My Film Opening Progress

So far in media we were asked to draw our storyboard in neat and alongside the pictures, we were to include information about the specific shot for example sound, type of shot and duration. After we finished doing that, we used cameras to take pictures of the individual shots and uploaded them on the Macs. Then we imported them to Final Cut and used this to place our storyboard pictures in the correct order, whilst also thinking about time and how many seconds we would imagine our shots to be on screen for. This really helped me as I feel as though through visualizing my project it brings it to life and in the future when I'm actually recording my film opening this will really help me have a clear vision of what I want. 

Typography Research

In today's lesson we have been researching Typography and from looking at the website 'Dafont', I've come to the conclusion that as you look at different ranges of font types, you get a feel of what genre that font belongs to. In an opening sequence, it is very important for the font style to correlate with the film genre. Here are some examples:

For the film Sin City, the font as well as the colours tell us a lot about the film itself. For example, the font, it almost represents paint, as though someone just vandalized a wall with a paint brush. Although the font is simplistic, the size and the thickness of it is also very intimidating and daunting. The colours also speak loud words as the black background aids the red font in standing out and being more noticeable. It also catches a persons eye as it's right in the middle and is the main focus. 

For the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the font and the colours tell us plenty about the film and it's genre. For example, the font from the letter 'P' more specifically represents the protagonist's (Harry Potter) iconic lightning shaped scar on his forehead. The font also appears as quite violent as well, due to the metallic colours and the dagger shaped letters, representing violence or maybe death in the film. The metallic colours are also very harsh, contributing to the aggressive disposition of the Typography. 

Film Title Sequence: Clue 1985

The film I have chosen to record its opening title sequence is Clue 1985. Here are my results:

0:13-0:16 Distribution Company

0:17-0:23 Two Production Companies mentioned

0:23-0:27 None Present

0:27-0:29 Name of the film 'Clue'

0:30-1:05 Cast starring in Alphabetical Order

1:06-1:09 Associate Producer 

1:10-1:13 Music by

1:14-1:18 Casting Director (2)

1:19-1:22 Costumes Designed by

1:23-1:27 Editor (2)

1:28-1:32 Production Designer 

1:33-1:36 Director of Photography
1:45-1:54 Executive Producers (4)
2:05-2:08 'Based Upon The Parker Brother's Board Game: Clue
2:17-2:23 Story By (2)

My Film Opening Storyboard

In class we were asked to do a storyboard for our opening sequence, and as a result it can be used as a guideline as we film our opening. Here was my storyboard!

Similar Film Openings: Clue 1985

For my film opening I have taken a lot of inspiration from the 1985 film, 'Clue'. In this film opening, the music and the style of font is very reflective of the genre comedy mystery. The music is almost childlike and fun, however it also connects with the mystery/thriller part.

In terms of the titles, the film chose to list the cast alphabetically, and they are left on screen long enough for the viewer to be able to read them, with the same mystery type music being played in the background. The colour of the font is white, which is a contrast to the dark, background. The background used is the gloomy clouds, which contributes to the fact that the scene is occurring at night time. I'd like to incorporate this technique in my title sequence, in order to set the mood of the scene.

Confirmation of Film Opening: Final Ideas

For my film opening I have come to the decision that I'd like my genre to be a comedy mystery, as I think this genre helps me present my ideas in the best way possible. In order for my film opening to flow accordingly, I had to know what my film plot would be if it were a full length film. For this, I used Todorov's theory of Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, Equilibrium.




For my film, I used Todorov's theory in order to structure my ideas:

Equilibrium - My film would begin in a large house (using the technique of aristocracy), filled with a group of 8 different people (one character as a maid), each holding a glass of wine conversing with each other. I would try to show each character's personality through certain ways such as their costume, hair, body language, the way they talk ect. However to add the comedy aspect, I'd make the main character (who the audience will soon realize is the detective/the hero/the character who comes to the rescue) would be the least person the audience would expect to take on that role. I'd make him appear less sophisticated and high class. Instead he'd be the character that everyone wonders who and why did someone invite him to such an occasion. The mood of this scene would be very light-hearted and casual.

Disequilibrium - This is the section were disruption or danger appears. For my Disequilibrium I thought that I could introduce it by having the maid remove herself from the room and suddenly a deafening scream would be heard coming from her in the kitchen. Then everyone would rush to find where the source is coming from and soon they would discover a dead body laying in the middle of the room (the dead body being one of the guests.) In order to maintain that 'mystery' aspect, there would be a not left beside the body with the words 'Who's Next?'. Then the main clumsy character would emerge from the crowd and instantly take charge and promise to solve the mystery, although of course not many would trust him.

Equilibrium - The ending my film would conclude by the main character eventually solving the puzzle, and the murderer would be one of the guests who the group as well as the audience would least expect them to be. The main character would also gain popularity, praises as well as apologies from the other characters, due to the fact that no one had faith in him or believed him at all and everything would be resolved and the audience would be satisfied with the result.