"Typography is the art and technique of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs. Type glyphs are created and modified using a variety of illustration techniques."
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typography"
Typography was giving to my group to use in our title sequence, and we decided to do this by putting the titles into our title sequence in diffent ways, not just still typed on to a plain back ground. I think that we achived this by doing our final "The Decline" written on a keybord, and using the "3" keys as "E"s as there is only one "E" on a key bord and two in "The Decline".
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Location
In our group, we decided to use an office as the setting for our title sequence as it would fit in with the story line as the main character is a business man. Charlie thought that it would be a good idea to use an estate agency in Themsmead as he knows the owner. We decided to go and film down there on Friday the 20th of November, but both Sam and I was off sick that day and Megan and Charlie didn’t think that it would be fair to shoot with out us. During the weekend Charlie went to the estate agency to apologies in person and tell them why we didn’t turn up, when doing this is decided that this would not be the right location for us and he didn’t think it would it properly with our film, and we decided to trust him on this.
After this we had no luck in finding another office outside of school which we could use, we tried filming a few shots in school in the teachers offices but decided again that this would not portray the right look, and as well as this it was really cramped and was hard to film with all four of us in there, a big light and our camera and tri-pod. Sam and Charlie’s friend has an office in his house and said that we could film there when ever we wanted, and as we getting close to the dead line we decided to change what our opening titles would look like and use his office for our title sequence, the fact that we could use his house more or less when ever we wanted was a bonus, as well as him living close to school so this would be easy to film.
After this we had no luck in finding another office outside of school which we could use, we tried filming a few shots in school in the teachers offices but decided again that this would not portray the right look, and as well as this it was really cramped and was hard to film with all four of us in there, a big light and our camera and tri-pod. Sam and Charlie’s friend has an office in his house and said that we could film there when ever we wanted, and as we getting close to the dead line we decided to change what our opening titles would look like and use his office for our title sequence, the fact that we could use his house more or less when ever we wanted was a bonus, as well as him living close to school so this would be easy to film.
Friday, 5 March 2010
Filming: Take Three
As we were coming quiet close the deadline again for out coursework, and had just lost our location (AGAIN), as a group we were finding it hard to find another location at such sort notice, so we tried using some of the offices with in the school, which we thought would be a good idea as we could film when ever we wanted, and then maybe we could finally finish our coursework, which even at this point seemed quiet sketchy after all of the hicups that had already happened.
Sam and Charlie tried a few of the offices within school, some of which were too small to film in, and as well as this, some of the teachers were not allowing us to long onto their computors so that we could film the titles that we wanted. This made all of very frustrated and doubtful that we would even have a final piece of coursework to hand in.
Im not sure how our final location came around, but, to me personaly I saw this as something which would have resembled a God - send; one of our friends from school has an office in his back garden and said that it would be okay if we used it to finish off (or maybe even restart) our coursework.
Due to this factor, we decided to re-draw a storyboard, so that we could have a whole new titlesequence that we could make to fit the scene, after some long talks I finally drew up a new story board and over a period of a few days we had finished shooting our titlesequence!
Then all we had to do was edit. Atleast this time whilst shooting we had no real arguements or heated discustions, we all got stuck in a did some filming ect, and we managed to pull of, a decent piece of coursework - although as it stands we dot have any music for this piece!:(
Sam and Charlie tried a few of the offices within school, some of which were too small to film in, and as well as this, some of the teachers were not allowing us to long onto their computors so that we could film the titles that we wanted. This made all of very frustrated and doubtful that we would even have a final piece of coursework to hand in.
Im not sure how our final location came around, but, to me personaly I saw this as something which would have resembled a God - send; one of our friends from school has an office in his back garden and said that it would be okay if we used it to finish off (or maybe even restart) our coursework.
Due to this factor, we decided to re-draw a storyboard, so that we could have a whole new titlesequence that we could make to fit the scene, after some long talks I finally drew up a new story board and over a period of a few days we had finished shooting our titlesequence!
Then all we had to do was edit. Atleast this time whilst shooting we had no real arguements or heated discustions, we all got stuck in a did some filming ect, and we managed to pull of, a decent piece of coursework - although as it stands we dot have any music for this piece!:(
Filming, Take Two
Our group decided together that it would be a good idea to film within school, as the offices would be easy to accsess and we could also film whenever we wanted. We talk this over with one of our media teachers and she suggested that using one of the art teachers offices would be perfect and I had agreed with her as I had already seen his office.
