detailed analysis of two or three openings

i have chose to review zombie land because it is different to other zombie films. In the early twenty-first century, zombies have taken over America. A shy and inexperienced college student in Texas has survived by following his 30 rules: such as "look in the back seat," "shoot twice," "avoid public restrooms." He decides to travel to Ohio to see if his parents are alive. He gets a ride with a boisterous zombie-hating good-old boy headed for Florida, and soon they confront a young woman whose sister has been bitten by a zombie and wants to be put out of her misery. The sisters were headed to an LA amusement park they've heard is zombie free. Can the kid from Ohio get to his family? And what about rule thirty one?
 this is the storyline for zombieland it shows the usual connotations for a zombie film people trying to escape the zombies with some sort of enigma in this film the rules. we looked at this because we have seen the movie before and we remembered the credits for this would suit our film. we looked at how they enter leave, the style.  The style is  bold and red (red to show blood and to go with the genre) they appear and interact with the characters.

production and personal schedule

1. create blog and post our meeting minutes, production schedule, a questionnaire, a written script, evidence of what we have researched our horror, institution research, typography. we filmed our continuity piece so that we could get use to the equipment(camera, tripod, how to put the dv tape in safely) we recorded our continuity piece and the took the film to the mac room so we could edit it and get use to the imovie programme.

2. for our planning evidence we looked at other movies from our genre such as dawn of the dead, shawn of the dead, land of the dead, diary of the dead, zombie land and we also looked at a foreign film called dead snow.  we also looked at the typography from other films and we went to da font to play around with different titles.

3. we drew our storyboards and started to snowball ideas. when we finished this we then hired out our equipment and started to film our final decision.

4 after our filming this is when we started to edit, this is where cut unnecessary clips and added effects using i movie. we added our sound effects in from garage band.

5. this is our final step where we decided if anything needed changing with sound text and more cutting.

Seven Analysis

At the beginning of Seven we are introduced to the character Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman).Firstly We see  Somerset‘s character and we view him through  Mise -en-scene, cinematography, sound and through the editing as well. in the opening sequence we see Detective Somerset is in a kitchen assuming it is his, cleaning a coffee pot, from this we could interpret that he likes to keep his items clean and tidy. The curtains in his house look like bars this could represent that he lives somewhere dangerous, he is protective of himself or that he does not wish to communicate with the outside world much. on the table what we assume is his house there is a chessboard which is offend played by people who are strategic, this could be a big give away for  us to learn about him this is because chess is a game where you have to stay one step ahead of the other person, this then relates back to his job as a detective.

We see  Detective Somerset’s face, as he is tying his tie, we can see from this he likes to be well dressed, we could also say that he likes to dress intelligently, going back him and playing chess.   Next shot we see a close up of a table that shows a pen his police badge and a pocket knife. these three objects can all be seen differently, for instance the pen can be seen as the pen is mightier then the sword, as in he does more damage with his pen then his gun or pocket knife, his police badge can represent everything the police stand for justice fairness and safety. this can be related to his personality. his pocket knife can be seen as his back up after then pen sometimes you need to fight fire with fire. The objects are neatly positioned as well this tells us his coffee pot he has a place for his items and likes them neat and tidy.  We then see detective Somerset pick off a piece of dust from his jacket, going back to the coffee pot he likes his things clean and neat. This could also represent that  he scouts things out seeing every little detail. Detective Somerset's apartment is filled with darkness and has little rays of light bursting through this could be represented as him being a ray of hope in a dark town. There is also hardly any sound throughout all of this, there is no non-diegetic sound and hardly any diegetic sound just Somerset moving about his apartment.
   

In the next scene detective Somerset uses his keen eye to see the little detail. He then asks the other detective   “Did the kid see it?” the detective replies saying why does it matter if the kids see it or not we cant find the murder. This shows that he cares about the little things hoping that he can get big information out of something everybody could have missed .In the next scene we see Detective Mills (played by Brad Pitt)  ,we gather from his first impression he is almost smug, he looks and sounds confident and is chewing gum which is classic cheeky bad cop who plays by no ones rules but his own. We see Detective Somerset  asks Detective Mills about going somewhere else to relax and sit down to talk about the case. Detective Mills challenges Somerset and suggest something else. we see from this that they are both fighting to be alpha male or in this case the top detective.

