Tuesday, 2 February 2016
Title sequence designer + Saul Bass research:
Kyle Cooper:
Kyle Cooper is a famous title sequence designer and, is best known for the amount of distinctive title sequences in which he has created over the many years. He was born in 1962 and studied graphics design at Yale University - Massachusetts. He created many iconic title sequences over the years, ranging from popular TV shows such as: American Horror Story, Scream Queens and The Walking Dead, to famous movies such as: the Spider-Man trilogy, Mission Impossible, Seven and Dawn of the Dead.
Saul Bass:
Saul Bass is a famous title sequence designer and, is best known for his distinctive and recognisable style. He was born in 1920 and died in 1996. He was a graphics designer and was solely famous for his classic logo styled designs. In his earlier life, he studied graphics design at the Art Students League in Manhattan. He then went on to work as a freelance graphic designer. His posters consisted of bold and strong colours but, with basic shapes. Once he became discovered, he managed to take on 60+ title sequences. The title sequence he was best known for was for the movie 'The Man With a Golden Arm' and 'It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World'.
Kyle Cooper is a famous title sequence designer and, is best known for the amount of distinctive title sequences in which he has created over the many years. He was born in 1962 and studied graphics design at Yale University - Massachusetts. He created many iconic title sequences over the years, ranging from popular TV shows such as: American Horror Story, Scream Queens and The Walking Dead, to famous movies such as: the Spider-Man trilogy, Mission Impossible, Seven and Dawn of the Dead.
Saul Bass:
Saul Bass is a famous title sequence designer and, is best known for his distinctive and recognisable style. He was born in 1920 and died in 1996. He was a graphics designer and was solely famous for his classic logo styled designs. In his earlier life, he studied graphics design at the Art Students League in Manhattan. He then went on to work as a freelance graphic designer. His posters consisted of bold and strong colours but, with basic shapes. Once he became discovered, he managed to take on 60+ title sequences. The title sequence he was best known for was for the movie 'The Man With a Golden Arm' and 'It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World'.
Monday, 1 February 2016
What Actually Happens Within Our Title Sequence?
Our title sequence revolves around the idea of the Government (set in a Dystopian futuristic world) opposing and keeping track upon the different cults within the society and observing them, plotting a way to take each cult down one at a time. Our sequence involves shots of the map displaying the whereabouts of the cults. We then cut between different montages of the different cults with the names of the cast, production companies and the title of the movie being displayed throughout.
Friday, 29 January 2016
Genesis: The Uprising, title sequence planning and evaluation
For our title sequence, we have decided to go for the theme of a Dystopian-action themed genre. The reasoning behind this is due to our budget (which is set at $156million). With this given budget, this allows our group to go for the route of a more action themed movie.
The narrative for our groups title sequence consists of the idea of a government owned society (set in a dystopian future) that is looking to be overthrown by different and smaller cults/communities. These cults consists of:
We will be shooting at locations such as the London's Shard as this will be the location in which the government's meeting will be held. Then, once inside to show 'Tom Hardy' walking towards the conference room, we will shoot these scenes within Welling School. This is also where the map and conference will be held.
The Illuminati scenes will be shot within Welling School inside a drama room. This will consist of the Illuminati members walking along a trail of candles laid on the floor, walking toward the 'Devil's trap' on the floor. The Illuminati members will also be chanting at the camera.
The scavengers group will be shown in a location that appears very desolate and empty (like an abandoned building/factory) with a bin being lit on fire and, the scavengers using the heat from the fire.
The evangelists will be shot within an ancient/traditional church, showing a priest, people praying and, close up shots on the stained glass windows and, religious imagery within the church.
The rebels group will show the characters holding weaponry and, wearing scruffy clothing. The title sequence will essentially end with the title of the movie "Genesis: The Uprising".
Interestingly, when I looked at the other movies that are similar to mine - in terms of genre - their title sequences usually revolve around the style of the typography and, the style of the title sequence being either computer graphics based or, real life acting and gritty. For our title sequence, we have researched 2 other title sequences within the dystopian genre; The Matrix and Children of Men. The Matrix's title sequence is completely CGI based whereas the Children of Men's title sequence is real life acting based. So, for our title sequence, we are looking to essentially combine the two ideas of graphics based (the map) and real life acting. These techniques have both been shown to be useful and effective for them two movies so, we feel it is appropriate to incorporate these ideas in to our title sequence.