We all thought that this office would be really good for shooting in as even though it was lightly painted, the inside was still quiet dark where no sun light hit it at certain parts of the day, and this would be for getting the mood that we wanted, as our film was meant to be quiet dark and gritty. As well as this, behind the desk there was a poster on the wall that said "Keep Calm Carry On" as well as drawings which the teachers daughter had done, I thought this reflected the character in the film that we were trying to portray, as he is a family man and the poster "Keep Calm Carry On" But due to some complications, one of which was lighting, I found it very hard to light up the office with one very big light that we had borrowed from the art department, as we used this as a kind of spot light on Charlie, who was playing the main charactor in out film, but trying to keep the surroundings quiet dark as this was look that we had been aiming for, we could no longer film in this office, which I myself, was quiet dissapointed about as i though it would be a very good location even though it was quiet small.
We all thought that this office would be really good for shooting in as even though it was lightly painted, the inside was still quiet dark where no sun light hit it at certain parts of the day, and this would be for getting the mood that we wanted, as our film was meant to be quiet dark and gritty. As well as this, behind the desk there was a poster on the wall that said "Keep Calm Carry On" as well as drawings which the teachers daughter had done, I thought this reflected the character in the film that we were trying to portray, as he is a family man and the poster "Keep Calm Carry On" But due to some complications, one of which was lighting, I found it very hard to light up the office with one very big light that we had borrowed from the art department, as we used this as a kind of spot light on Charlie, who was playing the main charactor in out film, but trying to keep the surroundings quiet dark as this was look that we had been aiming for, we could no longer film in this office, which I myself, was quiet dissapointed about as i though it would be a very good location even though it was quiet small.
Filming, Take One
The first time that my group attempted to film, we had a good location in themsmead in an estatagents to film out title sequence, but unfortunatly, both Sam and myself where off sick from 6th Form that day, so Charlie and Megan didn't think that it would be right to film with out us, so when we got back from school we tried to make arrangements to go back down to the estatagents to try and film again, but Charlie had told us, that when he went down there to appologise for us, not being there that their offices where not what we was looking for, so then we had to re-think about what to do. . .
And as we thought that we were slowly running out of time, trying to find another location on such short notice may not be such a good idea, as it took us a long time to try and arrange this one, so we then decieded to use one of the offices with in the school . . .
And as we thought that we were slowly running out of time, trying to find another location on such short notice may not be such a good idea, as it took us a long time to try and arrange this one, so we then decieded to use one of the offices with in the school . . .
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Opening Title Sequence For Juno.
The open titles for Reitman's critically acclaimed indie-comedy film, Juno, where hand craften by Shadowplay Studio.
As the title sequence starts we hear the music, "All I want is you to be my sweet honny bee, and if I was a tree growing tall and green, all Id
want is for you to shave me and be my leaves", the lyrics in the song already suggest to the audiance (for exmaple myself) that the film is going
to have a romantic touch to it, maybe with some problems along the way. We see Juno walking down, what looks like, to be a subberban street
holding a large bottle of "Sunny D" in her hands, and then she walks through a group of boys running down the road in some sort of uniform. You
would think that being a film aimed at teenages it would be bright and colourful out, almost as if the titles had be edited to be perficly coloured,
and bright and happy, but in Juno, you can tell that is is a sunny day out but its still dark in the back ground, which does not suggest that she is a
good mood as she bowls down the road.
Juno, and the street that she is walking down then all turns into cartoon images, these again not being very bright, all dark and nutral colours,
very monotone, and the only thing with shadding in the title sequence, is Juno. The intremental for the playing again in the background. Next Juno
is standing at a cross road, with foreshaddows that there will be a dissions that she will have to make, she takes a mouthful of the "Sunny D"
that she is holding in her hands and then we see her fidgiting feet, which could be portrating that she is nurvouse about something or thinking.
Behind the feet we see a pair of legs, exactly the same as the ones which are Juno's, walking down the road, we then see her from the waist down
swinging the "Sunny D" bottle by her side. Next we see Juno again, bowling down a road, Juno being the only part of the shot which does not look
like it has been drawn, there is still an element of realism in her, like she is a photograph on a drawn background. The lyrics to the song which we
first heard in the beging start playing again, suggesting that there may be a relationship with her and a boy, and they are "in love" and "JUNO" is
flashing beside her in hand drawn black letters. The camera then moves upwards to see the top of a telegraph pole and small hand drawn birds
flying in the dull bluey gray, cloudless sky.
We then see a closs of shot of Juno's gray face smiling, and then to a close up of her legs and feet walking down an outline of a white chair and
acustic guitar, this again foreshaddowing that they both play a large part in the upcoming film, with her "Sunny D" bottle still swinging at her side.
