Conventions of a title sequence

The title sequence is probably one of the most important things on the film apart from the actual film itself. it introduces the audience to the people involved in making the film, the actors within the film and the film name. The first thing that a title sequence does is hat it tell the audience who the distributer is; their job is to fund to film and also to get into onto TV and DVD's ECT.



Everything within a title sequence should be relevant to the film itself, for example when 'Hollywood pictures and Spyglass entertainment' come up the movement and colors of the companies link with the genre.



The next thing that a title sequence may do is name the production company. The production company job is to actually the make the film by spending the money that the distributer gives to them and hires directors, film crew ECT.



The next thing that may be shown is the characters in the film are extremely important this is because actors make the film interesting, but also and most interestingly most people sonly go to see film because of the actors in it this is because actors have fans that love to see that particular person movies.



The next thing that the audience may see is the name of the film may be the most important part of the film because if the film does turn out to be big that is the name that everyone will remember it by throughout history.



The next thing that the title sequence may show is the Film team The consist of casting, the person who picks the characters for the film, Costume design the decide on the clothes that the character are going to wear, Music director are the people that play the music in the background to add emotion and emphasis to certain point of the film and lastly the editor. They are the people who edit the film into to one.



The Production designer is the person who decides where the character will be at which ever point in the film that, they also decide on the surroundings and where the film will be set.



Also a very important person is the director of photography, they are the person that sets up the various different shots in the film for example if it is going to be close up they will the one setting up for the shot.



The last thing that you may see is the film writer and direct this is because they are the most important because without the film writer there wouldn’t be a film. Also the director sets up everything to their liking and if it doesn’t fit then he shall keep doing it until he see’s fit.

Taxi Driver(Scorsese,1976, US)

Title of the film

The title of the film is shown in yellow and it actually looks like a traditional American taxi it has a 3D shape to it, The designer does very well because before the Title comes up a taxi passes and e get to see how similar the taxi and the car look to each other.

Setting / location

The setting and location is revealed because the audience get to see a P.O.V shot from the taxi drivers perspective, and that reveals the setting of the film which is in a Busy New york city. This is known because if the types of buildings and lights that are only in New York.

Costumes and Props

There are not really any costumes or props the only thing that could be seen as a prop would probably be the taxi and they put that in there because the opening sequence needs to be relevant to the rest of film.

Interesting camera work / editing

The eyes I think is a good shot because people say that you can tell a lot from people just by looking in their eye and this eyes of this man tells me that he is just living and ordinary life and he wants something different.

Title and font style

The title of the film is shown in yellow and it actually looks like a traditional American taxi it has a 3D shape to it, The designer does very well because before the Title comes up a taxi passes and e get to see how similar the taxi and the car look to each other.

Story – and how the opening sequence sets up the story

A story is being made because of the P.O.V shots that the audience is going through and being shown. This in turns put the audience in the taxi drivers shows they get to see things the way he does so that in turn builds a story.

Genre

The genre is slighted towards Thriller this is because the are no words said this adds to the story itself, this is done in a lot of thriller movies where there aren’t any words in the opening sequence. To add to the fill of the thriller.

How any characters are introduced?

There is only one character introduced and that is the taxi driver he is introduced while he is working. This may tell the audience that he is the most important person in the film because he is the only in the opening sequence and also the film is named after him.

Special effect they show a shot of the city that is blurred that is a good shot because it asks a lot of questions one being what did the direct decide to show this shot in a blurred fashion.

Kiss me deadly(Robert Aldrich, 1955, US)

Film Title:

The font of the credits in the title sequence is a quiet big and bold I think that this may be partly to blame for the time that the film was made in which is 1955 this just after the second world war so this may be representative of the fact that they are living simple times compared to then. The thing that is most alarming about the title film credits is that opposed to the normal top to bottom it was done from bottom to top in effect the text was written backwards on the page this again could foreshadow the fact that there is backwards events that take place in the rest of the film.