The narrative for our groups title sequence consists of the idea of a government owned society (set in a dystopian future) that is looking to be overthrown by different and smaller cults/communities. These cults consists of:
- The Illuminati
- Scavengers
- Rebels
- The Government
- The Evangelists
We will be shooting at locations such as the London's Shard as this will be the location in which the government's meeting will be held. Then, once inside to show 'Tom Hardy' walking towards the conference room, we will shoot these scenes within Welling School. This is also where the map and conference will be held.
The Illuminati scenes will be shot within Welling School inside a drama room. This will consist of the Illuminati members walking along a trail of candles laid on the floor, walking toward the 'Devil's trap' on the floor. The Illuminati members will also be chanting at the camera.
The scavengers group will be shown in a location that appears very desolate and empty (like an abandoned building/factory) with a bin being lit on fire and, the scavengers using the heat from the fire.
The evangelists will be shot within an ancient/traditional church, showing a priest, people praying and, close up shots on the stained glass windows and, religious imagery within the church.
The rebels group will show the characters holding weaponry and, wearing scruffy clothing. The title sequence will essentially end with the title of the movie "Genesis: The Uprising".
Interestingly, when I looked at the other movies that are similar to mine - in terms of genre - their title sequences usually revolve around the style of the typography and, the style of the title sequence being either computer graphics based or, real life acting and gritty. For our title sequence, we have researched 2 other title sequences within the dystopian genre; The Matrix and Children of Men. The Matrix's title sequence is completely CGI based whereas the Children of Men's title sequence is real life acting based. So, for our title sequence, we are looking to essentially combine the two ideas of graphics based (the map) and real life acting. These techniques have both been shown to be useful and effective for them two movies so, we feel it is appropriate to incorporate these ideas in to our title sequence.
Wednesday, 20 January 2016
Research into my own genre of my title sequence:
For my title sequence, me and my group have decided to focus around the idea and sub-genre of 'Dystopia'. For our title sequence, we want to focus on the idea of anarchy, chaos, the idea of the government and specific cults and - most importantly - the idea of a dystopian future.
I have decided to have a research and a look in to the dystopian sub-genre and have a couple of notable points to include and discuss. For example, dystopian genres of movies usually consists of the idea of a futuristic world that has gone wrong. Essentially, a dystopian society is the direct opposite to a utopian society. This essentially means that this particular genre focuses on the theme of disaster and chaos, with a theme of darkness throughout. Interestingly, this title sequence gives the audience a bit of a backstory as to the events that have happened to this world. This saves the movie time of having to do an origin story.
A title sequence I feel fits within the theme of my genre is the opening title sequence for the dystopian themed movie 'Children of Men'. This title sequence provides an essential backstory for the audience through news reports and newspaper articles. We see a futuristic set world that has an issue with infertility levels rising. We get to see the P.O.V. of different social classes within the dystopian world, from rich to poor.
Another example of a dystopian themed movie is the 1999 'The Matrix'. The focus of this movie is that in the near future. humans have been taken over by the war of machines and, the machines now stores humans as a source of power. However, to ensure that the humans remain in a stationary state of mind, the machines have created another world in which the humans' mind can go to, a virtual reality world called 'The Matrix'. I feel as though this is a good example of a dystopian themed movie as this movie plays around with the theme of a futuristic endangered world. In terms of the title sequence, the production company 'Warner Bros.'is first established. Then, we are introduced to the CGI green codes of The Matrix with a dramatic themed soundtrack. Not much is given away from this title sequence however, it then goes on to the opening sequence of the movie. So, this means that the audience are straight away jumped into the matrix world and, the plot of the movie.