Then we just see Juno walking down a road past houses, then turning down another road to walk past some shops, the scenery still being very dull,
not much colour to anything, everything is the same, as if the writer of "Juno" is telling the audiance that life is boring, or that what ever in the background
is boring, you have to make your life colourful and exiting yourself. Then as Juno is walking past a shop, its outlining starts to dissapear, as if it is
deteriarating, foreshaddowing that something bad is going to happen and that everything will then "fall apart". When Juno leaves the shot there is nothing
left of the shop that she has just walked past, apart from the dull coffe colour and a few lines. We then see Juno standing infront of this, waiting to cross
the road, and then behind her another shop is draw on to where the other one was, as if it is portraying that even though sometimes is may seem
like everything is gone and the world is about to end, you can build your life back up and everything will be okay in the end. Juno moves closer in to
the shot, then all we see is a close up of her hand unscrewing her "Sunny D" bottle, and then close up of her drinking it as she walks, but all we can see
behind her is the dull colour of the sky, the only colour in the shot is coming from her red jumper. Next there is a birdseye few of Juno walking down a
beige pavement, and the dull colour of the sky/background surrounding that pavement, she then looks up at the camera and has a smerk on her face.
She walk out the shot and then into another one where she is walking along a park, the only colour being her, the dark green of the grass and then
we see the boys in their running outfits funny along the grass, infront of the outline of white drawn trees. The shot changes to see her walking down the
road from behind, and the boys running past her again, this tells us that one, of not more, of these boys plays a main part in the film.
For the next few shots they are the same as the first, Juno is walking down a very bland road, we switch from seeing her from behind, to her feet, to her
side, and then a close up of her face with a smirk on it, then back to seeing her walking down a road where all we can see is the out line of a boy on
a skate board, a few trees and a shop, it all being the same coffee colour brown - the shot then changes to gradually being back to normal, but the
last thing to change from being drawn into the film is Juno, we see a young boy and girl standing outside this shop and Juno walks in, still with her
overly large "Sunny D" in her hand.
As the title sequence starts we hear the music, "All I want is you to be my sweet honny bee, and if I was a tree growing tall and green, all Id
want is for you to shave me and be my leaves", the lyrics in the song already suggest to the audiance (for exmaple myself) that the film is going
to have a romantic touch to it, maybe with some problems along the way. We see Juno walking down, what looks like, to be a subberban street
holding a large bottle of "Sunny D" in her hands, and then she walks through a group of boys running down the road in some sort of uniform. You
would think that being a film aimed at teenages it would be bright and colourful out, almost as if the titles had be edited to be perficly coloured,
and bright and happy, but in Juno, you can tell that is is a sunny day out but its still dark in the back ground, which does not suggest that she is a
good mood as she bowls down the road.
Juno, and the street that she is walking down then all turns into cartoon images, these again not being very bright, all dark and nutral colours,
very monotone, and the only thing with shadding in the title sequence, is Juno. The intremental for the playing again in the background. Next Juno
is standing at a cross road, with foreshaddows that there will be a dissions that she will have to make, she takes a mouthful of the "Sunny D"
that she is holding in her hands and then we see her fidgiting feet, which could be portrating that she is nurvouse about something or thinking.
Behind the feet we see a pair of legs, exactly the same as the ones which are Juno's, walking down the road, we then see her from the waist down
swinging the "Sunny D" bottle by her side. Next we see Juno again, bowling down a road, Juno being the only part of the shot which does not look
like it has been drawn, there is still an element of realism in her, like she is a photograph on a drawn background. The lyrics to the song which we
first heard in the beging start playing again, suggesting that there may be a relationship with her and a boy, and they are "in love" and "JUNO" is
flashing beside her in hand drawn black letters. The camera then moves upwards to see the top of a telegraph pole and small hand drawn birds
flying in the dull bluey gray, cloudless sky.
We then see a closs of shot of Juno's gray face smiling, and then to a close up of her legs and feet walking down an outline of a white chair and
acustic guitar, this again foreshaddowing that they both play a large part in the upcoming film, with her "Sunny D" bottle still swinging at her side.
Then we just see Juno walking down a road past houses, then turning down another road to walk past some shops, the scenery still being very dull,
not much colour to anything, everything is the same, as if the writer of "Juno" is telling the audiance that life is boring, or that what ever in the background
is boring, you have to make your life colourful and exiting yourself. Then as Juno is walking past a shop, its outlining starts to dissapear, as if it is
deteriarating, foreshaddowing that something bad is going to happen and that everything will then "fall apart". When Juno leaves the shot there is nothing
left of the shop that she has just walked past, apart from the dull coffe colour and a few lines. We then see Juno standing infront of this, waiting to cross
the road, and then behind her another shop is draw on to where the other one was, as if it is portraying that even though sometimes is may seem
like everything is gone and the world is about to end, you can build your life back up and everything will be okay in the end. Juno moves closer in to
the shot, then all we see is a close up of her hand unscrewing her "Sunny D" bottle, and then close up of her drinking it as she walks, but all we can see
behind her is the dull colour of the sky, the only colour in the shot is coming from her red jumper. Next there is a birdseye few of Juno walking down a
beige pavement, and the dull colour of the sky/background surrounding that pavement, she then looks up at the camera and has a smerk on her face.
