But it works. I like how simple it is, its not making a big deal of itself and is great for something so simple. It is also something we could consider using for our title sequence, something simple.
4. 'Pixar and Disney have reserved crucial parts in the branding of their films for the title sequences. Using animated characters to introduce viewers to the story became a popular trend. Such talented graphic designers as Susan Bradley (Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., WALL-E, Ratatouille), Jaimi Caliri (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events), Dave Nalle (Corpse Bride), Michael Riley (The Back-Up Plan, Kung Fu Panda) and Michael Curtis (Brother Bear) use all manner of tools to test different approaches to designing titles' I like the idea of introducing the characters at an early stage, its a great way to get the audience to connect with the characters early on and to get an idea of what they are like. Its a good idea to get the audience more involved in the title sequence.
5. 'In the title sequence for “Up in the Air” (2009), the designers at Shadowplay Studios rely on aerial photography.' Aerial photography is a really good to way to present a film called 'up in the air' its clever and relates to the film. Aerial photography is also a good way to show where the film is set. I like this idea, however it would be very hard to do for our own title sequences.
1. 'Note that variations of the director’s name are featured in five ways' I like the that the director has his name featured this many times. I find it interesting that he would choose to do this, and I also wonder why he chose to do this. I think its a very unusual thing to do, I like the way he has used different fonts each time his name has been wrote, I also think its a good idea to include the directors name several time because it makes people more aware of who they are and what they do. I have never seen this been used in a title sequence before, therefore many directors may not like this style and may not like to be that heavily featured.
2. 'Animation effects like the ones you see in rotoscopes actually pre-date film. But the power of filmmaking was enormous, and it tempted thousands, including many artists, to try their hand at this new medium' I like that filmmaking creates so many opportunities for so many different people in so many different jobs. I think using artists to create title sequences is a great idea as drawings and animations are so interesting to look at. Using artists also allows people to discover new interests and other peoples work.
3. 'The power of minimalism is shown in the opening sequence for Ridley Scott’s “Alien” (1979).' I think its interesting that such a huge film has a not so huge title sequence, when you would've thought that it being a huge film would have a big, expensive title sequence. But it works. I like how simple it is, its not making a big deal of itself and is great for something so simple. It is also something we could consider using for our title sequence, something simple.
4. 'Pixar and Disney have reserved crucial parts in the branding of their films for the title sequences. Using animated characters to introduce viewers to the story became a popular trend. Such talented graphic designers as Susan Bradley (Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., WALL-E, Ratatouille), Jaimi Caliri (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events), Dave Nalle (Corpse Bride), Michael Riley (The Back-Up Plan, Kung Fu Panda) and Michael Curtis (Brother Bear) use all manner of tools to test different approaches to designing titles' I like the idea of introducing the characters at an early stage, its a great way to get the audience to connect with the characters early on and to get an idea of what they are like. Its a good idea to get the audience more involved in the title sequence.
5. 'In the title sequence for “Up in the Air” (2009), the designers at Shadowplay Studios rely on aerial photography.' Aerial photography is a really good to way to present a film called 'up in the air' its clever and relates to the film. Aerial photography is also a good way to show where the film is set. I like this idea, however it would be very hard to do for our own title sequences.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)