I have decided to have a research and a look in to the dystopian sub-genre and have a couple of notable points to include and discuss. For example, dystopian genres of movies usually consists of the idea of a futuristic world that has gone wrong. Essentially, a dystopian society is the direct opposite to a utopian society. This essentially means that this particular genre focuses on the theme of disaster and chaos, with a theme of darkness throughout. Interestingly, this title sequence gives the audience a bit of a backstory as to the events that have happened to this world. This saves the movie time of having to do an origin story.
A title sequence I feel fits within the theme of my genre is the opening title sequence for the dystopian themed movie 'Children of Men'. This title sequence provides an essential backstory for the audience through news reports and newspaper articles. We see a futuristic set world that has an issue with infertility levels rising. We get to see the P.O.V. of different social classes within the dystopian world, from rich to poor.
Another example of a dystopian themed movie is the 1999 'The Matrix'. The focus of this movie is that in the near future. humans have been taken over by the war of machines and, the machines now stores humans as a source of power. However, to ensure that the humans remain in a stationary state of mind, the machines have created another world in which the humans' mind can go to, a virtual reality world called 'The Matrix'. I feel as though this is a good example of a dystopian themed movie as this movie plays around with the theme of a futuristic endangered world. In terms of the title sequence, the production company 'Warner Bros.'is first established. Then, we are introduced to the CGI green codes of The Matrix with a dramatic themed soundtrack. Not much is given away from this title sequence however, it then goes on to the opening sequence of the movie. So, this means that the audience are straight away jumped into the matrix world and, the plot of the movie.
Tuesday, 19 January 2016
4 Title Sequence Analysis
'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol' (2011) - Directed by Brad Bird:
In the title sequence for the 2011 movie 'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol', the title sequence begins after a short opening sequence played at the beginning of the movie. The title sequence begins with one of the characters igniting the fuse/spark which runs along the wire, leading to an explosion. What is significant about this is that this is key iconography that represents and establishes precisely what this genre of the movie is about... Action. The title sequence is completely CGI'd with key scenes taken from the actual movie.
Throughout the majority of the title sequence, there are a variety of different settings established. Such as, under water, through sewer pipes, through to the city and then, the spark that is running along these settings comes back to where it was ignited in the beginning at the end of the title sequence. The main title of the movie appears at the beginning of the sequence, along with the cast members names displayed afterwards. In regards of the genre of the movie being established, there are explosions displayed and, fast car chases, which again alludes to the audience what the movie consists of.
The purpose of this title sequence is to put the viewer through the perspective of this spark running along the wire. Throughout this journey, you get to see the majority of the settings in which the movies events takes place in. Furthermore, the purpose of this title sequence is to inform the audience what the genre this movie is going to be about, which is essentially action.
'Napoleon Dynamite' (2004) - Directed by Jared Hess:
In the title sequence for 2004's 'Napoleon Dynamite', it is obvious straight away that this sequence is essentially low budgeted. This is because the props, objects and style of the title sequence looks very cheap yet, very creative - compared to the typical title sequences that are displayed in higher budgeted movies.
What is interesting and, arguably creative about this title sequence is that the casting and the typography used is shown through different pieces of food and, different objects. What these different pieces of foods and objects represents is that this movie is set within high school, alluding to the fact that the genre of this movie is a teen comedy. The soundtrack used throughout it very funky and, has an almost 70's vibe to it. The colour scheme is very bright and saturated, keeping the title sequence engaging for the audience.
The purpose of this title sequence is to show the audience its creativity and quirkiness through the funky choice of music and, the way the typography is written on the objects and food. Although this title sequence hardly gives anything away about the plot of this movie, it is still clear enough to the audience that the genre in which this movie is set in is teen comedy/drama.
'Children of Men' (2006) - Directed by Alfonso Cuaron:
In the title sequence for 2006's 'Children of Men', it is tangent that compared to higher budgeted movies title sequences, this one is lower budgeted. You can tell that the movie is about a dystopian city due to the news paper reports dates.
