PRODUCTION PRACTICE: TITLE SEQUENCE "A WHOLE WORLD IN A TABLE TOP"

SUADADE

Our brief was to create a title sequence using only a table top and props with a small part of live action at the end of it , using the soundtrack of Emily Barkers Nostalgia; and add in titles. 

I watched the title sequence of Delicatessen (1991, Jean-Pierre Jeunet) and study how its inventive camerawork tells a story at sets the theme. As a group we used this title sequence as inspiration to create and original title sequence by setting up the mise-en-scene using a table covered in a black cloth and using props to place on the table to create a story sequence. We used the soundtrack Nostalgia by Emily Barker (the Wallander theme tune). We started off our title sequences by filming the tabletop scenes. The props we chose included old pictures, some of a couple and some of a man that looked like he was fighting in the war, as well old written letters, and alcohol and what looks like lines of drugs. We chose these props because we thought it could create a story line of Nostalgia reflecting the title, a girl who has struggled with the change of the loss of her significant other because he has gone off to fight in the war, as a result of this change she has turned to alcohol and drugs. We also then went on to film the live action part of the title sequence, this shows the young women walking around holding her bottle of prosecco and then approaching another person holding a large sum of money while being handed drugs and cigarettes. 

Our filming turned out to be extremely successful and worked out really well, we placed the objects very carefully on the table, so they made sense and created a story within themselves. However it wasn’t always easy to film we found a couple of issues along the way, such as when filming the table top part we struggled to keep a smooth transition from each object, as well as it was difficult to make sure that we always only had the black cloth and objects in the shot and would sometimes go over the table to where we would see the floor and peoples feet, this ruined the effect of the title sequence, meaning it took multiple shots to make sure this hadn’t happened and to maintain the effect. When filming the live action, we had a similar problem with making sure we didn’t get people in the background and making sure we didn’t have modern objects ruining the aesthetic. We managed to fix these problems as a group as while Evie was filming, I would follow her and watch the screen to make sure that no other objects would be in the frame and if so would tell her. 

We edited the title sequence using iMovie on the iMac, we cut the song so that it started at about 8 seconds so it would fit well with our title sequence. We also made sure we put the names of each individual person in relevant shots for example, when the hand comes into the shot looking at the photo we put ‘Leila Saville’ as she was the one who did this part and it seemed relevant to put it there. For the live action we did a tracking shot following the girl holding the bottle as we thought it seemed effective and created suspense to where she was going. We also did an over the shoulder shot for the drug deal as it makes the audience focus on the objects rather than the surroundings. We made sure that our title sequence lasted about 1 minute as an opening has to be very short and we are practicing for when we do our final production. 

We named our production company Moontale Studios and our film title is ‘Saudade’ , the meaning of this is from a Portuguese word which means being nostalgic, experiencing the presence of absence, longing for someone or something that you remember lovingly but know you can never experience it again. We thought this fit really well with our film as it reflects the storyline quite well and is a bit different to anything we had heard before. 

To Kill a Mockingbird

While researching film openings on scoopit! I discovered the opening of the famous book and movie To Kill and Mockingbird. The opening of this film instantly caught my attention as I started to see comparison between that opening and my opening of Suadade that I did with my group. I found that the props used were very simplistic and house held props quite like the ones we used in Suadade. The camera angles and shot types were also very similar to the ones we used. 

RESEARCH: TITLES

The Exorcist (horror):

• Production Company – Warner Brothers
• Director - William Friedkin
• Starring – ACTOR 1: Linda Blair
• ACTOR 2 : Max von Sydow
• ACTOR 3 : Ellen Burstyn
• Title : The Exorcist 
• Starring – ACTOR 4 : Jason Miller
• ACTOR 5 : Jack MacGowran
• ACTOR 6 : Mercedes McCambridge
• ACTOR 7 : Lee J. Cobb
• Casting 
• Costume designer : Joseph Fretwell III
• Special make up effects supervisor : Dick Smith  
• Sound designer : Jeff Schmidt
• Music : Mike Oldfield
• Film editor : Jordan Leondopolous
• Norman Gay 
• Evan A. Lottman
• Bud S. Smith 
• Production designer : Bill Malley 
• Director of photography : Owen Roizman , Billy Williams 
• Executive producer: Noel Marshall 
• Based on novel
• Screenplay : William Peter Blatty
• Producer : William Peter Blatty
• Director : William Friedkin

Crazy rich asians (comedy-drama) :

• Production Company: Color Force
• ACTOR 1 : Ken Jeong
• ACTOR 2 : Constance Wu
• Title : Crazy Rich Asians 
• ACTOR 3 : Henry Golding
• ACTOR 4  : Michelle Yeoh
• ACTOR 5 : Gemma Chan 
• ACTOR 5 & 6 : Awkwafina & Nico Santos 
• Casting
• Music : Brian Tyler 
• Costume design : Mary E. Vogt 
• Film Editor :  Myron I. Kerstein 
• Production Designer : Nelson Coates 
• Director of Photography : Vanja Černjul
• Executive Producers : Nina Jacobson 
• Producers : Bradford Simpson 
• Producers : John Penotti 
• Based on the Novel series
• Screenplay : Pete Chiarelli and Adele Lim
• Director : Jon M. Chu 

ON THE SET

In yesterdays lesson I learnt how to use equipment , such as the Canon cameras and tripods. 


