Study day - Real Title Sequence Examples

At our BFI study day we looked at opening title sequences. These included 'Napoleon Dynamite', 'Dawn Of The Dead' and 'Catch Me If You Can'


Through watching these examples we learnt many important requirements for our own title sequences

1. They should include around 20 credits
2. They should be around 2 minutes long
3. You shouldn't tell too much of the story
4. You should have an enigma, something that would make people watch on
5. The music should suit the type of genre as this is very important

Log Lines

Log Lines 

Log lines are a short sentence used by companies ans often produced by the producers of the film. They briefly describe the essence of the film without ruining the plot for the audience. They are useful for people who are unsure of which film to watch and also helps the producer as it could help influence people to watch their film.

Examples of log lines include:

Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all. - Thor: The Dark World

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem. - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

When Wolverine is summoned to Japan by an old acquaintance, he is embroiled in a conflict that forces him to confront his own demons. - The Wolverine 

Independent films vs Hollywood #19

Independent Films 

An independent film is a professional production of a feature film that is mostly or completely produced outside of a major film studio system. They are produced and distributed independent film companies but in some cases they are produced and distributed by subsidiaries of major film companies. 
Independent films can normally be recognised by their content and style, normally giving the audience something to think about. They are usually made with considerably low budgets when compared with major film studios.
Independent films are normally screened at local, national or international film festivals (such as cannes). With sufficient funding and distribution, independent films can compete with mainstream films productions. 
Examples of independent films are "Donnie Darko" and "Reservoir Dogs"  

























Hollywood Films 

Log lines ideas for opening sequence

Log lines ideas for opening sequence

1. An innocent girl is kidnapped and its a race against time for the police to find her
2. A young couple become terrorised by an unknown entity soon after adopting a little girl.
3. A man must deliver a secret package to anonymous clients, his life is suddenly on the line when the delivery gains attention from the wrong people

BFI Study Day

BFI Study Day

On Thursday 21st November, our A level media class visited the BFI (British Film Institute) in South Bank in London to learn some important information on opening sequences concerning how the how they are made professionally, what they need to include and tips on how to make an opening sequence for when we make them later in the year.

The lecture was started by Pete Fraser who began with the 5 aspects of genre, narrative and how important enigma is when trying to give the audience questions that will make them watch on.
He then showed three different opening sequence from known films, this included "Catch Me If You Can", "Dawn Of The Dead" and "Napoleon Dynamite". Each of the sequences showed an alternative way in which to present the credits, each of them very different from the other. This was achieved through setting, atmosphere, music and character. This was a very positive thing as we gained some vital knowledge from experienced professionals. 

We then watched and analysed some amateur opening title sequences with Pete going through the positives and negatives. This included that films such as Juno includes 24 credit cards whereas many amateur producer forget to include enough, making it seems unrealistic. 

Another topic that was discussed was Foley. This is the technique of replacing amateur sounds with crisp and professional sounds that you want. We also learnt that our opening title sequences should be no longer than 2 minutes.  

 

 

 

Film openings 1 copy from petefrasers
 

Film openings 2 from petefrasers

 

Preliminary Task - Stefano, Lewis, Kieran

In groups of no more than 4

A task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character with whom he/she exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task must demonstrate -

1. match on action
2. shot reverse shot
3. 180 rule

Me - Acting, Editing
Stefano - Editing, Directing
Kieran - Acting, Editing

Above is our Preliminary Task which we created, filmed and edited ourselves. In our task we used match on action when our first character walked through the door. This is shown in the following screenshot.
We also used shot/reverse shot when the conversation took place, looking over each characters shoulder.
The 180 degree rule was also used throughout filming to ensure to audience is not disorientated.