Credits Blog Post #44

Credits:

Blog Post #44

Credits are displayed at the very beginning of a film and run through the opening title sequence, the credits are shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures. An opening title sequence is roughly 2-4 minutes. The purpose of opening credits is to identify the production company and studio, as well as the major actors/actresses and crew.  

Pete Fraser said that the average number of credits per opening title sequence is around 24, starting with the main characters first and the director last. As well as this Pete also said that the titles must be consistent and around the same time per credit, for example the main actor cannot be 10 seconds whereas the director being 2 seconds; he said this made it look unprofessional it was not fair on other associated with the film. Therefore they must all be of equal length to maintain consistency, such as all having 5 seconds of time per credit. 

As well as this Pete had stated that a lot of students forget to add a variety of names, and usually add their own names for various roles. Pete sad not to be afraid of adding new names that may have not helped make the film or associated with the production, this makes the overall opening title sequence more interesting and shows that it is more professional.

Furthermore, the at the BFI event, the role of the main character was emphasised, Pete said that Jennifer Aniston has a contract where her name only must be displayed on the card, this is because she wants to show the significance of her role. The picture below shows the credit for Jennifer Aniston in the film 'Horrible Bosses' - 2011 solely on her own. 

Loglines into treatment Blog Post #43

Loglines into treatment

Blog Post #43

Below is three loglines I created in preparation for my opening sequence.

''A teenage boy faces a life threatening situation in order to fight for survival''

''Faced with an ultimatum, a secret agent must conquer his fear to fight of a whole team of armed criminals based in an drug enforced factory''

''Time is running out, days are becoming shorter, a young entrepreneur unravels a significant hidden secret which may change his life...forever''

Loglines into treatment:

''Faced with an ultimatum, a secret agent must conquer his fear to fight a whole team of armed criminals based in a drug enforced factory''

This is my chosen logline however it isn't my final idea, as in the final project the logline may slightly vary according to the production. I chose this logline because it does create a sense of enigma, for example the person reading this logline my ask questions in their head as to why he must fight a whole team of armed criminals, furthermore the fact that he is 'faced with an ultimatum' also make people wonder what his ultimatum was and why it lead to this.

The audience will find out what the ultimatum was and into depth of the secret agent as the film progresses. This film consists of comprehending time, therefore the beginning of the film and the opening title sequence is set in the future and the rest of the film is set prior to the scene within the drug enforced factory. Below is the treatment, but as mentioned before both treatment and logline may differ accordingly.

Beginning: So after the opening title sequence runs through, the beginning of the film consists of the secret agent already fighting a hoard of criminals in the drug enforced factory, he soon realises that if he doesn't escape his life will be in a major risk. Shortly after he is caught and the criminals capture him, throwing a sack over his head, as the sack is thrown over his head there is a wipe, with a caption saying '2 weeks ago'.

Middle: This is where time changes, this bit shows where the secret agent goes wrong. So the agent and his colleagues are working on a case where a team of criminals are distributing illegal drugs, they want to capture each individual criminal one by one however the secret agent takes matters into his own hands, this is where he goes through the secret files of the HQ and discovers vital information and where the drug factory is based. Alone, the secret agent decides to head over to the factory with only a pistol equipped. Shortly upon his arrival, he discovers that there are more armoured men than he expected. This is where the secret agent faces an ultimatum, should he fight off the criminals by himself? or should he hold his head down in shame and return to the HQ.


End: The secret agent realises that it may be a lot harder to escape than it seems; this is the bit which continues from the opening title sequence, he manages to kill a few criminals and enters a dark room, this is where he is captured and a sack is put over his head. Having a gun pointed to his head, the secret agent has no alternative solution. Only the door was just breached and the other secret agents come in fending off the hoard. After killing most of the criminals the secret agent and his companion think they defeated them all, only to find the drug boss opposite the end, he has a detonator in his had, ready to pull the trigger as he knows that the drug factory is not worthy anymore as he has no workers left. The secret agent gets shot by one of the injured criminals to the left, then the drug enforced gets blown up with an re-establishing shot.

loglines and treatment source: http://maxshores.com/tcf145/?p=1854

Foley Blog Post #42

Foley

Blog Post #42

A Foley artist at work

Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to a films, videos and other post production projects. The reproduced sounds come in different forms, for example they can vary from raindrops to footsteps, squeaky doors and even breaking glass. The best form of Foley art is integrated into a film which gets unnoticed by the audience, this appears that the sound was recorded during the shooting of the film when in fact it was recorded during post production.

Foley sounds are used to enhance the auditory experience of the movie, Foley can also be used to cover up unwanted sounds captured on the set of the film for example passing traffic or wind background noises. Foley is usually performed by Foley artists. Ideally they stand on a 'Foley' stage which consists of an area with a variety of possible surfaces and props and in a 'Foley' studio which is a specialized sound studio. The Foley artists can clearly see a screen which displays the footage that they are supposed to add the sound-fx to, this enables the Foley artists to get the time in synchronization and timing, the actions they are made to do can vary from running to breaking objects.