She walk out the shot and then into another one where she is walking along a park, the only colour being her, the dark green of the grass and then
we see the boys in their running outfits funny along the grass, infront of the outline of white drawn trees. The shot changes to see her walking down the
road from behind, and the boys running past her again, this tells us that one, of not more, of these boys plays a main part in the film.
For the next few shots they are the same as the first, Juno is walking down a very bland road, we switch from seeing her from behind, to her feet, to her
side, and then a close up of her face with a smirk on it, then back to seeing her walking down a road where all we can see is the out line of a boy on
a skate board, a few trees and a shop, it all being the same coffee colour brown - the shot then changes to gradually being back to normal, but the
last thing to change from being drawn into the film is Juno, we see a young boy and girl standing outside this shop and Juno walks in, still with her
overly large "Sunny D" in her hand.
Romantic Comedy Genre
"Romantic Comedy films are light-hearted and humerouse, centering on romantic ideals such as a true love able to surmount most obstables" Romanic Comedy films are a sub-genre of a Comedy film, as well as Romance films, which often also have some elements of screwball comedies and stoner comedies; Screwball comedies being a type of conedy that was popular in the 1930s, chacterised by frantic action, verble wit, characters being in bizarre predicaments, and using "slapstick humor". An example of films from this genre being "Bringing Up Baby" and its loose remake, "Whats UP, Doc?" Stoner Comedies or Stoner filmers revolve around the use of marijuana, showing cannabis use in a comic and positive fashion, as well as cannabis being used as one of the main theams and inspiering most of the plot. The historic film "Reefer madness" is now classed as a Stoner Comedy, but some more recent example being films such as "The Pineapple Express", "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" and "The Simpsons Weekend at Burnsie's"
Romantic Comedies involve dramatic story lines about romance with the light humours touch, the dramatic romantic issues that are brought up in a Romantic Comedy are those such as, true love does exist, there is someone out there just for us, and id we could only find them, we would experiance true love and that romance can overcome all obstacles. as well as this a Romantic comedy offers the audiance an experiance of shared itimacy within couples; be them married, dating, young or old, and seeing this is fulfinging and pleasurable.
The most common story line for a "Rom Com" is that, two protagonists, usually these being one male and one female, meet, then part ways due to some kind of obstacle and then they are reunited. The male and female could be hesitant to become romantically involved, this being one of the most common obsticles in a romantic comedy, they do not want to belive that they have feelings for each other, sometimes this could be that one of them already has a partner, but the screenwriterswill leave clues to suggest to the audiance that there will be a happy ending sfter all the obstacles have been overcome. "Rom Coms" can appeal to both men and women, and this is done by combining both the use of a romatic comedy and stoner comedys, a brilliant exmaple of this is the film "Knocked Up", films such as these, more often then not, will use sexual content to bring the two main charaters together, another film which does this is "American Pie".
Romantic Comedies involve dramatic story lines about romance with the light humours touch, the dramatic romantic issues that are brought up in a Romantic Comedy are those such as, true love does exist, there is someone out there just for us, and id we could only find them, we would experiance true love and that romance can overcome all obstacles. as well as this a Romantic comedy offers the audiance an experiance of shared itimacy within couples; be them married, dating, young or old, and seeing this is fulfinging and pleasurable.
The most common story line for a "Rom Com" is that, two protagonists, usually these being one male and one female, meet, then part ways due to some kind of obstacle and then they are reunited. The male and female could be hesitant to become romantically involved, this being one of the most common obsticles in a romantic comedy, they do not want to belive that they have feelings for each other, sometimes this could be that one of them already has a partner, but the screenwriterswill leave clues to suggest to the audiance that there will be a happy ending sfter all the obstacles have been overcome. "Rom Coms" can appeal to both men and women, and this is done by combining both the use of a romatic comedy and stoner comedys, a brilliant exmaple of this is the film "Knocked Up", films such as these, more often then not, will use sexual content to bring the two main charaters together, another film which does this is "American Pie".
Horror Film Case Study
"Horror films are movies thatt strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from the viewers" Horror film plots frequently involve themes such as death, the supernatural and/or metal illness, many also have a central villain. Early horror films are based on the classic literature of gothic horror, there are many films that have portrade this, such as "Dracula", "Frankenstien", "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".