Cameras and Tripods -

In my group of 4 we passed the camera around and individually practiced how to use and look after the camera, with things such as inserting the memory card and removing it from the camera as well as the battery, we also learned how to charge the batteries and where to keep them. When passing the camera to and from each other we must say 'yours' and 'mine' to make sure we do not drop the cameras. We also learned how to set up a tripod and put the camera in it, we looked at the functions of the camera and how to focus it using either automatic focus or manual focus. 

White Balance - 
The term White Balance means the process of getting rid of unrealistic colours so that if an object is white in person is made white in the photo as well. On a camera, white balance has to consider the colour temperate of the light which is the different warmth or coolness of white light. To adjust this there is an option to select 'WB' on the camera, which will give you options of different colour tones that are used in different lights, creating a more realistic effect. 

The 180 degree rule - 
The 180 degree rule is the rule that 2 characters in one scene must always have the same left and right relationship to each other, if this is not followed and is broken it will disrupt the scene and disorientate the audience. There is an imaginary axis that connects the 2 subjects , it is called crossing the line and the shot will become what it is referred to as a reverse angle. 

On Set - 
We also learnt about the different terminology in the film industry, when filming the director shouts, 'Standby' , before filming a scene this is to ensure that everyone is ready, when everyone is ready they must respond by saying 'Standing by'. The Director also shouts 'rolling' when this is shouted this means that everyone on set must be quiet, the director then shouts 'action' to informs the actors to start. After shooting the director will say 'cut' to tell everyone they are done, the director will thens ay 'strike the kit' , this is to let the film crew know they should pack away now, put batteries on charge and make sure the footage is uploaded and backed up. 

Practice in Editing -
We are using iMovie and Final Cut Pro on the iMacs in the media studio. When we upload our footage onto these we will create a folder for out group to hold the shots in. These folders are referred to as bins and the unedited footage is called the rushes. 

RESEARCH: Art of the Title, Split

https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/split/

I chose to analyse and research the opening for the film Split, because the simplistic and minimalist opening attracted me as it was so effective, yet so simple and I wanted to see the different aspects to such an effective opening. 


Split is an American physiological horror film from 2016. Which is the second of a trilogy written, directed and produced by M. Night Shyamalan. The film is about a man who lives with 24 different personalities who then goes on to kidnap and imprison three teenage girls in a secluded underground basement. The opening of this film is a sinister and simplistic subtle introduction to the twisted mind of the character, it gives the audience a glimpse into a fractured mind, which clearly shows a dark and twisted mind. The creators took inspiration from iconic openings and main titles such as Alien and Physco. The titles for Split appear to be extremely simplistic behind black backgrounds with large bold white typography. The 3 main factors of the titles are a black screen, white typography and the font Helvetia. The creators thought that no other font would look so good, this big. They believed that a too threatening of a font would be inappropriate and could come across as overly forceful. The opening shows each screen sliced up and broken into a 24 frame grid and some layered, this could be to represent the 24 different personalities the main character has. 


The use of mise-en-scene is very minimal throughout this opening but very effective as it creates a story and creates suspense for the audience to find out what each thing means and leads to. The opening begins with the man wearing a particle mask , this straight away gives the audience an idea that he is trying to protect himself from something dangerous, he then comes towards the camera holding a spray bottle, this is a point of view shot, this creates fear for the audience as it makes them relate with the character as this is trying to create an emotional affect for the audience as they are meant to feel as though they are sitting where the camera is. The editing for this is also extremely fast pace this makes us feel as though what ever is happening is quick and sudden and we are left confused and questioning what has happened and who this character behind the camera actually is. This introduction to the character instantly creates the idea that he is dangerous and will be seen that way throughout the film. 