History of Foley:

Foley is named after Jack Donovan Foley (1891-1967) who began Foley art in 1927. He started working with Universal Studios in 1914 during the silent movie era. When Warner Brothers released their first film with sound (The Jazz Singer), Universal knew they had to create a film with sound so they called for any employees with any radio experiences. Jack Foley became part of the sound crew that turned universals upcoming 'silent' musical (Show Boat) into a musical. Back then microphones could not pick up any more than dialogue so other sounds how to be added after the shot. Foley and his crew projected the film onto a screen and captured the sound effects on a single audio recording, this meant that their timing had to be perfect so that the footsteps and closing doors were synchronized well. Jack Foley created sounds for films until his death in 1967. His basic methods are still used today. Modern Foley art progressed as recording technology progressed for example today sounds do not have to be recorded in one single track of audio. They can be recorded on separate individual tracks.

I hope to use the art of Foley in my final Opening Title Sequence, I believe this will help me produce a better quality of work.

Below is an in depth video of Foley in action where examples are given.
Credit to Earth Touch

            

Grading Students' Opening Title Sequence Blog Post #41

Grading Students' Opening Title Sequence

Blog Post #41

 Level 1 example:

I have given this opening title sequence a level 1 because there a various errors with it. Firstly the credits are not constant throughout the opening title sequence, they are rushed towards the end starting from 1:30, this is going against the convention because within an opening title sequence it is expected for the credits to run throughout. As well as this many of the shots were wobbly and not stabled, in order to prevent this a tri-pod could have been used to make the shot looks more professional. Furthermore within the title sequence, there are clips from different segments, this makes it seem like it is a trailer rather than an opening title sequence.

In terms of sound there at time there was quite a lot of background noise at the beginning making it hard to hear some of the dialogue, it would have been better to do a sound-over making it seem professional, as well as this it appears that the first footage was recorded on a different camera due to the fact that the aspect ratio is different then the rest of the clips, furthermore the lack of quality justifies it. The editing was also very basic, some transition could have been added instead of having simple cuts back to back.  The opening title sequence itself does not create much atmosphere, this is because the storyline was confusing and hard to understand. The location wasn't also very interesting as it seemed like it was filmed in an ordinary park creating no enigma at all as there was no sense of mystery.

It was quite difficult to distinguish what genre the opening title sequence was, this is because there was no props and the mise-en-scene was not constructed well. Furthermore the characters were just wearing ordinary clothes which makes it hard analyse what social groups they are from, as well as this there wasn't much action the opening title sequence was predominantly two characters talking to each other which makes it seem less interesting, if there was more action involved I believe it would be far more interesting giving it a higher level.

 The Edge

Level 4 example:

I have given this opening title sequence a level 4, this is because the shots constructed in the opening title sequence are fantastic, various shots are included such as a Point of View (POV) shot, long shot, close ups etc. As well as this the use of props was done very cleverly in this opening title sequence, for example the use of the gun at the end looked very realistic, as well as this Rory (the creator of the opening title sequence) had a fuse device with wires which makes him seem mischievous, this could be the device the two agents are looking after; this can also be linked into enigma because questions appear in my head such as 'why are they after him' and 'who is Rory working for?'. Building up enigma in an opening title sequence is vital and Rory has done an excellent job.

 In terms of setting, it is situated in a public place, which suggests that the two agents are willing to kill a teenager in a public place as long as they get their job done. The fact that the setting is situated in a public place creates a sense of fear as no one is safe (usually you would feel safe in a public place in a harmless environment), furthermore a public place is a convention of a thriller because many films are situated in public places such as Jack Reacher (2012).  The setting also creates atmosphere, throughout the opening title sequence there was tense atmosphere, this is because Rory was being chased by two agents and seemed.

As well as this the editing was phenomenal in this opening title sequence, the use of 3D motion tracking text makes the project seem more three dimensional making it seem aesthetically pleasing, as well as this transitions such as 'fade to black' were used to introduce the next characters which is a good way of bringing in new characters. As well as this in terms of soundtrack, the soundtrack really complements the genre and suggests that it is either a thriller or an action genre, the soundtrack is quite mellow up until 1:56 when the two agents find Rory, this makes it seem more dramatic and builds tension to the audiences eyes bursting with adrenaline to see if he can get away.

Opening title sequence grade boundaries Blog Post #40

Opening title sequence grading and boundaries:

Blog Post #40

This is how my opening title sequence is going to be graded according to the official OCR mark scheme:

Level 1 0–23 marks

The work for the main task is possibly incomplete. There is minimal evidence in the work of the creative use of any relevant technical skills such as:

- Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task;

- Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;

- Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;

- Shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;

- Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.

Level 2 24–35 marks

There is evidence of a basic level of ability in the creative use of some of the following technical skills:

- Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task;

- Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;

 - Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;

- Shooting material appropriate to the task set;, including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;

- Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.

