This video helped give us inspiration for our own film titles and what to include in our opening and when:
A Brief History of Title Design from Ian Albinson on Vimeo.
Title Design
We researched titles using www.artofthetitle.com. From here, we were able to look up thriller films that are similar to ours to see how their opening titles were handled. This is an example of one opening that our group looked at:
A Brief History of Title Design from Ian Albinson on Vimeo.
A Brief History of Title Design from Ian Albinson on Vimeo.
Film Opening Research
To help us understand what is needed in our film opening, it is important that we research various film openings to get an idea of what should appear and when. I chose 3 film openings and wrote what I saw in each one:
Casino-
Production company ident: classic Universal ident, lasts around 27 seconds
Black background, no music.
'Universal Pictures and Syalis D.A & Legende Enterprises Present' fade off
'A De Final/ Cappa Production' fade off
'Adapted from a true story' fade off
'1983' fade off
Action: around 40 seconds in a man walks to his car and as he turns on the engine, the car explodes and the frame is filled with fire from the explosion.
'A Martin Scorcese Picture' appears on the screen over the action.
Main actor/actress: 'Robert De Niro'
Supporting actors/actresses: 'Sharon Stone'
Title of film: 'Casino'
Various cast members names
Night of The Living Dead-
Action: long winding road, car comes from the distance
'An Image Ten Production' overlays the scene
Action continues throughout the opening, with cast members and titles overlayed in white writing.
Title: 'The Night of the Living Dead'
Production crew names: basically all of the production crew are listed in the opening sequence, from make-up supervisor to continuity.
Looking at the opening to these very different films has shown me that the opening sequences usually have the following things in the following order:
- Edward Scissorhands
- Casino
- Night Of The Living Dead
Edward Scissorhands-
Production company ident: 20th century fox ident but changed to fit the film with snow falling, blue lens and Edward Scissorhands music. Lasts for about 7 seconds before fading out.
'Twentieth Century Fox Presents A Tim Burton Film 'oo
Title of film: 'Edward Scissorhands'
Pans across various things like old doors and machinery throughout the credits with cast names etc faded on top.ii
Main actor/actress: 'Johnny Depp'
Main supporting actor/actress: 'Winona Ryder'
Various cast members names
Production crew names and roles: 'Music by...' "Casting by...". "Special Makeup and effects produced by..." "Edited by..." "Production Designer...". "Director of Photography...".
Main supporting actor/actress: 'Winona Ryder'
Various cast members names
Production crew names and roles: 'Music by...' "Casting by...". "Special Makeup and effects produced by..." "Edited by..." "Production Designer...". "Director of Photography...".
Casino-
Production company ident: classic Universal ident, lasts around 27 seconds
Black background, no music.
'Universal Pictures and Syalis D.A & Legende Enterprises Present' fade off
'A De Final/ Cappa Production' fade off
'Adapted from a true story' fade off
'1983' fade off
Action: around 40 seconds in a man walks to his car and as he turns on the engine, the car explodes and the frame is filled with fire from the explosion.
'A Martin Scorcese Picture' appears on the screen over the action.
Main actor/actress: 'Robert De Niro'
Supporting actors/actresses: 'Sharon Stone'
Title of film: 'Casino'
Various cast members names
Night of The Living Dead-
Action: long winding road, car comes from the distance
'An Image Ten Production' overlays the scene
Action continues throughout the opening, with cast members and titles overlayed in white writing.
Title: 'The Night of the Living Dead'
Production crew names: basically all of the production crew are listed in the opening sequence, from make-up supervisor to continuity.
Looking at the opening to these very different films has shown me that the opening sequences usually have the following things in the following order:
- the production company ident
- action before the title
- title of film
- names of main actors/actresses followed by the supporting actors names
- names of some of the production crew
Obviously not every film goes by this, but from my research this is what I found to be the most typical starting order. For my opening sequence I think I may roughly follow the above, with an ident first, but I think I may have the cast members names and production crew names after, then the title, as I'm not sure if I want to overlay titles over the action in my film. However, this could change depending on my film opening.
