Friday 19 March 2010
Meeting 6
Thursday 18 March 2010
Tuesday 16 March 2010
SAUL BASS (1920-1996)
Saul Bass was not only one of the great graphic designers of the mid-20th century but the undisputed master of film title design thanks to his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger and Martin Scorsese.
Part of his success came for Otto Preminger’s controversial new drugs movie. By the end of his life, he had created over 50 title sequences for Preminger, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, John Frankenheimer and Martin Scorsese.
Even before he made his cinematic debut, Bass was a celebrated graphic designer. After apprenticeships with Manhattan design firms, Bass worked as a freelance graphic designer or "commercial artist". He then opened his own studio in 1950 working mostly in advertising until Preminger invited him to design the poster for his 1954 movie, Carmen Jones. Impressed by the result, Preminger asked Bass to create the film’s title sequence too.
Over the next decade Bass created an animated mini-movie for Mike Todd’s 1956 Around The World In 80 Days and a tearful eye for Preminger’s 1958 Bonjour Tristesse. Blessed with the gift of identifying the one image which symbolised the movie, Bass then recreated it in a striking modern style.
In 1958’s Vertigo, his first title sequence for Alfred Hitchcock, Bass shot an extreme close-up of a woman’s face and then her eye before spinning it into a sinister spiral as a bloody red soaks the screen. This is slightly similar to our production logo – a close up of a woman’s face and her lips prior to the lipstick highlighting her lips as the logo spins onto the screen.
Part of his success came for Otto Preminger’s controversial new drugs movie. By the end of his life, he had created over 50 title sequences for Preminger, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, John Frankenheimer and Martin Scorsese.
Even before he made his cinematic debut, Bass was a celebrated graphic designer. After apprenticeships with Manhattan design firms, Bass worked as a freelance graphic designer or "commercial artist". He then opened his own studio in 1950 working mostly in advertising until Preminger invited him to design the poster for his 1954 movie, Carmen Jones. Impressed by the result, Preminger asked Bass to create the film’s title sequence too.
Over the next decade Bass created an animated mini-movie for Mike Todd’s 1956 Around The World In 80 Days and a tearful eye for Preminger’s 1958 Bonjour Tristesse. Blessed with the gift of identifying the one image which symbolised the movie, Bass then recreated it in a striking modern style.
In 1958’s Vertigo, his first title sequence for Alfred Hitchcock, Bass shot an extreme close-up of a woman’s face and then her eye before spinning it into a sinister spiral as a bloody red soaks the screen. This is slightly similar to our production logo – a close up of a woman’s face and her lips prior to the lipstick highlighting her lips as the logo spins onto the screen.
Kyle Cooper
Kyle Cooper based in LA, has directed and produced more than 100 film title sequences.
Cooper is the founder of two internationally recognised design and production companies - Prologue Films, launched in 2003, and was a finalist in the 2004 year's National Design Awards.
Creativity magazine named Cooper one of the 'Top 50 biggest and best thinkers and doers from the last 20 years of advertising and consumer culture.' The New York Times Magazine called the title sequence he created for Se7en 'One of the most important design innovations of the 1990s'.
He holds the honorary title of Royal Designer for Industry from the Royal Society of Arts and is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale.
Cooper is the founder of two internationally recognised design and production companies - Prologue Films, launched in 2003, and was a finalist in the 2004 year's National Design Awards.
Creativity magazine named Cooper one of the 'Top 50 biggest and best thinkers and doers from the last 20 years of advertising and consumer culture.' The New York Times Magazine called the title sequence he created for Se7en 'One of the most important design innovations of the 1990s'.
He holds the honorary title of Royal Designer for Industry from the Royal Society of Arts and is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale.
Sunday 14 March 2010
Location Recce
We chose to film our opening sequence at a school(Harris Academy South Norwood) as this was the best suited locaton for our production.We used the typical scene of a teenage girl daydreaming about a boy and therefore we chose the common location of this desk as Lisa's 'personal' spot,sticking to the traditional conventions of rom-coms.