There is a variety of different camera angles used throughout to create a story and an interesting opening. We are shown a long angle , close up shot of the girl that has been kidnapped opening her eyes this is a reaction shot to how she is feeling at the time in these surroundings however she seems to still be drugged and hallucinated from what was in the spray bottle, it shows her looking confused and puzzled this then goes to a focus pull , creating the effect of her being confused and making the viewers confused as well to what has really happened to her. When the man is lifting the girl onto a bed it is a low angle shot which is unfocused so we are unaware of what is truly happening, this shows she has no control as she looks unconscious the camera is slightly covered throughout this creates suspense and makes the viewers question what is happening. Throughout the opening the editing is very fast pace and sudden, it shows a black screen for a couple of seconds then there is a sudden shot to the girl waking up slowly. 

The sound throughout is very mysterious and chilling sound, the sound is echoing throughout where we hear the hovering of the lights and sound of water leakage this represents the fact that the what looks like a basement that they are in is unsafe and unhygienic surroundings. The sound is mostly dark noises and then changes to be completely silent when the girls wakes up, this creates suspense as if everything has stopped and become okay for a second for her but something bad will happen next. Right at the start of the opening the first sound we hear is a heavy large breath in this creates danger and fear. 

ART OF THE TITLE: LADYBIRD

https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/lady-bird/

I chose to research the film Lady Bird as it is more modern day and more comedic than the others I have looked at. Lady Bird is a 2017 American comedy drama film. It is based between Autumn of 2002 and the summer of 2003, it is a coming of age story of a high school senior girl who attends a Catholic high school in Sacramento, California. She gives herself the nickname "Lady Bird" and dreams to go to prestigious colleges in the city although her family have serious financial struggles, while she also has a strained relationship with her mum, who tells her she is ungrateful for what she has in life already. 

The opening for Lady Bird is extremely different to any of the others I have looked at, it is more realistic and relatable for viewers to watch. It starts immediately showing the audience the background of this girls life and what her life style is roughly like due to the school she is attending, before we are shown anything we hear the dialogue of a priest speaking 'the father , the son and the Holy Spirit' this instantly informs the viewer that religion will be a big part of this film. We are first shown a close up shot of a pink cast that has 'F*** YOU MOM' written on it, this mise-en-scene and camera work is extremely effective as it introduces us to the character as someone who seems to have the world against her, with her having obvious bad relationship with her mother and because she has broken her arm, it shows she has bad luck and bad things happen to her. There is then a hard-cut to the young girl surrounded by other girls who are taking part in this prayer while she stands there being uninvolved and not taking part, this shows us how her attitude may be throughout. 

The title is written a large gothic font while being placed on top of a shot of people walking down the aisle holding a large cross while walking towards a large painting of Christ. This juxtaposition is effective as it shows that the girl is surround by religion but she rebels against the classic stereotype of a young catholic girl. 

Throughout the opening there are lots of different mid shots of different characters, this focuses our attention towards them, telling us that they will have relevance to the movie and may be part of this young girls story. This is extremely useful as it introduces us to each of these characters. One in particular we see the boys side of the church where all of them are praying however there is a young boy who also is not taking part to the prayer this indicates that he is similar to the girl and wants to rebel against the strict religious system of their school, this foreshadows that they will connect some how later on. There is then a cut to a wide establishing shot of the whole room where we see 2 segmented sides one with all girls and one with all boys, this shows us the stereotype of a catholic religious school where boys and girls cannot learn together or be together. 

We are shown a shot of all the girls in class together praying holding their hands to their hearts, all the girls are dressed in their uniform they all look very similar with natural coloured hair, there is then a cut to a close up of Lady Bird, the mise-en-scene identifies how different she is compared to the other girls in class, she has pink highlights in her hair, dark painted nails, lots of necklaces on, piercings and rings. She is an anti-stereotype to the types of people who attend this school. 

There is orchestral music playing in the background throughout the whole opening it is quite soothing and joyful and fits with all the clips quite well, bringing them together. The editing throughout is mainly filled with hard cuts this assembles her life together that everything changes quite frequently and shows us the various activities that she hates in her daily life. 

RESEARCH: DISTRIBUTION COLLAGE

I watched a presentation on the FDA website by Kezia Williams head of theatrical distribution at Pathe, on how distributors work to create a successful and exciting new marketing campaign for each film, on the film distributors' association site. In this presentation it was explained by Chris Besseling of Pathe, that major movie marketing companies will position a film to make it stand out to the rest, they can do this by having a USP such a major movie star titles, literacy adaptations or cast director

My chosen film A Star is Born is positioned as a drama/romance movie. The movie is a widely popular movie that came out on October 5th 2018. The love story is based on an established musician Jackson Maine who discovers a struggling artist Ally, she has given up on her dreams performing in bars and works in a tedious job at a restaurant, when Maine asserts her into the spotlight which leads her to huge fame. As Ally's career takes off, the personal relationship between her in Maine is breaking down as Maine is fighting against his ongoing battle of substance abuse.

