Opening Title Research

In order to create our opening titles, we each individually went and watched the opening of 3 different film genres and made notes on the order in which people apart of the film appeared. 

Below you will find all of our research collaborated together.

Opening Title Research

After viewing this, as a production group, Me, Lucy and Robbie came to the conclusion that from the research above, the order in which people appear in the opening credits are:

• Production companies (in order of importance and how well known they are)
• Film Title
• Cast members and Production team 

Opening Titles Structure Choice

After viewing the research of the group and seeing what each film genre's opening titles looks like, the group that I will be working with for my first task made a decision on the order in which the film cast and production team will appear in the titles:

Production Companies (being with their idents)

Cast (Starring..)

Film Title

Casting By 

Music By 

Costume Design

Visual Effects (If any)

Editor

Director of Photography

Co-Producers

Executive Producer

Producer

Screenplay By

Written By

Producer/s

Director/s (maybe co-director)

Opening Title Sequences

Opening title sequences are different to opening credits. These are like mini films within themselves. An opening title sequence is created in style of the film someone is about to watch and is used to present the title of their film and the main cast and production team member. 

Opening Title Sequences are confused with opening credits. 

Just remember the difference is that one contains key members of cast and crew along with the title of the film. On the other hand, the opening credits are just sequences of superimposed text.

Here is an opening title sequence from one of the James Bond films Tomorrow never Dies. This is a good example of an intricate opening sequence:

Analysis of Opening Title Sequence 1

This example of an opening title sequence is modern so straight away it gives the audience an idea of what to expect about the film. This sequence also through the mini story that is going on behind all of the title transitions are also giving the person watching the film an idea of what genre of film it is going to be. From this sequence I already know its not going to be a romance or a western unless they have created one big subverted film (which I doubt it will be). 
The title transactions are original and creative meaning people are likely to acknowledge the people who have produced and stared in this production. 
Another think I notice in this opening title sequence is that the people whose names appear are only the key people that have been involved in this film, telling me straight away that the opening titles are for the main cast and crew not for everyone who was involved like the person who did the catering throughout the production period. 

Analysis of Opening Title Sequence 2

Here is another opening title sequence taken from the recently released film Oz The Great and Powerful. It contrasts in style to the James Bond opening title sequence but more about that in a moment.

This film title sequence although like the previous tell us a brief mini story about what we are about to see in the film, these two film titles differ. This film title is in black and white which suits the film as it is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. This was how the film titles for this film were at the beginning and so the person who has created this sequences has followed the idea of the original which again is keeping to the context of the film. The style of the titles are a bit more old fashioned unlike the James Bond opening titles as not only is there no colour but the style of the 'puppet like' way in which the names of the cast members and backstage team appear is almost like the punch and Judy old fashioned entrance which again suits the film style but differs from that of the James Bond opening. Also as you can see this film sequence is animated in a way that adds to the style of the film and the mythical creatures and places in which this film is set. 

For both of the film openings the title sequence style is suited and follows on to the film that is about to be shown which as said before, grabs the attention of the intended audience.

For more opening title sequences that gave me ideas as to the styles of the opening titles sequences to most films, click the link below:

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/by-any-means/

These opening titles show clearly:

•  The genre of the film 
• The time period of the film 
• The main cast and crew of the production

These take hours to create and like I said previously are like a mini film in themselves so for the first film Me and the rest of my Production team will be creating will have opening credits rather than an opening title sequence. The opening credits are simpler to create but just as effective. 

Using a Dolly in the World of Film

So you want to film someone walking or you want to film a room full of people dancing. Well Tracking Dollies are used to capture these shots. 

The two type of Dollies that I have worked with are:

• Tracking Dolly

• Tripod Dolly

Tracking Dolly

Tripod Dolly

This is where you place the camera on a track and it allows you to push or pull the camera along to capture the action. They can also be used for revealing shots to show the object to the audience.

This is used for arc shots (if you want to circle round a subject). I'll show you an example of a tripod dolly in use later on in this post but it is used when filming people dancing.

Our example of using a Tracking Dolly 

We had a go ourselves at using a tracking dolly and believe me it is a lot more difficult than it looks. Everything has to be in sequence and in time with each other for a shot such as the tracking shot to work. 

Clip from Fame (1980)

Bellow is an example I found of the use of a Tripod. Watch from around 0:37 when Irene and Bruno begin to walk through the doors; the camera follows them and see the use of the arc shot when the camera rotates around the two characters

By making use of these shots and making sure that the shots are smooth when using the tracking dolly and the tripod dolly, your film would look as good as Hollywoods. One slight jolt of the camera and like all other components of a film, and it could make or break the film you could have been working on for months.

Three-Point Lighting

 
When Filming, three-point lighting is important if you want to get the mood of the film right. 
As the name of it states, three-point lighting has 3 components to it:

• Key Light- This is the main light in a scene. It is placed to one side of the camera which causes one side of the subject to be well lit and the other to show shadows.

• Fill Light- The fill light is placed on the opposite side to the Key light and is there to prevent shadows from appearing on the object. 

• Back Light- These lights are projected from behind the subject. This makes an image look 3D, showing that the subject is in the foreground of the shot rather than it looking flat. 

Reflectors

A reflector is a round disk shaped object that is shiny which allows you to reflect the light off objects to prevent the shadow effect appearing when filming under high key lighting. 

Our Own Example

Here is our idea of three-point lighting. We used:

Key Light- Red Head

Fill Light- Reflector

Back Light- Red Head

If you want to find more out about 3 point lighting, here is a good link for the way three point lighting is created: 

3 point lighting simulator

The lighting of a scene or shot in a film is the difference between an Oscar for best film and a bad review by the press in an article. One slight mess up with the lighting and a films appearance and ambience can be ruined. 

Preliminary Task- Evaluation

My First practical task was to create a short film showing the use of match on action and then edit it in Final Cut Pro.

Here is the final result of the short film.

Who helped make this film?

When creating this film, the production team consisted of Me, Lucy Smith and Dan Vidmar. Together we all had equal input in creating this short film.

What went well?

When producing this short film, we came up with an idea by discussing with each other the possibilities and ideas for our film without overpowering each other or ignoring people's thoughts and opinions. Also when producing the film, the actors were willing to follow our clear instructions to producing the comedic performance we were going for when we created and wrote the short script for our film. The precision we used when creating the match on action shots gave us an easier job when editing and by being precise, we prevented any continuity errors. We did this by watching back the clips

and if there was a slight mistake with arm movements or something moved, we re-recorded it so there wasn't any obvious continuity.

What was good?

All of the clips matched up for example when the actress walks through the door, she didn't open the door twice or she skipped opening the door. I think the music fitted well with the film; by adding it at the begging and end suggests it is a sad story but really turns out to be a comedy. Also the overall filming process was good. As a production team, we didn't muck around, we knew what we were doing meaning we could get the actresses to position themselves in the exact place we wanted meaning again there was no room for major continuity.

Following the production rules

 Continuity- This task needs to contain no continuity errors. When for example Tina opens the door at the beginning of the film, when we cut to the front shot she uses the same are to push the door open and the door is ajar the same distance when it cuts from the behind shot to the front shot. The continuity rule for me seems well thought about and followed meaning the film flows and no errors can be seen.

180 Degree Rule- When filming we never broke the 180 degree rule. At no point does the camera cross the 180 degree line meaning the viewer watching the film is never confused and mislead by any error. for example when we shot the conversation cutting between Tilly and Tina, we never crossed the 180 degree line meaning the viewer knew what was going on and where each other characters were positioned at the time.

Match On Action- The whole point of this task was to great good match on action shots meaning the camera cut from a different angle it followed on making it look like one whole sequence. I think we followed this rule well as all of the match on actions we used followed on making the film flow and look like all one sequence when in actual fact it was a number of cut shots edited together.

What didn't go as well?

When creating our match on action shots, we sometimes forgot what they did in the previous shot meaning the match on actions didn't match up. This then meant we had to re- shoot the shot. Also the noise in the background was a little off putting to the actresses causing them to lose focus and also the sound was then picked up on the camera mic meaning we had to re-shoot a number of clips.

 

What did I learn about making a film and working with a production team?

When creating this film I learnt that everything doesn't always go to plan but you just have to find away round the changes and get along with it. Also I learnt that even if you have a good production team, if you don't have actors that are willing and able to meet the requirements for the characters created, it can make the film look amateur and unrealistic (we luckily had good actresses). Also I leant that there is more to shooting a film than people think. Every little intricate detail has to be correct for something like a match on action to look right. If one slight detail is incorrect, continuity errors begin to appear, again making a film look amateur.



Script Writing

When creating a film, it is important that when you come to write the script it has all of the elements needed. If its not in the correct format producers and directors won't even bother looking at your script even if the content is a multi-award winning screenplay. 

A piece of software that I myself have used is Celtex. There are many other pieces of software that do virtually the same thing but this is one of the better ones. 
Celtex is a script writing software that enables you to write scripts in the exact format you would see say the Harry Potter scripts written. 

Here is a basic tutorial on how to set out your film script. It gives you the basics on how to set out your script and the does and don't.
 


So thats how you begin to set out your script. If you remember the basics, Celtex does most of the work for you making sure that you stick to the rules so if you did write a script for a director, they wouldn't throw it away and think nothing of your idea.

Here below you will see a real script of the famous musical 'Les Miserables'. As you will see it is set out in the same format as shown in the video tutorial for Celtex. 

Les Miserables Script

So if you're thinking of writing a script, make sure the format of the whole script is precise and in the exact layout a script should be.

Continuity

So all the filming's done and you think everything is perfect. The actors and film crew have done their job. All thats left is to edit the film. 

When They edit the film they need to make sure they've used continuity otherwise you've got the problem of errors.

Continuity is where an uninterrupted sequence is created and someone will make sure that every detail is correct about it. So if someone's messing with their hair and it changes style, thats considered bad continuity as the sequence and narrative isn't consistent. 

Bellow these are some of the biggest movies around and they have messed up big time committing an unforgivable crime in the word of film.....A CONTINUITY ERROR! 

Here's just a few of the many big films filled with continuity errors.

Here a clip that shows exactly what happens when you don't pay attention to the continuity of a film!

So when filming, checking the continuity is crucial otherwise like all of the High school Musical clips (2:39) your movie will be littered with silly mistakes that could ruin your million pound chance for fame!

One last thing is the error in a big film series that how you don't see it I'll never know. Harry Potter is filled with errors too but this is an obvious one.

                          So even the big professionals make loads of mistake, so WATCH OUT!

Match on Action

Match on action is where you film one angle of an object and then cut to a new angle showing the objects action from its first. Sounds complicated...its not too difficult to get your head round.
In this clip from 2 fast 2 furious, you can see all the cars racing. When the camera cuts, its usually that same car just showing you its action. This is how continuity errors occur.

Watch the clip and see if you can see all the Match on Action cuts.



Some points where match on action occurs: 

• 0.01- it starts of with a side shot of the man in the car, then cuts to the same shot put from a different angle.
• 0.34 - There is a full wide shot of the car and them all of a sudden cuts to a close up shot of the car
• 1.11- again another car shot that cuts to a close up shot of the car.

Now when editing Match on action there is room for so many errors. If you don't cut the shots so that the object looks the same or is in the same place, that when continuity errors occur. (I'll show you some great errors from big films in my next post!) 

For example someone could be walking through a door with the camera behind them, they push the door open, then the camera cuts and the door is closed and they're pushing the door open again! Not a clever thing to do on a million pound film is it?! 

So if you're doing a match on action shot, make sure your clips match up or else! 

Cut Types

Thinking about cut types in the world of Cinematography is very important. One bad edit and you're in big trouble.

The two most common types of cut are:

• Straight Cut

• Split Edit 

Straight cut- Simplest kind of cut type. You have clip A and when that one finishes it cuts straight to shot B and that plays and so on.

Split Edit- Also known as an L cut, this is when say shot A is rolling and continues rolling until we cut to shot B BUT the dialogue and track from shot A is still running underneath. 

An example- two people are having a jolly old conversation. The camera is focused on one person then BAM it cuts to the second person but person 1 is still chatting away. 

So here's a video of the different cut types. There are some other cut types included in this video.

You'd think it was magic but its just all down to the handy work of a film crew.

180 Degree Rule

Before you sit there and think 'Oh no, not maths', don't worry you don't have to work anything out. All you have to do is watch this clip and stick to the rules!


So remember, don't cross the line otherwise you'll confuse your audience...UNLESS you show the transaction between being on one side of the characters, to the other.

Next its all about Match on Action. 

The Rule of Thirds

So you've got your shot types, your camera movement sorted at to a professional standard (we wish), now we move onto a golden rule....THE RULE OF THIRDS. 

The rule of thirds is really simple to understand. You take a picture...like this and split it into three rows vertically and three rows horizontally, like so.

Now our eyes are trained to read from left to right (Unless you're Arabic, Hebrew etc...), so the same applies when looking at a picture or film shot. 

WARNING! It is NEVER a good idea to put an object in the middle of a shot or picture. Its a fatal error that many of us follow. Our eyes never look to the middle first making the object in the middle not as important as you may want it to be. So its just a no no in the world of film and photography UNLESS you have a reason for it, like...I don't know, trickery? 

Anyway by making the subject in the shot off center and in one of the outer thirds, the image becomes more appealing and important to its audience.

So recap:

Rule of thirds pictures SHOULD look like this...              NOT like this.....














If you follow these rules you're on your way to the perfect film!

Camera Movements

Here is another helpful video about the different camera movements used when filming! Short, sweet and to the point!


Other Camera Movements

Crab- A less common phrase for a tracking shot.

Pedestal- When the camera moves vertically in line with the subject it wishes to follow. Like when someone wants to stand up from being crouched on the floor, the camera will follow them as they begin to move.

Follow- Does exactly what you think it does. This shot is where the camera physically follows the subject it is focusing on.

Zoom- This can technically be counted as a camera movement. It gives the viewer the illusion of something being close or far away in the scene. It looks as though the camera is moving towards or away from an object but in fact it hasn't moved at all.

The next blog post will be all about the rule of thirds, an important rule to follow when working out where to place your objects and characters. If you don't, things could go down hill VERY fast.

Shot Types when filming

Here's a link that will show and explain all the different shot types you can use when       filming!

    


Extreme long shot- Also known as the establishing shot. This clues the audience in on the location of the film and maybe allows them to get a basic opinion on what sort of genre the film is going to be. Usually there will be someone (a character) walking in the distance to show a minor relationship between the location and the character.   

Long Shot- This shot give use a closer look at the character themselves and a full shot of their body showing us how they are feeling.    

Mid-shot- This gives the audience a closer look at the features of the character. Like the long shot it gives us an incite into how the character is feeling but the detail it far greater. The close up shot is usually from the hips upwards.   

Over the shoulder shot- The over the shoulder shot can be used when two or more characters are talking and establishes where the characters are and yet again shows how they are feeling with more detail.  

Two person shot- The two person shot is exactly what it says on the tin. Its a bit like the mid-shot just with two people in the shot rather than one. The allows the subject (characters etc) to share similar stage presence.   

Close up shot-This shot is used to show an important facial expression that clearly shows how the character is feeling. It can also be used to focus in on a certain item that is vital for the audience to see, maybe a document or a murder weapon!  

Extreme close up This is a very detailed shot that focuses in on a certain feature. For instance in your western films you can almost guarantee there is a close eye shot of two characters during the shoot out scenes!  

When using camera shots, directors and the film crews don't just do shots for any old who har, they've always got a purpose, a meaning behind why they have been used.

Predicted Production Work Flow

When creating a film, the production work flow is needed to ensure that each aspect of a film is collected and organised. If one part of this workflow is missing or done in the wrong order, things could get messy and you film could just go downhill from there, but thats the extreme.

Above you will see our idea of what the workflow should be when creating a film.We were given the task of ordering the jobs within the production team to see what we thought the work flow was when creating a film. This is the process we will be following when creating our final film. This isn't accurate as some of the things that needed to be done may be in the wrong order, its just our estimation of what order things will need to be done in order to create our film.

Welcome

Hi all! Charlotte here. Student from Great Wyrley High School. Just a little note to say hello and welcome to my AS media blog. I'll be filling you in on all the work and filming I do on my media course. The specification title that I shall be following is OCR AS Media Studies There'll be all sorts for you to follow as I complete my AS media course. The next few posts will be all about the pre-filming research techniques used during filming such as:

• Shot Types

• Camera Movement 

• Cut Types

• Rule of Thirds

• Match On Action

• 180 Degree Rule

• Continuity

The first post will be showing you the different shot types you can use when filming.
Until then!