As Lisa is filmed walking down this stair way alone this location maps out perfectly how she is practically deserted as she doesn't fit into any social group. As she walks alone this makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her.
Saturday 13 March 2010
Meeting 5
Although we had an idea of who would be suitable to act the characters in our film we hadn't yet decided who would be doing what. Later we decided Sara would be Lisa and we had two people in mind to play Owen (Duane or Paul).
We also designed a basic costume brief for the main characters.Then it was time to work individualiy on editing our footage after we had revised the tutorial from our media technition on using Adobe After Effects.
We also designed a basic costume brief for the main characters.Then it was time to work individualiy on editing our footage after we had revised the tutorial from our media technition on using Adobe After Effects.
Friday 12 March 2010
SMART TARGETS
S-specific
M-measurable
A-achieveable
R-reasonable
T-time
These smart targets will be used to help monitor our groups progress. They will also be used to ensure that all points are established;aims and goals of the production of our film opening achieved of a good quality and profesional standard.
Through following our plans devised from the smart targets this will enable us to sucessfully complete all tasks to create our opening sequence within the time frame we have been given.
M-measurable
A-achieveable
R-reasonable
T-time
These smart targets will be used to help monitor our groups progress. They will also be used to ensure that all points are established;aims and goals of the production of our film opening achieved of a good quality and profesional standard.
Through following our plans devised from the smart targets this will enable us to sucessfully complete all tasks to create our opening sequence within the time frame we have been given.
Treatment
For our titles we came up with the following:
Its Owen
All that jazz
Never gonna be the same
He's the one
In the end we settled for "He's the one" as this title would thoroughly reflect our film.This title also sums up our plot which creates a stronger appeal.
Our plot is mainly about the life of a lonley girl, Lisa who finds it hard to make friends as a reserved and very shy individual. Lisa has low self esteme because she's not confident with her looks this discorages her from trying to make friends with boys rather than girls. Which she finds even harder - mixing with girls.
Lisa life is practicly boring, she often gets upset whilst she thinks about her lack of social skills and why its so hard for to fit in as she longs to get out of her outkast profile. The charcter of Lisa is simular to the girl who plays Georgia Nicolson in the film Angus thongs and perfect snoging. Although Georgia is alot more outgoing she's not confident around boys at the start. Lisa is the same in this way.Never the less, Lisa has a crush on Owen,Owen is yet to find out but for the mean time Lisa continues to cherish the little times they bump into each other when she can only imagine her wishes come true.
Camera Angles & Editing
I have mentioned a selection of some of the camera angles and editing techniques that will be used in our opening:
A Low angle shot to emphasise on Lisa's low self esteme, as she looks down upon herself whilst walking down the school stairs feeling sympathetic.
A flashing(effect)techinque will be used for the effect of the titles appearing on screen with the production logo.
An establishing shot of the school setting will be merged to set the scene and establish the location of the sequence.
Close up shots of lisa's face showing her expressions of sad and lonliness as she can'f fit into any social groups at her school.
Medium close up of lisa again to reflect her feelings not only on how she feels about her school social life but also her deep feelings for the boy she fancies the camera movement shows the audience that Lisa is engrossed in doin something(doodling about Owen the guy she fancies).
Its Owen
All that jazz
Never gonna be the same
He's the one
In the end we settled for "He's the one" as this title would thoroughly reflect our film.This title also sums up our plot which creates a stronger appeal.
Our plot is mainly about the life of a lonley girl, Lisa who finds it hard to make friends as a reserved and very shy individual. Lisa has low self esteme because she's not confident with her looks this discorages her from trying to make friends with boys rather than girls. Which she finds even harder - mixing with girls.
