Jelly Baby activity

The jelly baby activity was a great help to the production of our film opening. It allowed us to break down a film opening into its most simplistic form and see all the key elements of it. For example we were able to see the specific order the institutional logos come in. It has also shown us the type of shots used in major productions. This has helped us to create a more professional looking piece as it has allowed us to see how large-scale productions have been made using professional techniques. 
During this activity we used jelly babies to represent the actor/actress starring in the film, and depending on the shot type used e.g. long shot/mid shot, gave an idea as to how much of a jelly baby was to be shown. We placed the jelly babies on post-it notes with the details of the shot type and length of the shot along with the actor's name. This helped to create a very simplistic diagram as to what a title sequence contains and how to create a title sequence. We used this to create a storyboard.
This activity helped our group to work well as a team.

Why the film opening title sequence remake?

The task for our film remake was to take a well known film and remake it using our limited facilities and resources. The idea behind this film remake is to familiarize ourselves using all the filming and editing equipment which we have at our disposal. It will also help to give an idea as to what genre of film we hope to create. The film opening that we have chosen to remake is The Reservoir Dogs intro scene.
With this remake we hope to learn how important an intro is to a film and how the intro scene alone can impact on the rest of the film. Also we hope to learn more about the camerawork used in the original opening. This remake has also influenced my ideas for my own film opening. I am going to make a film in the crime / drama genre, and so I have chosen this film as The Reservoir Dogs is about a crime group. This has caused us to think about the conventions of a crime drama film. It has also helped us create our own characters and storyline which are key elements to a film. It has also educated us on the importance of location in a film opening, showing that going out and using locations other than a house or local road is going to create a more professional looking piece.

research into my chosen genre

Research into my chosen genre of Crime /drama

Crime / drama genre is the genre that fictionalises crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is one of the most popular genres of films. It can incorporate them s of criminality, policing, race and social and cultural values. It revolves around the actions of a criminal mastermind.

Crime dramas very often focus on murder and serial killing , which creates great anxiety amongst the audience. They can often incorporate different aspects of law enforcement including the police, detectives, psychologists and lawyers.

They often prompt debate on the question of guilt or innocence, and on morality. They usually end with a resolution, for instance the catching of the murderer.

They are often set in normal everyday environments allowing the audience to empathise with the ordinary people in the movie.

This genre can extend from the realistic portrayals of real life criminals to far- fetched evil actions of fictional villains.

They can incorporate power struggles between divisions in the police and between police and the judicial system. There can be conflict between different methods of policing.

On the other hand, they can show how teamwork builds and contributes to success. They can also show how dedicated policemen have to make sacrifices in their personal lives to succeed in their jobs.

Crime dramas tend to be a male dominated genre although there are exceptions to this.

Crime dramas can incorporate gruesome depictions of killings, including high intensity graphics.

The genre is usually fast paced.

There are many sub genres of crime dramas

• Detective fiction
• Legal thrillers – 12 Angry Men
• Crime comedies – Lock, Stock and Two smoking Barrels
• Crime Thrillers – Silence of The Lambs
• Mob Gangster Films – centre on organised crime or the mafia -Once Upon A Time in America  Goodfellas, Scarface.
• Film Noir – a distinct style of crime drama popular throughout 1940s and 1950s – has a black and white visual style and stark lighting effects – The Maltese Falcon

The opening Sequence of Goodfellas

Goodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. The chilling opening sequence gives an explosive introduction to the cast and crew. It was designed by Saul Bass.

The opening sequence begins with white credits on a black background flashing off and on to the screen. It is accompanied by sound effects of a car swishing past really fast.

This leads the audience in to a scene of a car travelling along the road.

The time and place is set by the credit New York 1970.

The audience is presented with three men, obviously very tired, driving along in a large black car. They hear noises coming from the rear of the car. They pull over into a forest. The lighting is dark, connoting mystery, and the red lights from the car denote danger. They open the boot and discover that the man they thought was dead is still alive. One of the men sticks his knife into the body many times with great force and the other shoots him at blank range many times. This is totally gratuitous violence – just one of those acts would have killed him. The audience therefore expects the film to contain a great deal of violence.

The camera turns to a close up of one of the gangsters faces. He says, “ as far back as I can remember, I  wanted to be a gangster”.  This is accompanied by a very jazzy song, From Rags To Riches. This gives an idea of a glamorous lifestyle full of high living.

Opening Sequence of Anatomy of a Murder

The opening sequence of this movie takes the title and gives a literal interpretation to it. Again it is the work of Saul Bass. Immediately on watching this opening, you know you are not going to get a happy ending to the film.

Each member of the crew is presented next to a dissembled body.

It begins by showing a whole body and the director is presented. Then each piece of the body appears in turn, appearing like part of a jigsaw. Cut out animation is used here. The parts of the body are cut from paper and appear on a dark grey background in the upper left hand quarter of the screen. There are arms legs, a decapitated head.

The jazzy non-diegetic music from Duke Ellington adds life and a sense of glamour.

The opening cuts to show a car travelling along a road. Immediately the interest of the audience is aroused.

Student title sequence 'The Package'

Genre

The genre is a crime, as the opening creates a sense of illegal doing and actions.

Titles

The main film title appears after a fade to black transition which connotes time passing. The font used is very basic as it is white on a black background which focuses all the attention on the title. The other teenager that he meets with is dressed in full black, this gives connotations of danger and evil. This then allows the audience to make assumptions as to what is happening.