This scene is shown the in the street the camera is in a worms eye view shot and looking towards them, this can show them as the law, big and powerful. Then this could be countered, when detective  Mills is walking down the street a woman bumps into him hard with no reaction of moving out the way. He then looks at her in disgust, this then tells me that maybe the law are not appreciated around those parts. When both detective Mills and Somerset walk down the they both walk with purpose and meaning, this is to feel the streets with authority.

The secondary part of the scene detective Mills tells detective Somerset that he doesn't want to be guarding a taco bell, this tells me that his last job he was all about the action and got the exciting cases to deal with. The next scene is back on Somerset and back in his apartment. He is reading a book in bed, this again helps me with the point of him being intelligent. He then carefully places his glasses on his bedside table and starts his metronome, the ticking of the metronome could be to help him drown out the background noise and help him concentrate on his thoughts, again refers to his intelligent's and him shielding himself from the general public.

As we get closer to Somerset's face with the metronome still going, the scene ends and we are brought on to the opening titles. It starts off by showing a close up of a book that is blank this is maybe a scrap book, there is also had that you can make out vividly turning the pages. The sound of  music in the background sounds very dark, creepy and adds a high pitch noise which sounds like screaming. We can clearly see that this book turner if you will is the bad guy in the film. the typography is projected as scratched on and moves quickly. This could represent the killer moving quickly without being seen 

Smashing Magazine - The Art Of Film Title Design Throughout Cinema History

Wednesday, 

Smashing Magazine - The Art Of Film Title Design Throughout Cinema History

1. It could be argued that typography lost importance in this era of title design. The imagery behind the credits received a lot more attention. Still, the interplay of typography and images was by no means ignored. Popular trends of the 1950s were using three-dimensional lettering and embedding type in physical artifacts such as embroidery and signage. In contrast, Saul Bass often approached the lettering of a main title as he would a logo, making it function as the core element in a full marketing campaign. While the variety of solutions increased considerably, their anchor was always the relationship of on-screen typography to the movie itself.

I like this because it shows that the development of title sequences, instead of just using writing they introduced pictures into the sequence.

2. The potential of digital graphics and typography has attracted some of the most creative minds to motion design. Pixar and Disney have reserved crucial parts in the branding of their films for the title sequences. Using animated characters to introduce viewers to the story became a popular trend. Such talented graphic designers as Susan Bradley (Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., WALL-E, Ratatouille), Jaimi Caliri (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events), Dave Nalle (Corpse Bride), Michael Riley (The Back-Up Plan, Kung Fu Panda) and Michael Curtis (Brother Bear) use all manner of tools to test different approaches to designing titles. One thing these individuals have in common is a drive to find a strong metaphor and tell an exciting story with their sequences.

I like this because it shows the creativity of people and what they have done just by making specific typography for specific movies.

3. The incorporation of audio into movies — making them “talkies” — didn’t revolutionize how film titles were handled, at least not immediately. However, we do see one avant-garde animator and painter of German origin, Oskar Fischinger, give serious thought to the relationship between visual effects and music. Fischinger’s practice of subordinating the visual rhythm to the audio was repeated often in motion graphics and title design.

I like this because it talks about how sound is a good feature to add into a title sequence. This is key because sound is a big micro feature that is used carefully in may sequences.

4. As movies grew more popular, their titles evolved. Movie producers invested considerable sums in film production and sometimes resorted to fixing a dog of a film by rewriting the inter-titles. For a time, “film doctor” Ralph Spence (1890–1949) was the highest-paid title writer in the industry, earning $10,000 a picture for his one-liners.

I like this because it tells us that movies and the media were starting to become a big impact on people lives because they had to go see the latest movie or watch television.

5. In addition to hiring lettering artists, the biggest film studios began to employ typesetters in the production of title cards. Among the fonts often adopted for titles and inter-title cards were Pastel (BB&S, 1892), National Old Style (ATF, 1916) and Photoplay (Samuel Welo’s Studio, 1927).

