Opening Titles and Logos

Analysing Opening Titles and Logos

Seven

I have chosen to analyse the opening titles of the film seven, I have chosen to do this film because the titles are very good. The font of the text had a feel like someone had written them with a pencil, this was a good effect as in the opening scene we see someone drawing and writing on what looks like old paper.


With this picture, it shows the face of a man or boy with the eyes crossed out. This gives us a feeling that this person could be the victim.

By the boy's face being drawn over, shows that its enigma and is a mystery  to the rest of the film.

With the picture of the boy's face drawn out, it shows that he could now be either a dead person or a soon to be dead person. Although it's a mystery, it does start to give the audience a clue about whats happening.






At the start of seven, we don't actually know whats going on so it's all a mystery to the audience. However, we do know that the film involves violence from the scene with the hand pouring with blood. This person could have either been a hero and trying to save someone or a villain who was killing someone. This way of starting the film is a very good way to do so, as it puts the audience in confusion yet also builds up tension as they know that something is going on, involving a murder.






Dexter

The Dexter logo is a great logo, especially for the type of program that it is. First of all, the word 'DEXTER' is written in different shades of red and has splats of red all around the page. The creator of this has done that so that it looks like blood, as the whole program is about someone going and killing other people, therefore there is a lot of blood involved. You can also see that the text isn't perfectly straight, this is because it's made to look like blood is dripping from someone onto the background, this just gives more of blood effect. Also the background is meant to look like old paper, which also gives the effect that the dripping blood isn't meant to be a design and is meant to be natural. 

The blood splatter at the end of the word 'DEXTER' sort of looks like a full-stop. This is there because it's all there is to say, the name of the main character and the blood effect is all that is needed for the audience to get the point of what the program is going to be about.

The intro of Dexter is a very good intro. It uses multiple conventions of a crime in the morning routine of the main character. For example When he starts to shave, he cuts himself and there is blood shown. This makes the audience feel like it could symbolise death and blood at a later stage. It's foreboding that danger will occur in the future.



In this one, it makes it look like 'Dexter' is using a knife in a bad way, like killing someone. However all he is doing is cutting an orange. The director has done this because it fools the audience to feel like he is a violent person who uses violence all of the time.

This happens throughout the opening scene, the director wants the audience feel like the murdering and death is happening but it's really symbolising whats happening in the future. By doing this, it makes the audience stay tuned to watch the whole program.

First Cut Feedback

We have had some feedback from our teacher on our first cut of our opening scene. I am happy with our first cut, however we need to add a lot more. For example, when Harry is on the phone to his mother, instead of me filming just him, we are going to add the conversation of his mother and cut between scenes. We will also switch scenes from on the field and at Harry's moms house, we will film a clock and her facial expressions of her being worried to add suspense.

Film Progress

Film Progress

So far we have worked on making the logo for our film, these are different ideas that we had:
































First off, i had the idea to have the skull role in from the left side of the screen with a white background, however that didn't work as the skull is white and it didn't look good at all. This meant that we had to come up with more ideas, i had the idea to use a red background instead. I chose this because it had a bloody feel to it and made it feel more like a horror film logo, which was our target. After i did the first idea, with the red background, I decided to make a different logo. I had the idea for the skull to drop down from the top of the screen to land in between the writing, which i would have to come in shot and zoom past the camera.

We had some problems with the text, as we couldn't find any texts that fitted our liking, we wanted a text that looked scary and that it was for a horror film. We have downloaded a good horror text from the website www.defont.com, as it fitted the category much better.

I did find this quite difficult as I don't use After Affects a lot and have never done anything like this before, to help me do this, i found a tutorial that helped me through the process. This was the tutorial.

Feedback - Miss Spencer

First Cut Feedback - Miss Spencer


Reasonably good variety of shots, angles and movement.
A clear sequence is built up through the use of dialogue, match on action and movement of the main character.

Overall this is a little weak, I feel there could be more elements to this, the actual action is limited, with a heavy reliance on opening cinematics. However does look like a film opening and not a trailer!