Lisa life is practicly boring, she often gets upset whilst she thinks about her lack of social skills and why its so hard for to fit in as she longs to get out of her outkast profile. The charcter of Lisa is simular to the girl who plays Georgia Nicolson in the film Angus thongs and perfect snoging. Although Georgia is alot more outgoing she's not confident around boys at the start. Lisa is the same in this way.Never the less, Lisa has a crush on Owen,Owen is yet to find out but for the mean time Lisa continues to cherish the little times they bump into each other when she can only imagine her wishes come true.
Camera Angles & Editing
I have mentioned a selection of some of the camera angles and editing techniques that will be used in our opening:
A Low angle shot to emphasise on Lisa's low self esteme, as she looks down upon herself whilst walking down the school stairs feeling sympathetic.
A flashing(effect)techinque will be used for the effect of the titles appearing on screen with the production logo.
An establishing shot of the school setting will be merged to set the scene and establish the location of the sequence.
Close up shots of lisa's face showing her expressions of sad and lonliness as she can'f fit into any social groups at her school.
Medium close up of lisa again to reflect her feelings not only on how she feels about her school social life but also her deep feelings for the boy she fancies the camera movement shows the audience that Lisa is engrossed in doin something(doodling about Owen the guy she fancies).
Thursday 11 March 2010
Story Boards
The start of the strory board for our final film idea.
PICTURE 1
PICTURE 2 {storyboard pics
PICTURE 3
Our inspiration
This is the film that inspired us to produce a "girly" boy meets girl rom com film opening, appart from it being our all time favourite it had big influence in our production. Having changed from a horor genre to a boy meets girl rom com seemed a big step however, we've been successful with our final decision for our film openning.
Meetings 3 & 4
We decided to change our film opening to a teen movie/rom-com to make things easier.We also concluded that we would be able to acomplish all tasks with greater potential with this change of genre.New plans were devised to fit our new idea. We made our storyline quite simple about the life of a teenage student and her crush.
Along with all the other preparations for the process of filming and editing we disgussed several techniques on Adobe After Effects we considered to create a powerful effect. For example we thought of ways the the title could appear on screen and exit (the wipe/dissolve effect perhaps).
We created new story board and worked indivdually on our creating our mood boards as part of research.
Along with all the other preparations for the process of filming and editing we disgussed several techniques on Adobe After Effects we considered to create a powerful effect. For example we thought of ways the the title could appear on screen and exit (the wipe/dissolve effect perhaps).
We created new story board and worked indivdually on our creating our mood boards as part of research.
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Analysis of an opening sequence
The film Batman Begins tells the story of how, through the trials of his childhood, Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. The beginning of the film shows the story of his childhood and mental formation.
We are first introduced to the main character when, after having played with a friend in his garden on the family estate, he falls on a small opening in the side of a well and, following a clatter, hundreds of bats come flying out of it, trapping him in their slapping wings. The size of Bruce Wayne’s mansion and its grounds is made to look huge to make the audience laugh.
The main setting of the film is in a garden. High key lighting is used to show clearly the natural surroundings on the sunny day. The setting contrasts what young Bruce likes to do during pastimes, showing the audience that he very much likes nature. By positioning Bruce and his friend together in the frame, the camera enables the audience the see what the children are wearing; everyday casual clothes meaning it is an ordinary day.
At the start of the film opening, there is a wave of houses in black and white. This device is used to create a flashback effect, giving the audience a clue that the main character is thinking back. As Bruce Wayne wakes up to a different setting, this scene represents the end of his childhood.
Sound effects such as the sound of bats are played in the start of the film opening, we see a large group of bats in low key lighting and with lots of shading within the frame as the music is played in the background. This is done to create a mysterious effect and also to show that the main character is associated with the bats. These sound effects are also played whilst Bruce Wayne is in the well to emphasise his traumatic experience with bats. The music played during the beginning of the film is fast rock-like music which contrasts with the action genre.