After researching and gaining an understanding of the conventions of film openings, I now feel ready to research film idents.
After researching and gaining an understanding of the conventions of film openings, I now feel ready to research film idents.
Preliminary Task
After researching film-making techniques, I felt confident enough to start my preliminary task.
For my preliminary task I worked with Jon and Jontie. We were very happy with our piece, as we felt that a lot of things went well, and we only faced a few challenges.
I felt that the frames were the right length of time, and that we followed the 180 degree rule in the conversation between the two actors. We had no interruptions throughout the filming process, and everything went considerably smoothly and we made decisions (like what position to shoot from) quite quickly. We also worked well as a team, and I feel that the piece was appropriate for the audience (my class and Mr Hood) as they all found it humorous and no one was alienated. I was happy as well with the over the shoulder shots in the conversation between Jon and Jontie, as you could still see the expression on Jon's face after Jontie had stormed off, which was effective. The lighting was good as well, as you could clearly see the features of Jon and Jontie and of their surroundings. The framing was good also, as all of Jontie and Jon were in the frame, and no ones head got cut off by the camera.
We did struggle with continuity a little bit, as when one frame of the back of Jontie walking switched to a frame of the front of Jontie walking, we had to be careful that we didn't make it look like he was walking in a different direction or walking on a different foot than the one he started out on. We also failed to get the name of the building in to the establishing shot, which we could re do. In the first frame, there was the noise of a lawn mower, which was annoying, but could be overdubbed with sound. Below is the preliminary task:
Now that my preliminary task is finished, I can now focus on the research for my main task. The next stage is to research various film openings.
For my preliminary task I worked with Jon and Jontie. We were very happy with our piece, as we felt that a lot of things went well, and we only faced a few challenges.
I felt that the frames were the right length of time, and that we followed the 180 degree rule in the conversation between the two actors. We had no interruptions throughout the filming process, and everything went considerably smoothly and we made decisions (like what position to shoot from) quite quickly. We also worked well as a team, and I feel that the piece was appropriate for the audience (my class and Mr Hood) as they all found it humorous and no one was alienated. I was happy as well with the over the shoulder shots in the conversation between Jon and Jontie, as you could still see the expression on Jon's face after Jontie had stormed off, which was effective. The lighting was good as well, as you could clearly see the features of Jon and Jontie and of their surroundings. The framing was good also, as all of Jontie and Jon were in the frame, and no ones head got cut off by the camera.
We did struggle with continuity a little bit, as when one frame of the back of Jontie walking switched to a frame of the front of Jontie walking, we had to be careful that we didn't make it look like he was walking in a different direction or walking on a different foot than the one he started out on. We also failed to get the name of the building in to the establishing shot, which we could re do. In the first frame, there was the noise of a lawn mower, which was annoying, but could be overdubbed with sound. Below is the preliminary task:
Now that my preliminary task is finished, I can now focus on the research for my main task. The next stage is to research various film openings.
Film Making Research
Before making my own films, I need to research some basic film-making rules. Here is a summary of the rules I investigated.
Continuity
Continuity within films is where the props, characters, places and objects seen by the viewer is kept consistent over a period of time. When it is noticeable that something has changed (i.e. a man has a watch on his wrist in one shot, and in the next shot, he has no watch) then it is called a continuity error. Continuity errors are often subtle and not noticeable, but when noticed can sometimes ruin the illusion of the film. This video shows some examples of continuity errors in popular films:
Some of the mistakes shown in this clip aren't continuity errors but are anachronisms, which is where objects are shown in the clip/film that don't belong to the period of time where the piece is set. For example, at 1:02 in Gladiator, a film set in the Roman times, a gas canister is seen on the back of a chariot.
180 Degree Rule
The 180 Degree Rule in film-making is where there is an invisible line between two characters or a character and an object that the camera should not cross. If the line is crossed, then the characters magically change sides and swap places, or their eyeline doesn't quite meet the other character, which can disorientate the audience. This video explains the 180 Degree Rule, how to stick to it, and what to avoid.
