Wednesday 28 December 2011

Fonts



















These are some of the fonts that I have selected to use within my title sequence. I have chosen to use one of these specific fonts as I am trying to make the title sequence seem elegant and smart and therefore this is the perfect font as it is a typical classic streamlined text.

However I am hoping to change the colour of the font from black to white to make it more visible in the title sequence. I think this will be the correct choice as other similar film also have this type of font.

In addition I will process this font "Flash" and make the text appear as a typewriter and therefore have a larger element of spy/action. I will also support this font with the sound effect of a typewriter to make it more realistic and exuberate more elements of a spy type film.



The text that I have decided to use is "Edition" which is labeled copyright free and I will hopefully have this font appear in my time sequence in White rather than black. I think that this is the most suitable font out of the 3 options above as it enables me to suit me genre more closely and go for the more sophisticated approach to introducing the film title. Lastly, the reason that I chose this text was it is extremely clear to figure out what each letter is and also it is similar to other films of this genre such as "Salt" and more over "Casino Royale"

Lesson 6

How to produce a perfect pitch
1. The pitch should open with one sentences about the film such as "limtless meets Mr bean"

2. The audience should understand the brief background of the film such as good vs evil

The pitch should run to a maximum of 5-10 minutes as the buyers could become bored and the seller could give too much away not leaving a sense of "unknowing" information.

  • A general outline of the story as this can be strongly related to theory's such as Todorov and Propps theory.
  • Break down the story in the pitch and explain each part clearly and precisely
Another extremely effective form of having a perfect pitch is to use focus groups and questionnaires as this will allow the producer to eliminate errors that they might of not initially saw and also elaborate on certain ideas such as the narrative and story.

Lesson 4

Film Studio Distribution process
For this particular lesson we learnt how films are distributed from production all the way uo to cinemas and theaters. This was extremely helpful as it enabled me to understand the process that is taken to publish a film and the financial side of producing a film.

One of the main things that I found extremely interesting was finding out that cinemas only gain £0.03 from each ticket and therefore produce most of their profits through refreshments and popcorn. I think by also having the process in a visual format it allowed me to understand more clearly the levels of production that is taken from filming the film to the distributors exporting the film nation wide.

Lesson 5

Warner Bro's PowerPoint
















For this particular lesson we had been arranged into different groups whereby we half the class where film producers and the other half where trying to pitch a film idea. for this task I was delegated the task of being part of Warner Bro's and researching background information and typical films this company back, as you can see in the above powerpoint these where our findings.

I think that by doing this task it enabled me to think more closely about production companies and how they affect the film and the way in how it is created. It also allowed me to stubble upon a interesting finding which was some directors are in favour to some production companies as they suit the genre and film types more closely.

Lesson 3

Saul Bass











Saul Bass (May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was a graphic designer  and filmmaker, best known for his design of motion picture title sequence .
During his 40-year career Bass worked for some of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese. Amongst his most famous title sequence are the animated paper cut-out of a heroin addict's arm for Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm , the text racing up and down that eventually becomes a high-angle shot of the United Nations building in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest , and the disjointed text that races together and apart in Psycho.





This was one of Saul Bass's most famous works and it also has his iconic trade mark theme of straight lines.

Lesson 2

The significance of typography and production

The chronological order of a title sequence-
Studio company - E.g Warner Bro's or Paramount
Director- Christopher Nolan or Steven spielberg
Title of film
Stars- In order of of status and grossing
Production crew such as costume designers and camera work
Screenplay writers
Producer and Co producer
Director.



From this title sequence taken from Batman the Dark Knight you can see how the order of names appear in symbolic order. I think that some particular title sequences however are designed to intice viewers more into the visual basics rather than taking notice of the production team of the film. I think this is partially due to the colour of the text and also the size as some title sequences are over shadowed by the suttle story behind.

Lesson 1

Codes and Conventions of Title Sequences

Title sequences usually have similar traits that run through most titles sequences and these are the following;

  • The Director of the film firstly appears
  • Names of stars within the film in order of status and gross of the film
  • A small synopsis of the location and time era of film
  • Acknowledgement of genre through audio and visual basics (enigma's)
  • Particular films give a brief acknowledgement of narrative
By watching title sequences from films such as "Catch me if you can" and other iconic film titles such as "Se7en" I gathered that title sequences are crucial in giving the audience a brief snipet to the audience about the genre, characters and in some cases the story without giving too much away leading the audience wanting to watch the film more. Another importance of having a title sequence is the production behind the film are accounted for and therefore helps viewers undertand that the film has been directed by "x" and therefore make viewers unstand what type of traditional traits the film will posses.

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Genre; codes and conventions and how it relates to my title sequence

Research into title sequences of the genre you are making. Look for codes & conventions and any stylistic elements that you may want to employ in your own sequence?



For my title sequence I have decided to have an element of James Bond as my title sequence is called Cold Fusion and is devised as a mysterious assassin sequence that follows the journey of a micro chip. I think that having the essense of animation and playing cards would be a good idea as it will allow the title sequence give the audience an understanding of the particular genre of the film alongside not giving too much of the narrative and story away to viewers.

In addition I am extremely inspired by the idea of viewing the title sequence from a sniper rifle scope prospective and therefore solidifies the genre and entails there will be elements of action.




As one of my favourite triologies of films the Oceans series has been one of the main inspirations to create a action/spy title sequence as this specific title sequence displays the on-screen names extremely suttley as they appear in objects like slot machines and bank vaults. I think that using elements of the James Bond title sequence alongside the the Oceans eleven sequence will be extremely effective as I will have the suttleness of the names appearing with an interesting voyage of a micro chip which is of the main significance.

Saul Bass

Saul Bass' body of work distinguishes him as one of the most versatile and innovative graphic designers of the 20th Century. Alongside his talent for creating definitive visual references in the form of film poster campaigns and title sequences stands his later work as an Academy Award Winning director for his short film 'Why Man Creates' (1969). In the course of his career, Bass worked with Otto Preminger and Alfred Hitchcock, and his legacy is evident in the work of numerous contemporary designers and directors. But it is his posters that are currently causing the biggest stir.

For opening sequence of 'Vertigo', Bass used the motif of the revolving Spirograph to evoke the dizzying sensations of the film. He always aimed to create the right climate for the film in question when designing opening sequences, offering audiences a visual feast from the very first frame, and plunging them into the atmosphere of the story that was about to unfold. Thanks to Bass, they no longer had to sit through the tedious credits which had until then been part of the cinematic experience, and which were, in Bass' own words, mere 'popcorn time'.

Bass directed the short dream sequence in 'Vertigo' as well as working on the poster campaign for the film. This film marked his most complete collaboration with Hitchcock. Paramount Studios did not censor Bass' work for 'Vertigo' in any way, gave him full credit for his work on the film. It was not customary, until Bass' era for American poster designers to be credited for their work. Once again, Bass spearheaded changes in this area. By signing all his work, he made it possible for the designers to lay rightful claim to their work, and redressed the balance in favour of the artists.



 



These are some of Saul Bass's most famous works which have the same usage of lines in common.

Friday 2 December 2011




Cold fusion 
View more presentations from gurds1.

This presentation that I prepared to show what type of 
films have inspired us to create this particular film and genre. We have also stated other information in regards to the financial cost and gross of what we hope to achieve and lastly who will be directing the film.