But in contrast to this more recent horror filmsdraw insperation from the insecurites of life after World War II, there are three distinct sub-genres to this and they are; the horror of personality, an example of this is the film "Psycho", the horror of armageddon (armageddon being any catastrofically distructive battle, and/or the end of the world), an exmaple of a film where armageddon is being used is "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and the last of the sub-genre's being the horror of the demonic, the best example of this would be the film "The Exorcist" which was bannedin 1986 under the Video recordings Act becuase it was said to be too scary for home viewing, especially because of the fact that it can be a very trying experience for young girls. The original teaser trailer, which consisted of nothing but images of a white faced demonquickly flashing in and out of darkness, was banned in many theaters as it was deemed to be "too frightening". As well as this, The Government Censorship Board today has banned the American film "The Exorcist" on the grounds that it presents "unjustifed" propaganda (propaganda meaning information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause) in favour of the Christan comunity.
Horror is also an accient art form, as we have tried to terrify each other with tales which trigger the less logical parts of our imaginations for as long as we've told stories; from the ballads of the ancient world to the modern urban myths. Audiences will willingly offer themselvs up to sadistic storytellersto be scared witless, as well as being happy to pay for the privilege. There are many theories as to why this is so; from deriving the basic thrills from triggering the rush of adrenalion which fear brings, or because horror stories serve more of a moral purose, reinforcing the rules and the taboos of our society and showing the macabre fate of those who transgress? Horror movies have long served both these perposes, delivering thrills by the hearseload, as well as telling stories of the dark, forbidden side of both life and death, and also providing a revaling morror image of the anxieties of the time in which the film was made, offering heart-rending images and echoeing great wars and epidemic fatalities. As well as reflecting the fear of the powerfil yet irresponsible elements of society, the seemingly impinitive behaviour of those people at the top and what lurks behind corners and in dark shaddows.
But in contrast to this more recent horror filmsdraw insperation from the insecurites of life after World War II, there are three distinct sub-genres to this and they are; the horror of personality, an example of this is the film "Psycho", the horror of armageddon (armageddon being any catastrofically distructive battle, and/or the end of the world), an exmaple of a film where armageddon is being used is "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and the last of the sub-genre's being the horror of the demonic, the best example of this would be the film "The Exorcist" which was bannedin 1986 under the Video recordings Act becuase it was said to be too scary for home viewing, especially because of the fact that it can be a very trying experience for young girls. The original teaser trailer, which consisted of nothing but images of a white faced demonquickly flashing in and out of darkness, was banned in many theaters as it was deemed to be "too frightening". As well as this, The Government Censorship Board today has banned the American film "The Exorcist" on the grounds that it presents "unjustifed" propaganda (propaganda meaning information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause) in favour of the Christan comunity.
Horror is also an accient art form, as we have tried to terrify each other with tales which trigger the less logical parts of our imaginations for as long as we've told stories; from the ballads of the ancient world to the modern urban myths. Audiences will willingly offer themselvs up to sadistic storytellersto be scared witless, as well as being happy to pay for the privilege. There are many theories as to why this is so; from deriving the basic thrills from triggering the rush of adrenalion which fear brings, or because horror stories serve more of a moral purose, reinforcing the rules and the taboos of our society and showing the macabre fate of those who transgress? Horror movies have long served both these perposes, delivering thrills by the hearseload, as well as telling stories of the dark, forbidden side of both life and death, and also providing a revaling morror image of the anxieties of the time in which the film was made, offering heart-rending images and echoeing great wars and epidemic fatalities. As well as reflecting the fear of the powerfil yet irresponsible elements of society, the seemingly impinitive behaviour of those people at the top and what lurks behind corners and in dark shaddows.
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Evaluation
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media production?
I think that my groups title sequence challenges forms of a real socialst production as the title sequence is not as dark and as gritty as a real production would be, even though most of the shot were filmed on an over cast day, this can not be seen as well as a real media prodution would be filmed as they would have all of the equiptment that would be used to create the weather and the astmosphe. But I do think that if we could film the whole film, or maybe even a short film, then we would see that it is a social realist becuase further on into the film it would become more dark and gritty, as the begining of the film everything is fine.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I think that my media production represents the business society very well, portraying that it is a "Dog eat dog" world, and it should be everyman for them self. This is proartraed by how the man loses his job, and how his company which was once bringing in alot of profit and revenue just crashed one day and went under.
As well as this I think that our title sequence does represent family life in this day in age, as everyone seems to be worried about money and how everything is going to pan out, worrying weather or not your doing the best for children and your parner.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Who would be the audience for your media product?
In my opinion, I think that we have aimed for an older audience, but then again the film may also appeal to some teenagers, because also "The Decline" is a social realist film, i also think that there is a romantic side to the main charactor, due to all of the heartache that he goes through with his family trouble and the love that he has for his wife and his daughter, doing everything that he can for them.
How did you attract/address your audience?