Top lighting is used to reflect the different types of shadow in the well whilst low key lighting is used to exaggerate the shadows. The camera shows us a low angle showing the full view of how the boy is positioned in the well.
We then see a close up of the boys face showing his facial expressions in detail. As a result of the fall in the well, Bruce Wayne is taken in at an asylum camp. Where we see the first scene of fast action. As a fight takes place the lighting remains high key for clear visible shots. The uniform the people in the camp are wearing shows that they are in some kind of camp, the uniform signifies prison life. The fight is significant in the Bruce Wayne’s role, showing that he has been reinvented as a superhero, who will fight against injustice.
We are first introduced to the main character when, after having played with a friend in his garden on the family estate, he falls on a small opening in the side of a well and, following a clatter, hundreds of bats come flying out of it, trapping him in their slapping wings. The size of Bruce Wayne’s mansion and its grounds is made to look huge to make the audience laugh.
The main setting of the film is in a garden. High key lighting is used to show clearly the natural surroundings on the sunny day. The setting contrasts what young Bruce likes to do during pastimes, showing the audience that he very much likes nature. By positioning Bruce and his friend together in the frame, the camera enables the audience the see what the children are wearing; everyday casual clothes meaning it is an ordinary day.
At the start of the film opening, there is a wave of houses in black and white. This device is used to create a flashback effect, giving the audience a clue that the main character is thinking back. As Bruce Wayne wakes up to a different setting, this scene represents the end of his childhood.
Sound effects such as the sound of bats are played in the start of the film opening, we see a large group of bats in low key lighting and with lots of shading within the frame as the music is played in the background. This is done to create a mysterious effect and also to show that the main character is associated with the bats. These sound effects are also played whilst Bruce Wayne is in the well to emphasise his traumatic experience with bats. The music played during the beginning of the film is fast rock-like music which contrasts with the action genre.
Top lighting is used to reflect the different types of shadow in the well whilst low key lighting is used to exaggerate the shadows. The camera shows us a low angle showing the full view of how the boy is positioned in the well.
We then see a close up of the boys face showing his facial expressions in detail. As a result of the fall in the well, Bruce Wayne is taken in at an asylum camp. Where we see the first scene of fast action. As a fight takes place the lighting remains high key for clear visible shots. The uniform the people in the camp are wearing shows that they are in some kind of camp, the uniform signifies prison life. The fight is significant in the Bruce Wayne’s role, showing that he has been reinvented as a superhero, who will fight against injustice.
Sunday 7 March 2010
Meeting 2
We met at lunchtime today to disguss the props we would need for our film opening, and the locations we would need. We found that we had a bit of a problem as we initially planned to film in a park but closed after a certain time and wasn't open at the time suitable for our film plan.We soon discovered a new location that was suitable after carry out research.
Saturday 6 March 2010
Costume Research
For the main cahracters in our opening we decided that seen as the film would be best suited to a school for its location it was only key that they characters were clothed with uniform for the costumes to go with the rest of the production.
The characters are also in uniform to represent the fact that their students and to look smart which makes them appear to have a certain level of maturity.
The characters are also in uniform to represent the fact that their students and to look smart which makes them appear to have a certain level of maturity.
Analysis of two film openings
A comparison of two film openings
I have chosen to analyze Love Actually and Shrek 3 for comparison.The opening sequence of Love Actually introduces the universal theme of love. The audience are shown the love that parents feel for their children, this instantly shows that the film Love Actually is likely to be more romance than comedy.On the other hand, Shrek 3 uses many conventions of classic Disney films which ties in with its fantasy/adventure genre.
The opening sequence of both Love Actually and Shrek 3 successfully use techniques of camerawork, sound and mise en scene to establish the visual style.Shrek is introduced to us in a variety of ways which present his happiness, negative personality, exaggerate his size and make him appear to be scarier than he really is.The film starts with a close-up, birds-eye view of the story book which gives the effect that you’re reading it. Later on in the sequence we see an over the shoulder shot of Shrek cracking the mirror by looking at it this shows us that Shrek is portrayed as an ugly ogre.