There are some conventions of horror/thriller, especially the location, the subject etc. But some more tension would help improve this.
In order to improve:

• Think about adding another element to the film (e.g. a person at the other end of the phone, another location etc)
• Add Titles and institutional logo
• Fix sound problems
• Possibly remove some of the 'Max' calls
• Add SFX to increase tension, but do not add music throughout as this is a convention of trailers not film openings.
• Get some more feedback from peers and parents etc and add that to your own post.
• embed the first cut onto your blog.

Production Schedule

Production Schedule – (A Boy Named Billy)

Date	Task	Complete Y/N
3/11/14	Creating/sourcing sound and music	Yes
10/11/14	Blogging and start editing	Yes
17/11/14	Editing and creating graphics and titles	Yes
24/11/14	Finish editing	Yes
01/12/14	Uploading all elements from foundation portfolio onto your blog	Yes
08/12/14	Blogging all stages of the filming/editing process	Yes
15/12/14	Film to be handed in to be marked over the Christmas Break.	Yes

Tasks that must be completed:

·         - Filming

·         - Creating/sourcing sound/music

·         - Editing

·         - Creating graphics/titles

·         - Uploading all elements from Foundation Portfolio onto your blog

·        Blogging all stages of the filming/editing process

Filming Schedule

Filming Schedule

When 

Date - 28th October 2014

Time- 10:00 am

Who

Oliver Watson (me)

Harry Whitehead - 07*********

What

We will film all of the scenes in that one day.

How

We will use angles and shots such as: 

POVs

Backwards tracking shots

Mid shots

Long shots

Pan

Which

The equipment that we will need to use is:

A HD Sony Handycam

A tripod

School uniform

(As we are only filming the intro, we aren't going to need any props)

Recce

RECCE

For our opening sequence, we are going to be filming it in a field, somewhere where you would take a dog for a walk. The good thing about this location was that it was in a very green location and we wanted it to look believable that we where actually walking a dog. However we did think that this place was a bit of a small place to film, there wasn't a large range of different scenery and we can't just have to exact same location for each scene in our film.

However, later on we found a better location as this location was more private. We thought this would be a good idea as we wouldn't get any distractions and could focus on filming. This second place also had a lot more room to film, there were numerous locations that we could film. We thought this location was perfect as it was a very believable place where someone would walk their dog.

Role Allocation and Casting

Role Allocation and Casting


Cast: 
Harry Whitehead - playing Harry
Barbara Whitehead - playing Harry's Mother


Director: Oliver Watson
The directors job is to be the person who directs the making of a film. Generally, a film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualizes the script while having control over the technical crew and actors in the making of the film. Like I said in my pitch, the director that I look up to is David Cameron because he is a great director and has directed films such as 'Titanic' and 'Avatar'.


Producer: Harry Whitehead
The producers job is to be responsible for raising funding, hiring key personnel, and arranging for distributors. They are meant to prepare and then supervise the making of a film before presenting the product, without a producer there would be no film. An example of a film producer would be George Lucas who produced the Star Wars franchise and the Indiana Jones franchise.


Cameraman: Oliver Watson
The cameraman is the person behind the camera who films everything that the director tells him to, he has to have a good use of different camera angles and movement.

The Storyboard

Storyboard

                  

                           

0 - Production company logo - 7 seconds

1 - Harry walking alone in a field
Shot - tracking shot
Movement - backwards
Sound - non
Dialogue - non
Duration - 10 sec


2 - Harry talking on the phone to his mother
Shot - mid/long shot
Movement - non
Sound - non
Dialogue - "hello"
Duration - 2 sec


3 - Barbara on the phone to Harry
Shot - mid shot
Movement - slight pan to the right
Sound - non
Dialogue - "Harry where are you? Are you okay?"
Duration - 4 sec


4 - Harry on the phone again
Shot - close up
Movement - non
Sound - non
Dialogue - "Yeah, I'm on the field, I'm just taking the dog for a walk"
Duration - 3 sec