Although my title sequence does not have a voice over, which "American Beauty" has, I think that the fact that out title sequence does not give alot away could either intise the audience in making them want to watch more, or they would just find it boring and walk away.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Whilst filming I have learn how hard it is to edit a piece of film, and to make sure that you know exactly what you are and exactly what you want to do before starting firstly to save time and secondly to make sure that you do not lose any of your work whilst editng which did happen a few times, and sometimes this even meant that we had to go back a re-film a few shots as we had lost them in the editing process.
As well as this I learn how hard it was to light a set, as I was doing this for most of the time whilst filming, this may have had something to do with the fact that we was only using one big light that we borrowed from the art department, but making sure that the light in always in the same place and as not to cast shaddows where they are not needed or wanted was a very hard thing to learn. But I will deffinatly remember all of this before and during shooting our next piece of coursework.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I defently feel that I have learnt alot from doing this task - although the majority of this has been about myself, I do strongly feel that I have learnt alot about the media industry and the way that audiences poseave films, and the way in which the film industry pull the audience into a film with the first few minutes. As well as this I can now tell the difference from a good film, and one that may not be such as good just from watching the titles sequence.
I think that my groups title sequence challenges forms of a real socialst production as the title sequence is not as dark and as gritty as a real production would be, even though most of the shot were filmed on an over cast day, this can not be seen as well as a real media prodution would be filmed as they would have all of the equiptment that would be used to create the weather and the astmosphe. But I do think that if we could film the whole film, or maybe even a short film, then we would see that it is a social realist becuase further on into the film it would become more dark and gritty, as the begining of the film everything is fine.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I think that my media production represents the business society very well, portraying that it is a "Dog eat dog" world, and it should be everyman for them self. This is proartraed by how the man loses his job, and how his company which was once bringing in alot of profit and revenue just crashed one day and went under.
As well as this I think that our title sequence does represent family life in this day in age, as everyone seems to be worried about money and how everything is going to pan out, worrying weather or not your doing the best for children and your parner.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Who would be the audience for your media product?
In my opinion, I think that we have aimed for an older audience, but then again the film may also appeal to some teenagers, because also "The Decline" is a social realist film, i also think that there is a romantic side to the main charactor, due to all of the heartache that he goes through with his family trouble and the love that he has for his wife and his daughter, doing everything that he can for them.
How did you attract/address your audience?
Although my title sequence does not have a voice over, which "American Beauty" has, I think that the fact that out title sequence does not give alot away could either intise the audience in making them want to watch more, or they would just find it boring and walk away.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Whilst filming I have learn how hard it is to edit a piece of film, and to make sure that you know exactly what you are and exactly what you want to do before starting firstly to save time and secondly to make sure that you do not lose any of your work whilst editng which did happen a few times, and sometimes this even meant that we had to go back a re-film a few shots as we had lost them in the editing process.
As well as this I learn how hard it was to light a set, as I was doing this for most of the time whilst filming, this may have had something to do with the fact that we was only using one big light that we borrowed from the art department, but making sure that the light in always in the same place and as not to cast shaddows where they are not needed or wanted was a very hard thing to learn. But I will deffinatly remember all of this before and during shooting our next piece of coursework.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I defently feel that I have learnt alot from doing this task - although the majority of this has been about myself, I do strongly feel that I have learnt alot about the media industry and the way that audiences poseave films, and the way in which the film industry pull the audience into a film with the first few minutes. As well as this I can now tell the difference from a good film, and one that may not be such as good just from watching the titles sequence.
The Full Monty
"The Full Monty" is a 1997 Britich comedy film, which tells the story of six unemployed men, four of them being steel workers, who decide to form a male striptease act in order to gather enough money to get somewhere else in life and for the main character "Gaz" to be able to see his son, Even though "The Full Monty" is a comedy, it touches on more seriouse subjects such as; unemployement, fathers' rights, depression, inpotence, the working class culture and suicide.
"The Full Monty" Relates to "The Decline" because of its deaper meanings of unemployement and depression, as the young man in our film that we had decided to do has lost his job due to his business going bust, he then ends up in debt and has to do anything and everything he can to help his wife pay the bills and to keep his family happy and feeling safe and secure.
The Pursuit of Happiness
"The Full Monty" Relates to "The Decline" because of its deaper meanings of unemployement and depression, as the young man in our film that we had decided to do has lost his job due to his business going bust, he then ends up in debt and has to do anything and everything he can to help his wife pay the bills and to keep his family happy and feeling safe and secure.
The Pursuit of Happiness
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Our Idea.
"A title sequence is the method by which cinemoatic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound. It usually follows but should not be confused wtith the opeing credits, which are generally nothing more than a series of superimposed text."