Towards the end of the film opening, there is a low angle shot looking up at Shrek showing the viewer how tall he is in comparison to the villagers. We then hear the first words of the script ‘once upon a time’ and this tells the audience that the story is going to be a fairytale.
Both films introduce one of the main/central characters in the opening sequence. Consequently, the film Love Actually introduces one of the central characters played by Hugh Grant who appears to be heard but not seen in the sequence. In the beginning, the camera is at an eye level which makes the audience feel as if they were in, amongst the crowd of people in the film. This helps to put the audience in the position of Hugh Grant’s character. Close-ups are used to display expressions of emotion, emotions are shared. For example: the shots of the playful tossing of a child in the air are placed in slow motion to emphasise the heartfelt embrace actions.
The location of the film Love Actually is in the Heathrow airport, the interior gives clues about the films narratives. The titles of the two films play a big part in the opening sequences. The title font for shriek 3 is non-threatening and decorative, giving it the appearance of a children’s story. The red font for Love Actually ties with its genre; the red colour signifies love. Both films,Shriek 3 and Love Actually use orchestral sound; In love Actually, the music is an orchestral string arrangement with piano reflecting a strong sense of love and romance setting the tone of the film.
Shriek 3 is aimed at children as much as their parents. Whereas Love Actually is more for teenagers as of Juno. In conclusion, I feel that the most successful film has to be Shrek 3. It has more of a balance in terms of its target audience amongst the three films and I find it most entertaining.
I have chosen to analyze Love Actually and Shrek 3 for comparison.The opening sequence of Love Actually introduces the universal theme of love. The audience are shown the love that parents feel for their children, this instantly shows that the film Love Actually is likely to be more romance than comedy.On the other hand, Shrek 3 uses many conventions of classic Disney films which ties in with its fantasy/adventure genre.
The opening sequence of both Love Actually and Shrek 3 successfully use techniques of camerawork, sound and mise en scene to establish the visual style.Shrek is introduced to us in a variety of ways which present his happiness, negative personality, exaggerate his size and make him appear to be scarier than he really is.The film starts with a close-up, birds-eye view of the story book which gives the effect that you’re reading it. Later on in the sequence we see an over the shoulder shot of Shrek cracking the mirror by looking at it this shows us that Shrek is portrayed as an ugly ogre.
Towards the end of the film opening, there is a low angle shot looking up at Shrek showing the viewer how tall he is in comparison to the villagers. We then hear the first words of the script ‘once upon a time’ and this tells the audience that the story is going to be a fairytale.
Both films introduce one of the main/central characters in the opening sequence. Consequently, the film Love Actually introduces one of the central characters played by Hugh Grant who appears to be heard but not seen in the sequence. In the beginning, the camera is at an eye level which makes the audience feel as if they were in, amongst the crowd of people in the film. This helps to put the audience in the position of Hugh Grant’s character. Close-ups are used to display expressions of emotion, emotions are shared. For example: the shots of the playful tossing of a child in the air are placed in slow motion to emphasise the heartfelt embrace actions.
The location of the film Love Actually is in the Heathrow airport, the interior gives clues about the films narratives. The titles of the two films play a big part in the opening sequences. The title font for shriek 3 is non-threatening and decorative, giving it the appearance of a children’s story. The red font for Love Actually ties with its genre; the red colour signifies love. Both films,Shriek 3 and Love Actually use orchestral sound; In love Actually, the music is an orchestral string arrangement with piano reflecting a strong sense of love and romance setting the tone of the film.
Shriek 3 is aimed at children as much as their parents. Whereas Love Actually is more for teenagers as of Juno. In conclusion, I feel that the most successful film has to be Shrek 3. It has more of a balance in terms of its target audience amongst the three films and I find it most entertaining.
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