This award winning movie did extremely well, but that wasn't just luck, the distributors Warner Brothers worked very hard on multiple different ways of marketing for the movie, so that it had worldwide viewing and lots of attention. Here are some examples of how A Star is Born was marketed:

The Posters 

The movie has multiple different posters for the marketing campaign. Some of which are individuals of the main characters. These posters are greatly effective as they introduce us to the characters in the movie, this is also an example of the famous movie talent being used to help with marketing that Chris Bessling talked about. Stars such as Lady Gaga have a massive fan base, by having her name as one of the main stars of the movie means that she will have loyal fans who will automatically want to see the movie. As well as Gaga, another massive star is in the movie and also the director of the movie, Bradley Cooper. Bradley Cooper is famous and known for his rolls in well known movies such as the hangover and guardians of the galaxy. He has a wide fan base from adults to teenagers and younger kids. This will entice viewers to see A Star is Born as they know it will be a good quality movie and will have high standards for the film. For Blumler and Katz audiences use media to gratify needs, here it is audiences as fans of particular talent. The other posters also show Ally and Jackson (Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) in each others arms as they perform. The first poster released at the same time as the trailer shows Ally and Jackson together while he is strumming his guitar and she has her notebook open, this communicates to the audience that these two are in love who make music together. The posters show the implication of music throughout the film and the continuous story of love.

The Trailers

The trailer starts off with showing Jackson Maine performing one of his songs to a huge crowd. This shows us that the film will be based a lot around performance. As the trailer goes on we see multiple different elements that show this movie is filled with love, drama, fear, suspense and seems quite personal. As the music speeds up so do the shots and cuts in the trailer showing lots of different elements of the movie, this creates suspense and intrigues the viewer as there are so many unanswered questions. This was a main part of the advertising campaign as it really pushed the campaign as viewers finally had a glimpse into what the movie was really going to be like. 

Online and Social Media

The movies online and social media campaigns are all very closely linked but are done very well and are extremely efficient. The website for the movie has a huge splash of the trailer for the movie that prompts said 'get tickets'. Which also goes on to have an about section telling us a brief summary of the movie and what to expect. There are also links to the facebook, twitter and instagram profiles. 

There is also the usual materials such as the gallery section, videos and information on the amazing soundtrack. 

On the lead up to the release of the movie the instagram, twitter, and facebook posted countdowns towards the release of the film. Including clips with quotes of parts of the film, creating excitement for the release of the film. The instagram page also has IGTV videos which are longer clips including the trailers and some performances. The Twitter page for the film involves retweets of reviews of the film and feedback from massive names such as Katy Perry and other famous people. 

Media and Publicity

A Star is Born had a huge amount of media and publicity around it, with the help of the massive names of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. The campaign kicked off and grew publicity over a photo that was released when Cooper, Gaga and the crew were at Coachella shooting for the film as part of the live performances. As well as Cooper at Glastonbury shooting for the film. 

Cooper also ran the film at a screening at the Tribeca Film Festival where he also had a live Q&A and talking about him on a personal level and what lead him to wanting to do directing. Gaga and Cooper also did lots of interviews on late night talk shows and other online interviews helping create anticipation for the movie. The release of the video for the famous song 'Shallow' in the movie a couple of weeks before the movie hit the cinemas created exhilaration for the fans. 

There was also a billboard put up in LA of Lady Gaga but as her character Ally, just like the one in the movie. Which turned into a viral sensation. There was another music video released for a song that was in the movie which was released around the same time as the soundtrack, by taking some time to share this it was very strategic, building anticipation and creating the need to see the movie to have listened to the songs. The film became an award winning movie, winning 6 awards for best Actress, BAFTA award for best film music, Satellite award for Best Motion Picture and many more. These awards show the quality of the movie and how good it is. As well as winning awards Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga also performed at famed award shows such as the Oscars, this was a massive publicity moment for the movie, as fans were stunned by the intimacy and how real the performance came across. This showed people how real and amazing the acting throughout the film was that it carried on through real life situations, as if the characters were real.  

Overall

The marketing campaign for this movie was insane and definitely doesn't disappoint, it shows how beautiful and realistic this movie really is and that it is a must see movie. The marketing campaign is quite interactive allowing fans to talk about it online and to join in with the captivating music throughout the film. The movie has been widely reviewed by many people who had a lot of expectations for the film. The critics believed that Gaga puts on an incredible performances almost making you forget who she really is in real life and making you connect with the character and that Cooper as a director and actor puts an emotional, realistic performance. This creates attention making people want to see this performance. 

Although the movie didn't have too much advertisement for the film as they only really had one main trailer for the film instead of lots of small individual ones like many other films. As well as the posters they were all very similar and related to each other a lot with the colour schemes of them and how they were laid out.