I like this because it just shows how far the media has come since 'day 1'. From using boards to show the title they can now put it in 3D.

Treatment

 

 

 

 

The Equilibrium - A man (Shaun) wakes up to a normal day, but everyday me see people throughout where he lives start disappearing and there are more death reports on the news.

The Disruption - Shaun finds out that there is a zombie attack because of a news report and zombies try to brake into his house.

The Recognition - Shaun finds his friends, Ray, John and Matthew in Ray's house, they decide to stick together and go to there school for shelter.

The Attempts To Repair The Disruption - They find a radio in the school that they can use to contact others to help them survive.

The New Equilibrium - They contact people and get help to rescue them but zombies are attacking them as they get rescued so they may not make it out alive.

Research Into A Title Sequence Designer

 

 

Saul Bass

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.

Carmen Jones (1954)
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
Storm Center (1956)
Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
Vertigo (1958)
Anatomy of a Murder (1958)
The Big Country (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Psycho (1960)
Spartacus (1960)
Exodus (1960)
Advise and Consent (1960)
Ocean's Eleven (1960)
West Side Story (1961)
Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
The Victors (1963)
Nine Hours to Rama (1963)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
The Cardinal (1963)
In Harm's Way (1965)
Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
Grand Prix (1966)
Seconds (1966)
Broadcast News (1987)
Big (1988)
The War of the Roses (1989)
Goodfellas (1990)
Cape Fear (1991)
Doc Hollywood (1991)
The Age of Innocence (1993)
Casino (1995)

The Man With The Golden Arm


Anatomy Of Murder


In both of these opening title sequences created by Saul Bass they both have a similar typography. on each slide of the sequence we see something move and then there is either a persons name in or around what has just appeared onto the screen.

"My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it."
This is a quote what Saul Bass said about the design of title sequences and what he thought of them.

Evidence Of Researching Your Chosen genre

 

 

Horror

Horror films are unsettling movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, disgust and horror from viewers. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres. Horrors also frequently overlap with the thriller genre.
Horror films deal with the viewer's nightmares, hidden worst fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Although a good deal of it is about the supernatural, if some films contain a plot about morbidity, serial killers, a disease/virus outbreak and surrealism, they may be termed "horror".

Let Men In Trailer (2010)


Plots written within the horror genre often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event, or personage, commonly of supernatural origin, into the everyday world. Themes or elements often prevalent in typical horror films include ghosts, torture, gore, werewolves, ancient curses, satanism, demons, vicious animals, vampires, cannibals, haunted houses, zombies and masked serial killers. Conversely, stories of the supernatural are not necessarily always a horror movie as well.

What is considered to be a horror film has varied from decade to decade. These days, the term "horror" is applied to films which display more explicit gore, jump scenes/scares or supernatural content (Wes Craven's New Nightmare, A Tale of Two Sisters, Saw films, The Strangers, The Ring, Session 9).

Early horror movies are largely based on classic literature of the gothic/horror genre, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Phantom of the Opera, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. More recent horror films continue to exploit the monsters of literature.

Detailed Analysis Of 2/3 Openings

 

 

Final Destination 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxo1am-1xQ0

The Ring
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gIuCfnmPQg

Cloverfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw_380vJ0Mo

The 3 opening title sequences are of the movies Final Destination 3, The Ring and Cloverfield. Each of these 3 films is a horror but each of the 3 films have a certain type of horror. Final Destination 3 is a horror where the main characters die from everyday things that have gone completely wrong. The Ring is about a when you watch a video tape you die 7 days after watching it by a girl who was killed by her mum and thrown down a well. Lastly Cloverfield is a film about a giant creature that is attacking New York City.

The opening to Final Destination 3 is at a fairground and as the camera fades in and out from all the shots they show you ways of deaths that could happen throughout the film. This is used because the viewers who has seen the last 2 films know that there can be many ways of dying throughout the film and it shows a sense of horror and suspense, if that specific death may occur in the film.
The opening to The Ring is in a girl's house and at the start the television turns itself on twice and what looks like is a person running past the girl in the background and upstairs to kill the girl who is upstairs, her victim for watching the film. This builds suspense and dramatic effect into the title sequence because of the girl being alone and frightened that something is in the house with her.
The opening to Cloverfield is in a celebration party for the main character, the movie is being filmed from a point of view shot by using a hand held camera. The party get disturbed by what they think is an earthquake but when they go out onto the streets of New York the statue of liberty's head has been ripped off and thrown into the street. This suddenly builds suspense because we have not idea what kind of thing could do this.

