Form Research… (Primary)

Title Sequences…• Film opening sequences are argued to be the

most important part of a film, as it sets the tone, atmosphere and characters for the media product’s target audience.

• Many of the various title sequences produced are known as ‘mainstream’ as they stick to a similar structure and style of sequence.

• There are numerous well- known and recognised film title designers in this industry. The most famous of these is Saul Bass.

Saul Bass

Saul Bass.• Saul was born 8th May 1920 in

New York City, USA.• He was a graphic designer and

filmmaker and during his 40 year career, he worked alongside Hollywood blockbusters, and world-famous directors such as Alfred Hitchcock.

• In particular, Bass had designed the overall look of the opening sequence for the Hitchcock’s probably most famous film ‘Psycho’.

• In addition, Saul Bass has created now famous American logos, such as the original AT&T ‘bell’ logo.

• Overall, for any genre a modern opening sequence that introduces the mood/theme of a film is said to be a legacy of Bass’s work.

Saul Bass was born in 1920, and died April 25th 1996 in Los Angeles.

More Images

Opening Sequences….Timelines!

• Most mainstream opening film title timelines stick to the same ‘style’/ order within the sequence, as mentioned before.

• This is the usual order of titles:

1. Name of the Studio 7. Music2. Production Company 8. Production designer3. Producers/ Directors 9. Film Editors4. Starring… 10. Director of

Photography5. Film Title 11. Producer6. Casting Director 12. Director 13. Based on…true story/events, the novel by etc.

‘KES’ (1969).KES, produced by the independent film company ‘Woodfall Film Productions’ follow the life of a 15 year old working class boy form Yorkshire and how he is bullied at school, and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother. The story then follows the actions of the young boy and how he finds a kestrel falcon that he can train and calls ‘KES’.This is ‘KES’’s opening titles timeline:0:00 Studio and Production Logos.2:39 Production Companies’ title.2:50 Title of Film.3:00 Starring…3:22 Based on the book…4:17 Edited and Director of Photography.4:22 Art Director and Music Director.4:29 Production Supervisor, Assistant Director, Director of sound, Continuity etc.4:42 Produced and Directed by…

From the usual order of titles on the previous slide, we can see the Social Realism Film ‘KES’ (1969) follows this mainstream trend in terms of the order of the titles. ‘KES’ had a £157,000 budget.

Textual analysis of ‘KES’ (1969)- The first 2 minutes… why is it effective as an opening sequence?The use of low-key lighting in the first shot (picture shown opposite) is used to connote the dark setting of the film i.e. the early morning and also depicts the naturalistic atmosphere within the bedroom.This is more or less the only shot that is used I the first two minutes of the film which consequently makes this opening scene more poignant and connotes to the persistence of the older brother as he urges his younger brother to wake up and get ready.Furthermore, the use of diegetic sound when the alarm clock rings, accompanied by the movement of the dad as he turns the alarm clock off reflects the desirable actions of man as we would probably rather have a lie-in as oppose to going to work(!) and consequently emphasises the organic nature of the film.Moreover, the use of dialogue is used to establish the relationship between the two brothers and as they share the bed, this may indicate a poor background, indicating the stereotypical financial position of working class people.

A screenshot from ‘YouTube’ depicting the first few second of the opening clip (excluding the titles)This opening sequence is effective as it cleverly depicts and captures the lives of the family in the film and makes it relevant and relatable to a wider target audience, due to the lack of non-diegetic sound and natural location shooting (some of the conventions of social realism).

‘Psycho’ (1960)‘Psycho’, written and directed by the world famous Alfred Hitchcock by the independent institution ‘Shamley Productions’ is about an office worker (Marion Crane) is tired of how she has lived her life. After being asked to bank £40000 by her employer, Marion sees this as a chance to start a new life. Tired, stressed and caught in a fierce weather storm, Marion enters ‘The Bates Hotel’, which is managed by a quiet young man that is dominated by his mother…This is ‘Psycho’’s Timeline:0:10 Director0:14 Name of Film0:22 Starring…0:32 Co- starring0:57 Screenplay/ based on…1:06 Director of Photography, art direction, set decorator, unit manager, titles designer.1:16 editing, costume, make-up, hair stylist, special FX, sound recordings1:19 copyright1:31 Assistant director, picture consultant1:37 Music1:43 Director

Textual analysis of ‘Psycho’ (1960)- The first 2 minutes… why is it effective as an opening sequence?

The film ‘Psycho’ begins with an establishing shot of the city which immediately sets the scene for both the film and the audience which consequently connotes to the equilibrium and the initial urban environment that the film is set.Furthermore, there is the use of pan and zoom, which then dissolve into each other between each zoomed in shot. This may connote to, and foreshadow to the disorientation, confusion and sheer panic seen on Marion's face as she is in grave peril in the famous shower scene. Then, the camera zooms in on a specific apartment in a building with the text on screen ‘TWO FORTY-THREE pm’. This connotes to the showing of a significant character(s) and how, for the moment live an ordinary lifestyle. Next, the shot then fades into the actual room of Marion and her husband which consequently allows the regime of the characters to be displayed completely. This overall displays the organic relationship between the two characters which is then re-iterated by Marion’s provocative clothing. Moreover, the use of dialogue connotes to their close relationship and the use of ambient sound throughout connotes to the undertone of the malicious intent of the ‘Psycho’ and foreshadows the death of the detective and Marion.

The picture above is a screenshot from ‘YouTube’ of the establishing shot in the film.This film’s opening sequence is effective as the frequent use of camera movement reflects the ominous nature of the film and also is relevant to the genre.

FORM RESEARCH (Secondary)

We also want our film to have an impact on the audience and also memorable.

We may follow suit with this idea and have our titles displayed in a relevant and appropriate way.

We may want to keep editing to a minimal for our media production (as this is one of the genre conventions).

We may want to include certain ideologies within our narrative in order to convey our intentions with our product and emphasise associations with the ‘working class’

‘Artofthetitlesequence’: ‘This is England’ (1986)

We possibly intend to use close ups in our production in order to convey our narrative fully, especially of the face, as this will show the extent of living at places like a council estate.

We initially want to have our actors emotionally engrossed in their roles and therefore their face(s) will be a significant part of our characters’ appearance.

‘Artofthetitlesequence: ‘Seconds’

‘Artofthetitlesequence’:‘Seconds’ (con)

We want our media production to convey a certain ‘meaning to the audience’ we also want our target audience to be entertained.

We would preferably want to use a variety of camera shots to keep the audience entertained. In addition, we may want to use more hand-held camera shots in order to conform to our genre conventions.

We would like our location shots to be quite naturalistic.

‘Creativebloq’: ‘Batman’

Again, like what was said before, our media product must be memorable and make a particular impact on the audience.

Our title sequence and overall branding of the film should be eye-catching, especially for our target audience.

Like on the previous slide, we want to include different paces of camera movement in order to connote to different aspects of our narrative

‘Creativebloq’: ‘Se7en’

In order to make our media product successful as a product, and for our target audience’s needs too, we require every detail to be thought through thoroughly.

The details explained in the opposite box include the use of props, as this will probably be a significant aspect of our social realism film.

Kyle Cooper, like Saul Bass is a famous opening title sequence director and producer.