The movie is set as a drama and, a sci-fi movie - which is a subgenre. The news paper articles declares how infertility rates decrease, which is a significant point because these newspaper reports allows the audience to have an insight in to the plot of the movie and, provides a bit of background knowledge into this movies already established world. Scenes of anarchy is displayed towards the end of sequence. Interestingly, it could be argued that throughout the title sequence, it is from the view points of different montages from the rich side of the world/city, to the poor side of the society. This is most evident when at the beginning of the sequence, we see state of the art technology being used, whereas towards the end of the sequence, we see poverty and run down environments. The soundtrack used begins to pick up speed and become fast paced, with the typography of the casting being bold and gritty. It is interesting to note that when the main title of the movie appears at the end of the trailer, the writing is put together in the colours of white and red. This is interesting as the colour white carries the connotations of purity and good, whereas the colour of red connotes violence, evil and savagery - which these are the issues that are focused upon throughout the title sequence.
The purpose of this title sequence is to provide the audience with the essential backstory of the movie. The reasoning for this is so that the audience are not left confused when the movie jumps straight in to the plot and the action.
'Django Unchained' (2012) - Directed by Quinten Tarrentino:
In the title sequence for 2012's 'Django Unchained', it is clear that the genre for this movie is essentially western. The entire title sequence is made completely out of CGI and, features the cast members and of course the main title of the movie. The title sequence takes place through an old barn.
The iconography used throughout the title sequence is vital within this sequence due to the fact that this is the key indication as to the genre of the movie. For example, there are old fashioned carriages displayed, with barn houses and, classic + western guns shown. What is interesting to note is that we are shown an actual chain towards the end of the sequence which is a smart reference to the title of the movie due to it being called 'Unchained'. We then see the chain being broken at the end, again referencing the title. What also establishes this western genre is that the soundtrack on top of the sequence is very old school, funky and groovy - relating to the time period set within the movie.
In the title sequence for the 2011 movie 'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol', the title sequence begins after a short opening sequence played at the beginning of the movie. The title sequence begins with one of the characters igniting the fuse/spark which runs along the wire, leading to an explosion. What is significant about this is that this is key iconography that represents and establishes precisely what this genre of the movie is about... Action. The title sequence is completely CGI'd with key scenes taken from the actual movie.
Throughout the majority of the title sequence, there are a variety of different settings established. Such as, under water, through sewer pipes, through to the city and then, the spark that is running along these settings comes back to where it was ignited in the beginning at the end of the title sequence. The main title of the movie appears at the beginning of the sequence, along with the cast members names displayed afterwards. In regards of the genre of the movie being established, there are explosions displayed and, fast car chases, which again alludes to the audience what the movie consists of.
The purpose of this title sequence is to put the viewer through the perspective of this spark running along the wire. Throughout this journey, you get to see the majority of the settings in which the movies events takes place in. Furthermore, the purpose of this title sequence is to inform the audience what the genre this movie is going to be about, which is essentially action.
'Napoleon Dynamite' (2004) - Directed by Jared Hess:
In the title sequence for 2004's 'Napoleon Dynamite', it is obvious straight away that this sequence is essentially low budgeted. This is because the props, objects and style of the title sequence looks very cheap yet, very creative - compared to the typical title sequences that are displayed in higher budgeted movies.
What is interesting and, arguably creative about this title sequence is that the casting and the typography used is shown through different pieces of food and, different objects. What these different pieces of foods and objects represents is that this movie is set within high school, alluding to the fact that the genre of this movie is a teen comedy. The soundtrack used throughout it very funky and, has an almost 70's vibe to it. The colour scheme is very bright and saturated, keeping the title sequence engaging for the audience.
The purpose of this title sequence is to show the audience its creativity and quirkiness through the funky choice of music and, the way the typography is written on the objects and food. Although this title sequence hardly gives anything away about the plot of this movie, it is still clear enough to the audience that the genre in which this movie is set in is teen comedy/drama.
'Children of Men' (2006) - Directed by Alfonso Cuaron:
In the title sequence for 2006's 'Children of Men', it is tangent that compared to higher budgeted movies title sequences, this one is lower budgeted. You can tell that the movie is about a dystopian city due to the news paper reports dates.