Continuity
Continuity within films is where the props, characters, places and objects seen by the viewer is kept consistent over a period of time. When it is noticeable that something has changed (i.e. a man has a watch on his wrist in one shot, and in the next shot, he has no watch) then it is called a continuity error. Continuity errors are often subtle and not noticeable, but when noticed can sometimes ruin the illusion of the film. This video shows some examples of continuity errors in popular films:
180 Degree Rule
The 180 Degree Rule in film-making is where there is an invisible line between two characters or a character and an object that the camera should not cross. If the line is crossed, then the characters magically change sides and swap places, or their eyeline doesn't quite meet the other character, which can disorientate the audience. This video explains the 180 Degree Rule, how to stick to it, and what to avoid.
Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is the composition of a frame or of an image. The frame/image is divided up in to 9 equal sections, to make it look more satisfying to the audience and to make it look more visually appealing.
The still of Morgan Freeman in the film se7en shows the rule of thirds. The subject (Morgan) is placed at a point where two of the lines cross. His eyes are on the level with the horizontal line, and his body is lined up with the vertical line on the right, with an equal amount of the background behind him.
An image or a frame can be split into diagonal equal sections aswell, however this isn't considered to be a proper use of rule of thirds, but it still does work, as it can add an interesting dimension to a frame or an image that is different to the traditional rule of thirds. The image above shows the red lines in which a frame can be split in to, to give an interesting look to an image or a frame.
Shots
There are many different types of shots that can be used in film-making:
Establishing shot (EST): Establishes where the action takes place - sets the scene.
Wide shot (WS): Often (but not always) used as an establishing shot.
Long shot (LS): A shot which shows all or most of a fairly large subject.
Medium long shot (MLS): Knees to head with some background.
Medium shot (MS): Waist to head.
Medium two shot (M2S): Similar to MS, but with two people.
Medium close up (MCU): Head and shoulders.
Close Up (CU): Shows a character's face, used to show emotion.
Big close up (BCU): Forehead to chin, used to show extreme emotion.
Extreme close up (ECU): A very tight shot, for example someone's eye or a door handle.
Over the shoulder (OTS): Used during a conversation, MCU and the other person's head/shoulder/back etc.
Overhead shot (OH): Camera will be directly over the actors.
High angle (H/A): Could be used to make the object/person look powerless.
Low angle (L/A): Could be used to make the object/person look powerful.
Deep shot (DS): When something is in the foreground and something else is in the background.
I now understand some of the basic rules that will allow me to produce high quality coursework. I will start with the prescribed Preliminary Task.
Course Summary (Commissions)
Foundation in Portfolio Media
This is a coursework unit where candidates produce a media artefact from a series of briefs.
This process involves progression from a pre-production, preliminary exercise to a more fully
realised piece. The briefs offered are: print, video, audio and website. Candidates present their
research and planning in either paper based or electronic format and do an evaluation in
electronic format, based on a series of prompt questions.
Video preliminary exercise: continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening
a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom
she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on
action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.
Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last the maximum of two minutes.
All video and audiomaterial must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception
of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks may be
done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group.
This is a coursework unit where candidates produce a media artefact from a series of briefs.
This process involves progression from a pre-production, preliminary exercise to a more fully
realised piece. The briefs offered are: print, video, audio and website. Candidates present their
research and planning in either paper based or electronic format and do an evaluation in
electronic format, based on a series of prompt questions.
Video preliminary exercise: continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening
a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom
she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on
action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.
Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last the maximum of two minutes.
All video and audiomaterial must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception
of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks may be
done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group.
Welcome
This is my AS Media blog, where everything relevant to the research and planning of the AS course will be posted.
This will be made up of things such as embedded video and sound clips, written explanations and media artefacts that relate to my work.
This will be made up of things such as embedded video and sound clips, written explanations and media artefacts that relate to my work.
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