5 - Barbara on phone again
Shot - mid shot
Movement - non
Sound - non
Dialogue - "Okay then hurry up because your dinner is ready"
Duration - 4 sec


6 - Harry on phone
Shot - mid/long shot
Movement - non
Sound - non
Dialogue - "Alright I'll be home in 20 minutes"
Duration - 4 sec


7 - Harry realises his dog has gone and runs after it
Shot - long shot
Movement - non
Sound - non
Dialogue - "Max! Max come on"
Duration - 6 sec


8 - POV from killer in the bushes
Shot - POV
Movement - camera held movements
Sound - non
Dialogue - "Max, Max!"
Duration - 7 sec


9 - Sound of a branch snapping behind Harry and he turns around
Shot - mid/long shot
Movement - non
Sound - non
Dialogue - "Max! Max?"
Duration - 8 sec


10 - Harry running through trees and bushes
Shot - long shot
Movement - non
Sound - slow build up of scary music
Dialogue - "Max!"
Duration - 8 sec


11 - Harry running through field
Shot - mid/long shot
Movement - non
Sound - music is getting louder and faster
Dialogue - "Max where are you?"
Duration - 3 sec


12 - POV shot from killer sneaking up behind Harry
Shot - POV
Movement - hand held camera movement
Sound - Loud scary music, then turns into screeching T.V sound and then the sound of a lightning strike
Dialogue - "Max is that you?"
Duration - 8 sec

The Scrpt

The Script

A young boy, dressed in school uniform, strolling through the field.

(Phone rings)

Harry: Hello?

Harry's mother in her house

(Nervously)

Barbara: Harry, where are you are you okay?

Harry: Yeah, I'm on the field I'm just taking the dog for a walk.

(Whilst cleaning surface)

Barbara: Alright then, hurry up because your dinner is ready.

Harry: Alright, I'll be home in twenty minutes. Alright bye.

Carries on walking in the field. 

Dog runs off.

(In tired emotion)

Harry: Max, Max come on.

(Worried)

Harry: Max... Max... Max!

(Nervously and quickly turns around)

Harry: Max?

Starts to run through the bushes

(Angry)

Harry: Max!

Starting to run quicker

(Angry)

Harry: Max... Max! 

Harry hears noise and is worried

(Worried and confused)

Harry: Max... Max is that you?

Hand from behind is quickly placed on Harry's shoulder.

Scene End.

The Storyline

Film Storyline

Billy is a sixteen year old school boy who has been suffering from bullying since he was the age of eight. He hated going to school everyday because people used to pick on him. The schools boys would call him names and physically abuse him, until Billy would run home after school and sometimes even miss lessons and school in general to avoid the bullies. Everyday he just couldn't wait to get home, he never told anyone about the bullies, not even his parents. Billy's mom and dad were also going through a rough patch and were going through a divorce, Billy's mom had already got a new boyfriend and Billy did not like this fact. This also didn't help with Billy's stress levels. Billy was just starting his GCSE's in the next upcoming months and was struggling coping with the stress, the stress of his exams, the upset of him being bullied and his parents getting divorced. This was too overwhelming for Billy and he lost his mind, he just had to take revenge on the people that ruined his life, including his step dad. 

Representation

Representation

Representation is what people are presented like in films and media in general. This can be the types of characters in the film for example what ethnicity they are, their sexuality, their class and status, if they have a disability or not, where they are from, their age and their gender. It can also be the location of where the film is set.

Horror

There is huge representation in horror films, for example men in horror films are usually addressed as either the villain or the hero, but most of the time a male will represent both of those roles. They will represent power and control over the female characters and mostly be the ones that save the day at the end.

Female characters in horror films are represented much differently than the males, they are usually never the hero or the villain and have a much weaker role in the film. In most horror films there is always the stereotypical blonde stupid girl, who will most likely get killed near the beginning. This character along with the other female characters will be scared characters who will scream a lot throughout the film. They will most likely be victims who show no power and are Scantily clad (Naked, provocative) characters.