Level 3 36–47 marks

There is evidence of proficiency in the creative use of many of the following technical skills:

Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task;

- Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;

- Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;

- Shooting material appropriate to the task set;, including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;

- Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.

Level 4 48–60 marks

There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

- Material appropriate for the target audience and task;

- Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;

- Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;

- Shooting material appropriate to the task set;, including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;

- Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.

Sources: OCR Specification

Stated above are the grade boundaries (the construction of the opening title sequence), analysing these grade boundaries are very important to me because by looking at them i can see what I could do in order to get a higher level, for example I must ensure that I make selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects and show evidence creatively in terms of technical aspects in order to maintain a 'Level 4'.

I aiming towards a Level 4, because I want to ensure I get the best possible grade by putting the work in, therefore I will be as creative as I can and ensuring that I do a lot of planning in order for my opening title sequence construction to be at a high standard.

Therefore I need to focus on a lot of the pre-production for my opening title sequence, and that everything is thought throughout to prevent mistakes occurring on the filming day, by focusing on the pre-production a lot will enable me to work at an efficient pace and keep mistakes at a minimal.

Independent work towards target Blog post #39

Independent Work Towards Target:

Blog Post #39

In my previous blog I set my self five SMART targets in which I said that it will help me produce an overall better final piece of work. One of the five targets I set myself was the focus on sound a lot this is because within my preliminary there was no voice over and you could hear the door shut twice. After setting that target I realised that I could watch a few videos on Foley in order to increase my knowledge on Foley and sound-making in films. Foley is a technique used in post production, it is where sound designers record sound over the initial sound recording in order to enhance the original sound and make it more audience appealing, this is done in films, documentaries and even games.

So I am currently creating a Foley post which has not been published yet but will be published after this post, the post itself contains information which I did not know before setting myself these smart targets.

I was also watching a video on Foley which has given me interesting information such Initially film-makers only had one layer of sound which meant that they had to film it perfectly (visual and audio) in one, but due to technology advancing we can now multi-layer our sounds and have as many sounds as we want. I hope to you Foley and multi-layering sound in my final media product this is because I think it is a simple but effective way to make you media product stand out and more appealing to the audience. 

The link to the video will be posted in the next post.

TARGETS Blog post #38

Targets 

Blog Post #38

 Following your detailed evaluation of skills learnt set yourself at least 5 SMART targets by following the guidance below- 

Planning: I personally believe that planning is one of the most important factor when producing high standard work, therefore myself and my group must plan accordingly in order to produce a great final piece. We will plan in depth and make sure that we do not rush any planning in order to maintain the good quality of work, however we must meet the deadline for planning.

Editing: In terms of editing, when the time comes for me to edit the final piece, I hope that I maintain continuity, now this will be done by me reviewing the clip several times and also asking for feedback from my group but also from peers in my year just to ensure that the mistakes are minimal. As well as this I know that editing cannot be rushed and there may be technical problems, however I will ensure that I stay dedicated and that I produce a fine piece of work.

Team Co-Ordination:I believe that team coordination and communication is also a very important aspect, I want to ensure that everyone in my group has an equal say in the groups production, for example if one or two people within the group disagree with something then I will make sure I go over it until the problem is solved, this is because I believe that listening to what peers have to say is a very important factor.

Maintaining the rules: One of the main issues whilst filming the preliminary task was maintaining the rules as several mistakes were made. So one of my other targets is to maintain the rules, this will be done by ensuring we have a lot of research done and how the shots of our final piece will be constructed. I will go over some of the mistakes made in the preliminary and note them done in order to prevent the mistake occurring again. 

Sound: My last target is sound, I want to produce a final project which has good sound , by doing so I will ensure that my own Foley has been made, on the BFI trip Pete Fraser had specifically stated that making your own Foley would be very clever and it is quite simple to do as it can give a project the edge and make it more appealing to the audience. Therefore I hope to record my own Foley and create the sounds by myself when I begin to edit the final piece.

Kyle Cooper Blog post #37

Kyle Cooper

Blog Post #37

Below is a video featuring Kyle Cooper who is a title designer, he has worked on various opening title sequences and his most memorable ones being Dawn of the Dead, Spiderman, Se7en and Superman Returns.

                       

 

                       

Kyle Cooper states that what makes a great opening title sequence is the fact that it sets an expectation and stands out. For example in Se7en the fact that the font is handwritten links in with the fact that there is this mysterious figure who is out to murder which gives us the audience a sense of eeriness. Furthermore Kyles interview suggests that when watching the title sequence, 'you forget about everything else and you don't want to be anywhere else', making you excited for what will happen in the film, this further suggests that the opening title sequence has a big impact on an audience, if you don't particularly have a good opening title sequence then you won't have that adrenaline pumped feeling on the audience.   

After watching this interview with Kyle Cooper, it has expanded my knowledge on opening title sequences, I have learned that typography and fonts play an important role within an opening title sequence as does music to set the 'mood'. Furthermore Kyle has given me clear information which i can reflect onto my opening title sequence when it comes to filming and editing, I will take his feedback on board and hopefully this will be clearly shown.