In my second group that Megan and I joined, along with Charlie and Sam we thought of the idea to do a social realist film: "The Decline" about a young "successfull" business man, with a loving family, and a beautiful wife, in the beging everything is fine, the man has a brilliant job with a big company in London earning lots of money, but because of the current climate the business goes bust. He looses everything. As well as almost loosing his home and his family, our film is about all of the obsticles that this young man has to overcome in order to pay his bills and keep his family happy, as well as finding the courage to tell his wife that he has lost his job and that he is in huge amounts of debt.
In my second group that Megan and I joined, along with Charlie and Sam we thought of the idea to do a social realist film: "The Decline" about a young "successfull" business man, with a loving family, and a beautiful wife, in the beging everything is fine, the man has a brilliant job with a big company in London earning lots of money, but because of the current climate the business goes bust. He looses everything. As well as almost loosing his home and his family, our film is about all of the obsticles that this young man has to overcome in order to pay his bills and keep his family happy, as well as finding the courage to tell his wife that he has lost his job and that he is in huge amounts of debt.
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Title Sequencess...
At the begin of this year Megan and myself was in a group with another boy and we had a good idea for our title sequence for a horror/thriller film which defied the rules of a horror film, where the victim was a young boy and his friends who are murdered for their promiscuous behavior and alcohol abuse, who are then murdered by a brunette girl because of their behavior and the way that they treat girls. After we had drawn up story boards and filmed a pitch the boy in our group had then decided that he wanted to work alone, so then Megan and I was going to continue this as our title sequence but a girl from another group left the school leaving two boys to work on their own. We thought it would then be a good idea to join up with them. We decided to think of a new idea for out title sequence coursework.
Saul Bass
Saul Bass was born in May 8, 1920, in New York City. He studied at the Art Students League in Manhattan until attending classes with Gyorgy Kepes at Brooklyn College. He began his time in Hollywood doing print work for film ads, until he collaborated with filmmaker Otto Preminger to design the film poster for his 1954 film Carmen Jones. Preminger was so impressed with Bass’s work that he asked him to produce the title sequence as well. This was when Bass first saw the opportunity to create something more than a title sequence, but to create something which would ultimately enhance the experience of the audience and contribute to the mood and the theme of the movie within the opening moments. Bass was one of the first to realize the creative potential of the opening and closing credits of a movie.
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Kyle Cooper
Kyle Cooper is the most successful modern designer of motion picture title sequences. He was born in Swampscott, Massachusetts and holds a M.F.A. in Graphic Design from Yale University School of Design and a B.F.A. in Interior Architecture from University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His greatest influence is designer Paul Rand who he studied with at Yale. He specialized in crafting title sequences - the short introductions and closings to films, videogames, and television shows that list the names of the cast and crew involved in the production. He has designed the lead-ins to 150 features including the opening credit sequences of Seven filmed in 1995, Arlington Road filmed in 1999, The Island of Dr. Moreau vfilmed in 1996, Flubber filmed in 1997, The Mummey filmed in 1999, Zoolander filmed in 2001, Spider-Man filmed 2002, Dawn of the Dead filmed in 2004, Spider-Man 2 (2004), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), Superman Returns (2006), Across the Universe (2007), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Tropic Thunder (2008); and the video games Metal Gear Soli 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004). He has also directed live action for television commercials, and he has created film content for the motion picture "Titus Andronicus."
Klye Cooper - Opening Title Sequence For Se7en
" "Seven," a dark, grisly, horrifying and intelligent thriller, may be too disturbing for many people, I imagine, although if you can bear to watch, it you will see filmmaking of a high order. It tells the story of two detectives - one ready to retire, the other at the start of his career - and their attempts to capture a perverted serial killer who is using the Seven Deadly Sins as his scenario. "
In my media lesson I’m learning about Mese-en-scene, this is French for “Everything in the frame”. Today we watched the opening sequence for a 1995 American crime film “Se7en” directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker, oh yes I did my research! As the film starts Morgan Freeman, who plays a retiring Detective William Summerset, standing in his kitchen cleaning up after he made a coffee and straightening his cuffs. The camera then moves on to show Summerset carefully doing up his tie in front of his mirror, then picking up, in order, his belonging which are neatly laid out on the table in front of him, first his keys, then his detective badge, an old school pen knife and lastly a ball point pen, placing the knife and the pen in his shirt pocket. We next see Summerset in his bedroom with his suit jacket carefully laid out on the bed; Summerset checks the jacket for fluff, carefully picks up his jacket to put it on, then turning off his bedside lamp. The lighting and the coloring of Summerset flat are both very dull; the darkness of the flat suggests it could either be early morning or early evening, whilst setting an eerie atmosphere. The color scheme throughout the flat is a series of creams, beige, browns and greys, this shows us that everything is just used for its function, the kitchen is just a kitchen, no socializing would be done in there, and it is simply used for