Pitch

The Pitch 

Feedback - Miss Spencer

Target Audience research

You have made a reasonable start Oliver, but need a lot more detail.
At the moment this is at a level 1, in order to improve:

• In the target audience research  you should say where your graphs are from.
• Comment on which age group likes which genre of film (focus on your genre)
• We will be doing a lesson on audience theories, this can be added to the target audience post.
• Complete the

Task 3.3 Target Audience Research

Genre -

The genre of horror wasn't the most popular genre of 2013. It came 8th out of 15 genres in last years box office. The genre of horror sold a total of 37 films and made a total gross amount of money of 57.5 million. The top performing title of the horror genre was the film 'World War Z'.

Audiences - 

47% of people that went to see 'World War Z' last year were between the age of 15 - 24.
Only 23% of people that went to see it were between the age of 25 - 34.
Which means that 30% of people that went to see the film 'World War Z' in 2013 were of the age of 35 or older.


YOUNG and RUBICAM’S FOUR CONSUMERS

MAIN-STREAMERS: 40% of population, They like security and belonging to a group.
SUCCEEDERS: People who have already got status and control

REFORMERS: Define themselves by their self-esteem and self-fulfilment
ASPIRERS: Want status and the esteem of others. Like status symbols, designer labels etc. Live off                         credit and cash


The target audience we are aiming for in our film is the adolescence and young adults, this is because the research shows that the audience that go to see horror films are aged between 15 and 24, which fits in to our category.

Feedback - Miss Spencer

Feedback on Genre research - You have made a good start to this research, including looking at the history of the genre. At the moment your work is at a level 2/3 border in order to improve you should:

Talk more about how horror has developed through the decades (with examples)
Takl about the other conventions of the horror (we have covered this in lesson so you could use your notes)
Thanks

Task 2.2 - Genre research

 Genre

What is a Horror film -

A horror film is a type of genre that is meant to be unsettling and made to bring the emotions of fear out of the audience. This can consist of things like jump scares, blood and gore.


The History of Horror -

The genre that I am doing is horror, horror has been around for a long time, for over 100 years. One of the first horror films was 'The Haunted Castle' which was a George Melies silent film in 1896. The difference between horror films in the 1890's and 2014 is that horror is now more realistic, as before it was a bit silly and more comedy than horror, an example of this is 'When Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'. Also, the quality of the picture has increased massively and so has the sound in movies, the picture is now in colour, unlike in 1896, when there was no colour and no sound. Also, movies can be made in 3D now, unlike in 1896.








There are many genres of horror, the genre of horror that I am doing is psychological horror however others include: zombie horror, science fiction horror, slasher horror, gothic horror, action horror, body horror and comedy horror.

Sub-genres In Horror from saffronrenzullo

What is genre?

A genre is basically the type of film, the different aspects of the film decides which genre the film is. Some films can fall into multiple categories, for example 'Love Actually' which is a rom com, which is a romantic comedy. When two genres mix into one film, it is called a hybrid genre. Another example of a hybrid genre is 'The Purge', this consists of both a horror and a thriller.

DISTINCT

D - Don’t

I - Ignore

S - Setting

T - Technical code

I - Iconography

N - Narrative

C - Characterisation

T - Themes

Setting - The setting of a film is the location of which the film is set, for horror films this can consist of locations like abandoned houses or 'haunted houses'. Also horror films are usually set at night, this is to build up the tension and have a scarier feel to the film. Examples of films with good horror locations are Ghost Ship, which is set on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Also 'A Cabin In The Woods' is a good location, as it is set in the middle of the woods, this is also a typically scary location for horror films.


Technical code - Technical code is the different camera angles used and the different types of camera shots. Using unique camera angles in horror films is very popular, for example they use extreme close ups and point of view shots to express fear and to build up tension. For example, in 'Silence of the Lambs' there are a lot of over the shoulder shots and shots from behind, this is to make it look like someone is chasing the girl in the opening scene.