Sound and Atmosphere

The opening begins with a shot of a teenager walking up to a girl in a pink coat and hugging her. There is a non-diegetic voice over 'I've gotta do this'. This creates a sense of mystery as to what he's got to do. It also creates a sense of tension as to what is going to happen later on. The non-diegetic sound 'you got the goods?' adds to the mysterious atmosphere as the audience is intrigued as to what the 'goods' are which draws them into the film. The non-diegetic music playing is very peaceful and slow paced which connotes a calm atmosphere but also creates a sense of concern as to what is to follow. As he then goes to pick up a bag hidden behind a tree stump the music changes and becomes much slower paced. This gives connotations that now he can’t turn back.

Character and Mise

The girl wearing the pink jacket gives connotations of a stereotypical female which also connotes that she is weak and vulnerable. The male is wearing a black coat which connotes a sense of darkness and evil, which also connotes that he may not be doing something legal.

Camera Angles

The long shot of the teenager walking up to the girl in the pink coat combined with the shaky camera, connotes that they are being watched by someone which creates a sense of mystery and tension as to what is going to happen. The shot then changes to a long shot of the teenage boy walking down a path. This gives connotations of his vulnerability and connotes that only he can walk the path he has chosen.


Editing

There is yet another fade to black transition which connotes of more time passing. When the next shot emerges it’s of the teenager unconscious in the back of a car trunk. This creates a sense of mystery as to what has happened to him and why has it happened.



 

Timelines

Skyfall

Insidious

 

 

Fast And Furious 6


 

These timelines have aided me in creating a remake of a title sequence as it has allowed me to break down a opening sequence into the key parts and has allowed me to see the order in which the titles appear and who needs to be credited first. This follows a strict convention which is followed by most opening credits. For example the production company e.g. Warner Bros, is always shown in the opening frame, and the actors are introduced in order of importance to the story. This will allow me to create a more professional looking piece and will aid me in creating my final film opening as well. Breaking down these title sequences has also given me lots of ideas particularly on the use of graphics which I can use in my sequence.

'The Edge' Student title sequence

Genre

The scene passes to the outside and we see two men in black suits with sunglasses. Their dress is identical and stereotypical of gangster genre films.

Narrative

The scene opens with an establishing long shot of the car park. This sets the scene and we realise that this building is to play an important part in the scene. Integrated titles are used throughout the scene. The first appears on the top of the car park.  In the next scene the boy appears inside. He presses the lift button. There is a long pause as the tension continues to build. He enters into a black lift which possibly connotes that he is walking into danger and again there is a fade to black as time passes.

Character

A teenage boy appears in the long shot on roller blades and quickly skates through the scene. This is stereotypical teenage behaviour. His costume of jeans and hoodie is also stereotypical of teenage dress. The audience is able to empathise with this boy. The colours throughout the scene are bleak and grey which gives a sense of foreboding. It is very quiet all around which adds to this sense.

The scene ends with a fade to black transition which connotes time passing.

In the lift we see a close up shot of the boy's hands as he holds some electrical device and looks intently at it. This connotes that there is some importance to this object.

Titles

Again there is good use of graphics. The Edge title is cleverly designed using an interesting font. The actors’ names are clearly next to the characters enabling easy identification. The titles end with an image of a gun pointed toward the teenager. Tension has built to a crescendo and the audience is left wondering what will happen next. They are drawn into the rest of the film.This is a clever use of the background to incorporate the text - it appears as if the writing is actually part of the building.

Camera

The boy reaches the top of the car park. The shot length is long here to connote a long wait. This helps to build tension. Again the length of time passing is reinforced by him constantly looking at his watch. A close up of his face shows fear and stress.

Sound

The two men in suits come in and there is a fast chase. The music picks up pace considerably to reinforce the fury of the chase. There is a high angle shot of the stairs taken looking down the stairs and we see the two men's legs as they run down. The speed of the action gives us a sense of danger. A close up shot of their faces show a total lack of emotion - they have a job to do. Point of view shots give character perspective. The camera shots are shaky connoting a realistic atmosphere. Slow motion shots are used as the man tries to grab the teenager.

Rural superheroes student film title sequence

Genre

This student product is for a film called Rural Superheroes. It’s a comic book super hero styled film, which follows the genre of Science-fiction.

Narrative

The narrative of the story is explained very well, as it shows a group of teenagers just enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the outdoors but when something bad is about to happen then they do what they can to stop it.

Character

The three characters introduced in the opening are three stereotypical representations of teenagers which create a comical effect to the opening. They are wearing jeans, shirts and t shirts which are stereotypical of the clothes worn by teenagers and reinforce the casual relaxed atmosphere.

Titles

As each member of the group is introduced the actor's name is displayed directly next to the character making it easy to identify who is who. The font used is a very a comic book style font which adds a sense of fiction to the opening. Again this is stereotypical of teenagers who might read such publications. The main title 'Rural Superheroes' is in a bold green coloured font against a black background, this emphasised the title and made it the centre of attention. It also reinforces the outside space where the film is set.

Camera

The opening long shot of the field gives connotations of what the 'superheroes' are going to fight for and so gives an indication as to what the film is going to be about.

Sound

The opening begins with a longshot of a field with some peaceful non-diegetic music playing. This helps to set a peaceful tone to the opening. There is a feel of calm and security. As the camera pans across the field the music stops as the teenagers are revealed. Immediately some rock music starts to play which makes the audience think of music festivals in the summer. This is a stereotypical activity of teenagers.