Setting:

The setting becomes apparent due to the fact that there are crops in the first shot we see of the girl that indicated that is in the country side somewhere although the man in the opening sequence has an American accent that again indicates that the opening sequence is in America. It is dark as well so we can’t really tell much else from that but we do know that it is in a near a mental asylum this is because the girl is running from there this could add to the story later on in the film.

Costumes / props:

The costumes in the opening sequence are quiet simple. There is a girl that we are introduced to first and she is wearing nothing but a long jacket that is covering everything from her neck to her legs. This in itself raises a lot of questions to the audience, such as why is she only wearing a jacket, why is she running, is she running from anything if so what? The male character we are first introduced to is wearing a suit this is probably to give the audience an indication of what type of person the man is and to indicate the type of life he is living. Also the man is driving a sports car this can also add to the audiences interpretation of the characters life. This is emphasized when he almost runs over the girl and says ‘you almost wrecked my car’ instead of ‘are you alright’. This is an indication of the type of man he is because he worries about materialistic things instead of others wellbeing.

Editing / camera work:

The camera shot in the opening sequence are very quick shot this is to show and emphasize the panic within the scene. The first shot we see is the shot of the women running with her bare feet. This shots is a very clever because was a very intriguing shot because it raises a plethora of questions just from one shot. Also they do a close up on the women’s face to show her panic and leave the audience confused as to why she is like this again raising the suspicion from the audience; Also the girl is panting a lot this could also indicate her fear through sound. Another shot that I found interesting is the shot from behind the characters, while some of the credits were running. I think that this shot was very inventive because I have never seen anything done like this in that way.

Titles / Font style:

The thing that is most alarming about the title film credits is that opposed to the normal top to bottom it was done from bottom to top in effect the text was written backwards on the page this again could foreshadow the fact that there is backwards events that take place in the rest of the film. This taking place when the two people are in the shot also the colour of the font is in white so this could be men that the colour of the font hasn’t got much to with genre of film.

How the opening sequence sets up a setting:

The whole opening sequence set up a story for the rest of the film. It does this from the first shot shown in the sequence is the girl running from something this in itself could make a story and the film could have been made off of this shot. Although the audience know that women is desperate to get away from what she is running from because she comes to her last resort to try and get the cars to stop and take her by standing in front of a car this shows how desperate she actually is to get away. This is when the audience are introduce to the suave character which is the male in the opening sequence we know that he is at a high class job because he is wearing a suit and driving a sports car this shows what type of person he is and indicates to the life he lives. The two have now become a team and the audience know this because when the police stop him he doesn’t give the girl in instead he lies to keep her out of trouble; this could be the start of a long lasting relationship. And that is when they pull up at the petrol station and start their story.

Genre:

The genre of the film is generally suggested through the event in the sequence it could be one of three action, horror or thriller. The things that would lead the clip to a horror is because the fact that the girl is running from something, this could be a monster. The fact that the police are stopping cars and asking them questions to do with the girl in the car their particular car is leading it towards a thriller. The man in a suit and sports car is leading it into and action film because this is similar to James Bond and other actions characters.

Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan, 1999, US)

Film Title:
Firstly when analysing the title, the font is becomes spaced out and as the credits advance, they start to also expand on the screen. This may be symbolic of the fact that during the film problems start out small and increase. In addition to this, the font of the text is in blue which is a generally used and associated with thrillers; blue indicates a cold , damp and uncomfortable feeling. As soon as the title 'Sixth Sense comes’ appears on the screen, a sudden burst of loud screeching sound gets played. This helps the audience to know what type of film this is because, film makers mostly make the opening sequence relevant to the rest of the film.

Setting:
The setting is shown to the audience in a cellar, generally when an audience see an cellars, they relate it to horror film which have been used in various films such as paranormal activity two. When the light is turning on at first, it doesn't do it instantly, it takes a few seconds. Within these few seconds, an atmosphere is created which is on the edge of your seat almost already waiting for something to happen. The female actress who enters the cellar looks extremely paranoid as if there is something unusual making her feel uneasy, also doesn't look as if she feels safe in the cellar. This is indicated to the audience when she’s leaving and starts running up the stairs. Film makers try to leave the audience asking questions from the opening sequence therefore they may be wondering what she is running from.