Iconography - Iconography is things that signify the genre of horror, for example a lot of knifes or sharp blades, guns or blood are shown to make it look scary and like a horror film. Also, at the beginning of the film or on posters of the film, the text and background is a lot of the time red and black, this is to show fear. The red is supposed to represent blood and the black is supposed to represent darkness and fear.


Narrative Structure - The narrative structure is basically how the story is told, for example in horror films, a lot of the time there is cliff hangers at the end of the film, this is so the audience want to know what happens next so they end up going to watch the sequel. An example of a film that always uses cliff hangers is 'Saw'.


Character Types - Character types are just the different characters played in the horror film, these characters make up the film. The different types of characters are:

•The Protagonist: This is often a female role, they are usually the most morally standing and smartest of the group, they almost always survive in order to pave way for a sequel

•The Sex appeal: This role is often filled by a promiscuous blonde women, they are often the first to be killed and are the first to exposes their body

•The Irritating guy: This role is often partnered with the “sex appeal” they to are often the first to go and due to their behaviour the audience is usually happy when they are killed off.

•The Token Black guy: Almost every horror film now days has at least one black guy, they are often the one to sacrifice them selves to save others or to act as the muscle of the group but can sometimes also take the role of “The Irritating guy”

•The one who gets his comeuppance: This role is sometimes a side kick of the “antagonist” they are only interested in their own well being but they are always killed off before the end.

•The unlikely hero: This character is usually the one the audience suspects to be the antagonist due to their behaviour and/or appearance but they are often the one to save the day

•The antagonist: The “Bad Guy” of the film, it’s not always clear why there are doing what they are doing but they are rarely killed off all together at the end, they are often just wounded to allow “the protagonist” to escape but still leave room for a sequel

Theme - Finally, the theme is the recurring element within the films plot, for example the theme in some films would be revenge or religious belief.

Feedback - Miss Spencer

You have started making progress with your blog and the work you have done is proficient. You have especially discussed elements like iconography which shows sophistication. I would put it at a borderline 2/3. In order to improve the work and get a more secure level 3 you should:


Use technical language for sound(diegetic and non-diegetic sound etc) 

Mention the single POV shot throughout the opening of Halloween - it was and still is unusual. What is the effect? Can you think of other films in the genre that do the same? 

When thinking about titles, also discuss the font, does it send a particular message (e.g. superhero films often have metallic looking font to show power etc) 

You haven't touched on characterisation or editing in any depth. Go back over the work and add this in.

Thanks
Miss Spencer

Task 2.1 - A Nightmare On Elm Street Analysis

 At the start of the film, we don't really know what's happening, some sort of man is welding some metal into certain shapes. The director has chosen to do this because it makes it more of a mystery to not know what's happening. There is no dialogue at the start, just heavy breathing and the sound of hammering and rusty metal pieces. This puts the audience in a scene where they feel afraid.

The location of the first scene is a old, dark, rusty looking place, the director has chosen this location to make the audience feel like they don't want to be there. After we see the building being done, we see the man put on a glove with blades attached to it, from this point we know that the film is going to contain a lot of death and hatred, which are both conventions of horror.


In the next scene we see a girl running away from someone or something, again we don't really know what's happening yet. The director has chosen for the film to start straight away with blades, a girl running and potential death because it makes the audience want to see what's happening within the film. At the end of that corridor there is light, the fact that the girl is running away from the light shows that she is running into trouble.


After we see the girl running, she sees the man and screams, when she screams the director has put sound effects of babies crying. Babies crying is also a convention of horror, therefore making it so that the audience know that the film is going to be scary. As soon as the sound stops, the man jumps out from behind her, then she wakes up. By her waking up means that the audience will feel like everything is going to be fine because it was just a dream, however we know that the rest of the film will consist of death and hatred.

Task 2.1 - The Ring Analysis

In the opening scene of the ring,it shows a girl getting a drink from a jug, as she walks away, she notices the T.V turn on in the other room. The next camera shot is a close up shot of the girls face. The director has chosen to do this because it makes her look very frightened, therefore from the start we know that the film is going to be scary.