The movie is set as a drama and, a sci-fi movie - which is a subgenre. The news paper articles declares how infertility rates decrease, which is a significant point because these newspaper reports allows the audience to have an insight in to the plot of the movie and, provides a bit of background knowledge into this movies already established world. Scenes of anarchy is displayed towards the end of sequence. Interestingly, it could be argued that throughout the title sequence, it is from the view points of different montages from the rich side of the world/city, to the poor side of the society. This is most evident when at the beginning of the sequence, we see state of the art technology being used, whereas towards the end of the sequence, we see poverty and run down environments. The soundtrack used begins to pick up speed and become fast paced, with the typography of the casting being bold and gritty. It is interesting to note that when the main title of the movie appears at the end of the trailer, the writing is put together in the colours of white and red. This is interesting as the colour white carries the connotations of purity and good, whereas the colour of red connotes violence, evil and savagery - which these are the issues that are focused upon throughout the title sequence.
The purpose of this title sequence is to provide the audience with the essential backstory of the movie. The reasoning for this is so that the audience are not left confused when the movie jumps straight in to the plot and the action.
'Django Unchained' (2012) - Directed by Quinten Tarrentino:
In the title sequence for 2012's 'Django Unchained', it is clear that the genre for this movie is essentially western. The entire title sequence is made completely out of CGI and, features the cast members and of course the main title of the movie. The title sequence takes place through an old barn.
The iconography used throughout the title sequence is vital within this sequence due to the fact that this is the key indication as to the genre of the movie. For example, there are old fashioned carriages displayed, with barn houses and, classic + western guns shown. What is interesting to note is that we are shown an actual chain towards the end of the sequence which is a smart reference to the title of the movie due to it being called 'Unchained'. We then see the chain being broken at the end, again referencing the title. What also establishes this western genre is that the soundtrack on top of the sequence is very old school, funky and groovy - relating to the time period set within the movie.
Thursday, 14 January 2016
Art of the title article for film title sequences
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/10/the-art-of-the-film-title-throughout-cinema-history/
"Words and lettering played an enormous role in films of the silent era."
Many films that were released during the silent movie era created title sequences in a more traditional and old fashioned manner. Usually, the title sequences would be created by placing text and cutting outs of writing onto a black screen board/title. This would then be recorded by the film stock and edited together in a simplistic way. Because of this, this made the particular words and lettering during this era very essential as the audience were becoming tired of the same generic title sequences back then. So, when films would experiment with different with different ways of reinventing title sequences back then, this was seen by the audience as revolutionary.
"As movies grew more popular, their titles evolved."
After the silent movie period, films were beginning to become much more popular as time went on and, as movies became more popular. With the popularity of movies rising higher and higher in time, movie companies during the mid 40's period were given more money and more of a budget in order for film studios and directors to invest more in to their title sequence. Given this advantage, this allowed film studies/directors to experiment more with their title sequences and create them with the inclusion of more graphics, making them more engaging and interesting for the audience, compared to the old fashioned silent movie title sequences.
"The incorporation of audio into movies — making them “talkies” — didn’t revolutionize how film titles were handled, at least not immediately."
With the inclusion of audio in to title sequences, this was indeed revolutionary as to how film titles were handled. This is because with the inclusion of audio, audiences now had something to listen to along with watching the title sequences. This made the viewing experience more engaging and interesting. However, I can see why this was revolutionary immediately due to the fact that having soundtracks and audio didn't necessarily relate much to the title sequences back in the 1930's-1940's as the title sequences didn't have much of a concept back then. Soundtracks and soundscores became very essential and revolutionary when the movie 'The Man With The Golden Arm' was released, due to the fact that the title sequence was very creative and the soundtrack related and went along with the sequence.
"Breakthrough ideas in titling, such as timing the typography to interact with metaphorical imagery or to create its own world, were largely innovations that came from outsiders to the Hollywood studio system. Figures such as Saul Bass, Pablo Ferro, Maurice Binder and Richard Williams arrived on the scene in the 1950s, at a time when the studios were starting to flounder in their fight with TV."