breakfast, lunch and dinner – just serving its purpose.The next scene shows a dead body laying on the floor in a pool of blood, in a badly lit gloomy house, keeping the dull and eerie atmosphere running throughout the title sequence, the camera moves along the body and then straight to Summerset who is walking through the house, each pace the same, with his hands in his pockets, looking into each room, you can also see a dimly lit light hanging from the ceiling behind him. Summerset then walks into the kitchen and see’s children’s drawings on the fridge and asks another detective the other end of the hall to him, asking if the child saw anything, the reaction from this man, whom I will name the Sloppy Cop, replies to him “what kind of a question is that!?” We’ll be glad when we’ve got rid of you Summerset” this shows us that the cop only really cares about the result, finding out who did it so that he gets paid, nothing else, but on the other hand, Summerset does a good job, he reads between the lines and is almost worried about the child, he wants every piece of information there is to do the job properly – old school almost. Showing us that Summerset has everything he does, is done with efficiency, this is from the way he decorates his home, to the how he dresses to how he does his job. Behind the cop who is speaking to Summerset we can see, no in plain view but behind, as if it is just an everyday thing, a blood splattered blind which is most likely from a gunshot to the head, this makes the viewer also worry about the child, would he/she have had to go through such a terrible ordeal? Next Bradd Pitt who plays the rookie detective David Mills comes rushing up the stairs, late to work, chewing gum, unshaven and not as smartly dresses as Summerset, “Detective Summerset? I’m Detective Mills” This is not how someone should address someone formally, Mills says this in a very cocky way, he also cocks his head to one side almost as if he knows everything, already fighting to be above Dective Mills. Next we see the body being taken out of the house, covered up and being taken to have a post mortem done on him. The rain is created outside for the impending doom of the underbelly of New York, still carrying on the gloom and despair of what is the down town part New York and you can also hear sirens in the back ground and the flash of the paparazzo camera’s, the public who walk past Mills and Summerset as they walk down the street talking are all dressed in black, again showing the dullness which surrounds them all. As Summerset and Mills walk down the street talking Summerset keeps his same pace, walking with his hands in his pockets, just letting the world almost past him by, he also talks in the same tone, everything about this man is officiate, everything is done with the same amount of purpose, where as Mills walks at a different pace, having to slow down and turning to face Summerset as they talk. It is clear that they are two completely different people, and that it is like Mills is constantly fighting to have the same status as Summerset. As well as this, when Mills is talking to Summerset he cannot completely face him, and never keeps his eye contact, almost as if he has something to hide, he is not sure of Summerset or that he is just being wary of him. Near the end of the conversation, Summerset turns to face mills, face to face, and Mills then crosses his arms, showing annoyance, impatience and contempt to what Summerset is saying to him. Summerset then walks off leaving Mills standing with his arms crossed, showing his true annoyance. Next we see Summerset, laying in bed, in a badly lit dull room, used simply for its purpose, sleeping in and for getting dressed – nothing else. Summerset sets a metronome, an old school timing device which is used normally by pianists to keep them in time, in the background we can hear everything that Summerset can hear, both outside his home, and in his head, there are; police sirens, dogs barking, the hussle and bussle of the city outside, shouting, the loud sound of the metronome and then a loud burst of thunder which leads into the titles. It could be that Summerset sets the metronome so that he can try and forget everything that he has seen and heard during his life, these may have something to do with noises outside his home which he can hear, he also goes to sleep with two bedside lamps on, this shows his paranoia of the dark, being alone and the bad things that happen in the underbelly of New York.The titles sequence shows us what could be the serial killer in this film, everything is shot in black white, this represents the way in which the serial killer thinks, there are no shades of gray, everything is either black or white, your are either a sinner or a saint. This also relates to Summerset, although his home and his clothes are dull colors, he does have grey, browns and beiges, which shows us that to him there are shades of grey, that you have to read between the lines, no everything is as it is on the first look. Also we only see this man’s hands, no face, and no torso. The music that is played during this titles sequence has the sounds of chains and zips, high pitches screams but this is almost as if it is all on a cerset-tape which is being rewound, creating a since of confusion and fright, as if you would come out in cold sweats listening to it. Throughout the titles we can see the serial killer clearly and precisely lining out words in books and newspaper clipping in a black marker, he also lines out a young boys face and nearly and carefully writes out codes on lots of pieces of paper which he bines himself into a book using an old needle and string. The serial killer is also seen looking at old brain surgery pictures, pictures of dead people and murders, he cuts this pictures out and keeps this is a note book, we also see him carefully cut out the word “God” out of a dollar bill with a scalpel and tweezers, this suggests to us that the murders he commits are religious based.
The New York Times Magazine called the title sequence Kyle Cooper created for Se7en one of the most important design innovations of the 1990s.
The New York Times Magazine called the title sequence Kyle Cooper created for Se7en one of the most important design innovations of the 1990s.
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