Analysis Of Contemorary Titles/Opening Vs. Older Titles/Opening

 

The Man With The Golden Arm


The Final Destination


These are 2 very different opening title sequences the first clip is The Man With The Golden Arm was made in 1955 and the second clip is The Final Destination was made in 2009.
The opening sequence of The Man With The Golden Arm looks likes white bars that move into the screen then names of the cast appear then it changes to another set of white bars and the actors names change.
The Final destination opening shows a lot more animation of things such as death but the detail of the picture quality and the way that each slide of the sequence is shown is better quality all round compared to The Man With The golden Arm.
Opening sequences have changed dramatically throughout the years and have been introduced to things such as HD and also 3D.
The similarity of the sequences would be that they both still give the same information about the movie but there are many differences such as the detail of the writing and the animation/pictures in the sequence. The change in the way the opening sequences has been presented is better because it looks better and shows a more dramatic impact of the movie.

Institution Research

 

 

Film producers that will distribute our film 'Deadline' are production companies such as:
Paramount, Dreamworks SKG, 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios.
These types of film production companies would distribute our film because they are the production companies behind films such as The Ring, Predator, Cloverfield and Jurassic Park. These films were some of the biggest and best horror films that these film companies have created and our film Deadline will be in the high rankings with these films.

General Research Into Title Sequences

 

 

The Ring

Piranha 3D

In the opening sequences of both of the horror films that show above, both of them show suspense and tension. This is a key feature that is used throughout many opening sequences in horror films. In the opening sequence that we are going to make we want to add the same amount of tension that is put into real movies. We plan on creating a zombie movie; in the opening sequence the main character (Shaun) is being chased by zombies. We used this idea because there is a lone person being chased by 2/3 zombies and he is literally running for his life to survive. From this it builds suspense and fear into the audience because it will make them feel like they are the main character being chased by the zombies. The purpose of both of these opening sequences is to hook people into wanting to watch the film by scaring them so the suspense and drama of the film is risen and the audience will watch the film.

What did you find difficult about this task?

we found it hard to get the perfect lighting for our film as we needed a spot light but could not find get a spotlight to work. wet hen had to use a lamp which wasnt the best quality but still effective.


 

What new skills have you acquired or developed?

i have not developed any new skills. if any skills developed it was my acting skills.


 

What worked well?

are setting worked well because we needed to have a dark spaced room so we used a drama room.


 

What could you or your team have done better?

try to not break character

Meeting Minutes

Start Filming - 13th - 17th January 2011

Filmed the sequence on the 13th then added the footage onto iMovie to edit, then we realised that we needed more footage in the sequence so we hired the camera for another day and we filmed the last part of footage that we needed.

Edit Footage - 17th - 24th January 2011

We edited the footage in iMovie, this took a while to do because we had some footage that did not fit in with the sequence so we had to alternate the footage and it turned out to be ok when we finally finished it.

Add Music - 24th - 31st January 2011

It took a while to try and find the right music that we wanted for the sequence, at first we wanted to use heavy, loud music but we then tried an alternative of a quieter and suspenseful music which turned out to be better than our first choice of music soundtrack.

Add Sound Effects - 31st January 2011 - 3rd February 2011

The sound effects were added in the last stages of the editing sequence, we added sound effects that have a loud and scary vibe to them that also give off an effect of horror. There are a few sound effects that are the same but it builds the suspense of the film by having a repeating effect.

typography

Our film is a zombie, horror so for our film we have been looking at the typography from Dawn of The Dead, 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Diary of the Dead, Land of the Dead, here are some typography examples for our film Deadline. We chose to use the 3rd typography because it has most characteristics of a zombie film to the others and this typography also has a dark and gloomy effect to it.