Production Log 3

What have you learned about opening sequences and title devices?

What I have learned this week about opening sequences and title devices are that they vary very much depending on what they are about. Opening sequences usually include graphics and some movement from certain characters but mainly the main character. They could also be used to establish the location the film is set out in. I have seen this a lot in many opening sequences and I think when it is done right it can be done very effectivly. Establishing the location helps gives the audeince an idea where the film is set and also can help give you a clue what the film, is about for example if a film is set in the city, you are obviously going to be showing places from around the city but you could also show specific thing within the city which link in with the film again helping to get a brief idea about what the film is about. A hollywood film that we looked at in lesson which does this is "Drive".

The film drive is a good example of using establishing the location in an opening sequence because throughout all we see is him driving in his car around the city and then stopping of at his house juust to drop off his bag and tehn going out back for a drive. This clearly puts across to us that the film is about him driving around. The film is set in the 80's and we can clearly see that from firstly the car he is in, they style of that is something that was popular in the 80's. We can also see this by the music played, the music played has an effect on the us and helps set the mood for the film. And when it comes to the graphics it has an 80's feel to is also the colours of the text stands out and is very neon and bright and is very bold to us because it stands out against a dull and dark background so it emphasis the title credits.

What I have also learned about opening sequences are that not much is given away to us, they show us just enough to engage the audience but not give to much away, and especially with British social realism they sometimes keep the opening very exciting and fast paced to make you want too watch on and see what happens. But sometimes that is quite the opposite and they sometimes just use animations or simple shots to show give an idea of what the film is about whilst the opening credits are comign on screen.

Click here to see the opening sequence for An Edcuation (0:00 - 2:30)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt6eCyPpOpc

This is another opening sequence we looked at during lesson. It has more animation in it but it also has a very professional look to it and the grpahics sued with it work very well. It was help distributed by sony which explains the good quality although it is a bbc film. The animations used help show the girls everyday life and what they learn about in school, the music played also helps suggest the era it is set in and some of the classes shown help show that also because they show some of an older classes like ballroom dancing which we don't learn now.

When it comes to titles I have learned that you need to use what links in with your film and you cannot use something which is irrelavant otherwise it will just not look good. A lot of through should be put into your titles because it is something that is going to keep re appearing over and over again and if they don't look good the audience can sense that something is off and it will also give your film a bad look to it whilst they are watching.

How will this inform your production?

 This will inform my performance by firstly from watching all these other succesful opening sequences I will take ideas that has worked for them and try re-use tehm so they would work for me. I will try to make sure that everything is checked and make sure that the titles I use are correct and also everything is good visually. When creating my titles I will take into consideration what hte film is about and if the title font suits it, where I present the title on the page, what animations I use or effects used on the title e.g. fade in, fade out etc.

 

What methods might you use in an opening and why?

 The methods that I would use are add animation to my opening sequence. I think it adds a nice feel to it and depending on the genre can really relate to the film. Animation makes it look better sometimes and just makes it that much better. Another method I may use is have some of it as establishing a location because I think it helps the audience understand where everything is set and also gives you an idea of the surroundings and how some of the characters live.

Here are some pictures me and my partner Zahra took. What we were trying to show where British representations. In the first image you can see a young girl in a very rusty environment, surrounded by a lot of old equipment. We tryed to capture her in a surrounding which she is not use too. As you acn see from the image her cllothes show that she is well of because she is very wel dressed and up to date with fashion. But then what we were trying to apture was her coming here to think because its the only place where she can be alone and think. We decided to have the gate open so it looks like we are looking in, I think this is a good effect because it changes the way we look at the image. Also the body language the way she is leaning on the wall for support.

    In this second image we tried to capture normal school boys working, making good use of there time. We took the picture in the study room so it shows that they are not in lesson but are still willing to do work in there free time. The picture shows three boys instead of one to show the enthusiasm plus they all look very into their work also they are all of asian ethnicity so it shows some othr race than the dominant white Also the picture shows how well off they are because they each haev a computer to themselves and you can see more in the picture iswell.