The next shot is a point of view shot of the girl looking around the corner of the door to see who turned the T.V on. The director has chosen to use a point of view shot here to try and put the audience in the girls shoes, and make them feel scared. By the T.V not working, it symbolises the fact that things are not going well for this girl, foreboding danger for the future in the film. As soon as the reflection in the T.V shows, a soft wisp of air is used as a sound effect. The director has done this to make the audience feel like someone is actually there.



This is shot is a long shot, it's using the term of iconography, as it feel like someone is watching her. The director has chosen The location of this scene to be inside the girls house, to show that its more scary as she is supposed to feel safe being in her own house.



When the girl opens the door, the camera zooms straight towards the T.V and then straight towards the girls face, showing shock, like she has just been possessed. The sound effect that the director has chosen to use is people screaming at a very high pitched noise. He has done this because it's a convention of horror and it makes the audience feel more scared.

Task 2.1 - Halloween Analysis

In the opening scene of Halloween, it starts as a point of view shot looking at a house, the director has chose to do the start of the film in a point of view shot to show that the audience don't know who the killer is until the end of that scene, which makes he scene have tension. The director has chose this location because a house, late at night is a scary location. There is no music until the boy looks at the window in the picture to the left and the lights turn off and music starts to play. The music is very screechy and has a scary effect to it, the director has done this because it builds up tension towards the first scene.

The arm going to get the knife is like a dolls arm, or like a clown, this is also iconography as a clown is an icon of horror. The director has chosen to do this because it makes it look more scary, as dolls are a convention of horror. This makes the audience feel even more scared, as they think that this boy isn't a real person. The knife is also a convention of horror, as it shows that the boy is going to kill someone, making the audience even more scared.

 When the boy goes up stairs he puts on a mask, when the mask goes on his face, it looks like the picture to the right. This also brings in the conventions of horror, as a clowns mask is know to be scary and is in a lot of horror films. It also makes the audience feel scared for the girl, as the boy has a knife and is heading to the girls room. The director did this to build up tension.

The titles of the film Halloween is set with a black background and a pumpkin to the left hand side all the way through. The pumpkin is there because it is a convention of horror and as the film is called 'Halloween', the pumpkin fits in well with the film. The actual titles role through the middle of the screen and is in the colours red and orange, this is because they are both colours that are used in scary films. Red represents the colour of blood and as the film is called Halloween, the colour orange is like a pumpkin, which is a convention of horror.

Task 2.1 - Mission Impossible 2 Analysis

In the opening scene of Mission Impossible 2, it starts in a desert/canyon with a man hanging off the edge of a cliff, the director has chosen this location to show that this man is a dangerous man and that he's fearless. The scene starts off with a fast tracking towards the man climbing the cliff, this is using the term of iconography because it is symbolising the fact that the tracking is like an eagle flying through the sky. The director also uses diegetic eagle sounds throughout the opening scene, he does this to show that this man is a bald man and has a lot of freedom, just like an eagle.

This camera shot is a close up on the mans hand, this builds up tension and makes the audience feel scared for the man, because they feel like he is going to fall. When the man's hand is on the ledge, the director uses the sound effects of the man breathing deeply to show that his life is near death.

When the man is climbing, he jumps from one rock to another. The director has chosen to edit that jump and make it so its in slow motion. He has done this to create tension and to make the audience feel exited to see what happens next. When the man is jumping in slow motion the director has chosen to stop the music so the focus is all on the jump, this also brings tension towards the opening of the film.

When the man lands the jump, he then falls and is hanging on the edge of the cliff. The music continues when he gets back up and climbs to the top of the mountain to show that everything is fine and he is alive. The music being played is very happy, cheerful music so when the man reaches the top, it shows that he is happy to be alive.


The titles are being played gradually throughout the opening scene, there is about a five second gap between each of the titles to space them out. This means at the end of the opening scene, all the titles have been shown. The titles are in the colour orange, this is to show that the man is in a desert or canyon.