Due to the empowering introduction of television, film studios - back in the 1950's - had to create and think of new and innovating title sequences in order to attract and interest the audience. Ideas such as the typography of title sequences being metaphorical and having some meaning that relates to the movie were being introduced. This was successfully done by famous title sequence designers such as: Saul Bass, Maurice Binder and Richard Williams. They provided fresh ideas towards title sequences and had essentially changed the way title sequences were being viewed and created.
"Every sphere of contemporary life — and especially the film business — has been affected by computers. For designers, creating film titles meant participating in the apprenticeship tradition — learning by doing, on the job; that continued unabated into the mid-1990s."
With the introduction of technology being prominent within the film industry, this had essentially taken over the way in which title sequences were created. Film studios decided to include CGI even more in to sequences and, film studios essentially learnt to manipulate title sequences using technology. A famous title sequence creator during the new technology age was Kyle Cooper due to the fact that he created the majority of pop cultures most famous movies. The title sequence of the 1995 movie 'SEVEN' was again revolutionary due to its grittiness and innovating ways of displaying unsettling imagery - again created by Kyle Cooper.
"Words and lettering played an enormous role in films of the silent era."
Many films that were released during the silent movie era created title sequences in a more traditional and old fashioned manner. Usually, the title sequences would be created by placing text and cutting outs of writing onto a black screen board/title. This would then be recorded by the film stock and edited together in a simplistic way. Because of this, this made the particular words and lettering during this era very essential as the audience were becoming tired of the same generic title sequences back then. So, when films would experiment with different with different ways of reinventing title sequences back then, this was seen by the audience as revolutionary.
"As movies grew more popular, their titles evolved."
After the silent movie period, films were beginning to become much more popular as time went on and, as movies became more popular. With the popularity of movies rising higher and higher in time, movie companies during the mid 40's period were given more money and more of a budget in order for film studios and directors to invest more in to their title sequence. Given this advantage, this allowed film studies/directors to experiment more with their title sequences and create them with the inclusion of more graphics, making them more engaging and interesting for the audience, compared to the old fashioned silent movie title sequences.
"The incorporation of audio into movies — making them “talkies” — didn’t revolutionize how film titles were handled, at least not immediately."
With the inclusion of audio in to title sequences, this was indeed revolutionary as to how film titles were handled. This is because with the inclusion of audio, audiences now had something to listen to along with watching the title sequences. This made the viewing experience more engaging and interesting. However, I can see why this was revolutionary immediately due to the fact that having soundtracks and audio didn't necessarily relate much to the title sequences back in the 1930's-1940's as the title sequences didn't have much of a concept back then. Soundtracks and soundscores became very essential and revolutionary when the movie 'The Man With The Golden Arm' was released, due to the fact that the title sequence was very creative and the soundtrack related and went along with the sequence.
"Breakthrough ideas in titling, such as timing the typography to interact with metaphorical imagery or to create its own world, were largely innovations that came from outsiders to the Hollywood studio system. Figures such as Saul Bass, Pablo Ferro, Maurice Binder and Richard Williams arrived on the scene in the 1950s, at a time when the studios were starting to flounder in their fight with TV."
Due to the empowering introduction of television, film studios - back in the 1950's - had to create and think of new and innovating title sequences in order to attract and interest the audience. Ideas such as the typography of title sequences being metaphorical and having some meaning that relates to the movie were being introduced. This was successfully done by famous title sequence designers such as: Saul Bass, Maurice Binder and Richard Williams. They provided fresh ideas towards title sequences and had essentially changed the way title sequences were being viewed and created.
"Every sphere of contemporary life — and especially the film business — has been affected by computers. For designers, creating film titles meant participating in the apprenticeship tradition — learning by doing, on the job; that continued unabated into the mid-1990s."
With the introduction of technology being prominent within the film industry, this had essentially taken over the way in which title sequences were created. Film studios decided to include CGI even more in to sequences and, film studios essentially learnt to manipulate title sequences using technology. A famous title sequence creator during the new technology age was Kyle Cooper due to the fact that he created the majority of pop cultures most famous movies. The title sequence of the 1995 movie 'SEVEN' was again revolutionary due to its grittiness and innovating ways of displaying unsettling imagery - again created by Kyle Cooper.
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