Costumes/Props:
Firstly, the woman we see is wearing a dress, it is very colourful and really contrasts against the cellar this again could add to the stereotype that is women are weak and this is reinforced by the fact that is he wearing a dress. The women is doing a simple job just collecting wine although she looks very nervous whilst she is doing it, this is also backed up by when she is leaving the cellar, she starts running, and this shows that she is vulnerable. A plack is shown to the audience that shows that Dr Malcolm is a successful man which gives them an insight for the type of man he is. Dr Malcolm is a child physiologist which means that he works with mentally ill people, which may which may be foreshadowing something in the rest of the film. A man breaking into a house may be the first sign of weird things within the film; and could be relevant to the rest of the film. The person isn’t very good looking at and makes you feel uneasy. Also, the fact that he is naked asks the audience questions they can’t answer. Why he is naked, what does he have to do with Dr. Malcolm and why is he in the state he is in? The film makers done this to keep the audience on the edge of their seats and also interested on the film.

Editing/Camera Work:
Several different shots are included in the opening. The first one i saw was when the woman ran up the stairs in the cellar. It was as though she was running away from something. When the naked man has entered the house, the woman sees the broken glass on the window sill and floor. the camera zooms up close to give the reaction of her face. This can symbolise that she is scared and creates a tense atmosphere.

Titles/Font Style:
The title font at the beginning of the movie is all in capital letters and is very easy to read. This may indicate that there are going to be clues to certain situation in the film so they should look out for them and it isn’t going to be as easy as the title sequence. As the title advances, the writing starts to increase in its size and spread out across the screen. The font colour is also blue which can represent the genre of a thriller film.

How The Opening Sets Up A Story:
The beginning of the opening really sucks the audience into the film. Immediately when the light bulb flickers, it gives the scene a sense of suspense as to what is going on in the scene. The cellar reminds everyone of loneliness and vulnerability this becomes more apparent because of the fact that the women is by herself. There is a point in the scene where the woman is standing still and a master shot is taken of her and the room this would add to the effect of the thrilling part of the film showing how the room is overpowering her, in addition to this she is shaking because it is so cold and then she runs up the stairs. This gives the audience an indication that something is wrong which will again leave them asking questions. They also start to introduce other characters into the film, telling us what the man does for a living. When the naked man is brought into the scene, it intrigues the viewers and hardly gives us an explanation into why and what Dr. Malcolm had done for the man to be so angry. This is once more making the audience ask questions about why these events are taking place.

Genre:
The genre of the film is a thriller. There are several different ways we can recognise the film is a thriller. The title at the begging has an Erie piece of music playing in the background and also the font colour is blue which can also symbolise a thriller film. The opening of the film in the cellar is also the first indication we get of what the genre is. Creepy, Erie and intriguing are only some words that can some up the genre giveaways.

Final product

Evaluation

planning

brief

Job roles when making a film

Film distribution: involves launching and sustaining films in the marketplace. The film business is about selling as much as possible so Film Distributors must connect each film they release with the widest possible audience.

Actor: job is to perform in the film and help advertise it through things like interviews and billboards posters.

Casting: is to gather a number of actor candidates for a given role in a film.

Costume design: is to dress the cast members.


Music: is the sound tracks and film scores which is the background music applied to a film.
Editor: is responsible for assembling raw material into a finished product suitable for releases.


Production company: is a company responsible for physical production of film. The company may also be responsible for the raising of funding for the production or may accomplish this through an intermediary.

Production designer: are responsible for the visual concept of a film use art department and construction team.


Director of photography or cinematographer: is responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image.

Executive producer: is sometimes involved with a property that has since been turned into a film, but has no direct input into the creative process of the film itself.

Screenplay or script: is a written work that is made especially for a film. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing