Green screen scene

Throughout filming we have relied heavily on the green screen and while editing we realised we had no scenes in which we would replace the screen, other than the black image in which we sourced from google for the office scene.
I decided to capture a image of a street in which our brief case, ring and money scene will be presented. I captured two images, one in the daylight and the other towards the evening; I wanted to do this to compare the positives and negatives of eachone. I feel the one taken in the day will be more successful to use in the background of the scene because the natural light will enable our darker objects to stand out and be the main focus. The image will also create a sense of realism in which our younger audience can relate to and form a connection - as if they are there.


                                                      

Journal - 07/01/13 The sink

Unfortunately we was unable to film at Danson park because we was unable to receive permission to film and drop a photo into the lake. We decided to use a sink instead and create 'lake like' water by using a range of leaves. The location was at Daisy's house because we felt there was a range of available materials such as blue card, clear camera bag and good lighting. I also had to organise the photo of the Grandmother and printed off a few of these in case we had some unsuccessful outcomes. We began filming with the white sink lining and soon realised it wasn't realistic, and so lined the sink with blue paper where it created a dark, mysterious water colour. We found it very difficult when filming because the paper seemed impossible to sink without having hands in the shot. We overcome this problem by each person allocating a role. Daisy captured the footage with the camera in a transparent, waterproof bag to ensure the camera didn't get damaged, whilst me and Nicola gradually dropped the photo and moved the leaves. Overall I feel it was successful but will need to view the outcome to identify if the footage will be used in our title sequence.

Journal - 07/01/13 Green screen research

As we have been highly reliant on the green screen we decided to do some research on how to edit it which would enable us to add our own background. We went to youtube for a visual tutorial, as we felt it would be more useful to see the steps. I found the video very useful as it covered everything we need to know when it comes to editing; it even included the difficulties when it comes to smoothing out the edges, therefore I now feel confident when editing our footage and would referr back to this video if needed.

Journal - 20/12/12 Soundtrack and Editing

The website we used to choose our soundtrack was https://audionetwork.lgfl.org.uk this was to ensure we avoided copyright. Before looking at soundtracks we discussed the idea's we had on what tone, pitch and speed we would expect the soundtrack to be like; we all had a slight idea about what we wanted, such as the tempo increasing in speed to suggest a build-up in excitement and an action which may be about to happen. We felt we needed an upbeat tune which would present the characters enthuastic trait and the genre. When searching for our soundtrack we used the key word 'spy' to see what type of music fell under this category, here are some that we analysed:

City Streets: This music was of a techno style and suggested an adult nature which instantly established it wouldn't appeal to our target audience. We really liked the modern feel it had to it and expressed to us our film was set in present time, so we then understood we needed a modern sound to complement our film footage, typography and overall style.

Agent X: When listening to this soundtrack my group didn't like the heavy bass and male domination expressed. It is inappropriate for our target audience and doesn't integrate with our genre of comedy.

Alone In Love: Even though members of my group liked the romantic feeling of this soundtrack we discussed the fact it was a jazz piece mainly recognised in the 1960's era, therefore defeating our modern idea. The low toned instruments also added a sense of sadness and took away the upbeat feel we wanted.

Follow That Car: This was our favourite soundtrack as it had an upbeat feeling which expresses a sense of excitement and a positive outcome to the audience. It also works well with our target audience as we needed a childlike comical tune which would guide you with our images. A member of the group mentioned it reminded them of a couples dance in which it would represent our underlying theme of romance; the fast pace also exceeded our expectations and presented our genre well. Overall we are highly satisfied with this soundtrack and will be using it in our title sequence.

Editing

We went onto editing today because we was unable to get to the location our next shoot would be at. We began by converting all the footage and then placed them in chronological order to give us an understanding of we what had already filmed; as we were doing so we were constantly referring back to our storyboards to ensure we were being accurate. The main focus of this editing session was the speed of our clips, either speeding up or slowing down. I feel it went well because we was able to see the small progress we was making in filming all of our footage.

Below is our flash light test before editing

 

Receiving feedback on the fonts

Above is the tally where we asked the audience their views and opinions on the fonts in which we gave them the genre and a brief description of the narrative, the results clearly give us a favourable font and my group was satisfied with the results as we all found this font suitable for our title sequence.

Choosing the font and colour

We researched a range of type fonts to see what we felt would work best, we decided to analyse each one to understand the positives and negatives of each one; this will also contribute to our decision when selecting the final font. To help us with our decision we will be taking a tally from the public to see what the preferred font will be ensuring that it is beneficial to our narrative and genre.

 

Font 1

Our group discussed this font with a range of negative comments which included; to feminine, contains swirls and to narrow. When asking the public we received comments that expressed it looked like a signature or it looks elegant and classy. We will not be using this font as it does not convey the comedy aspect of our film and would not appropriate for our  young target audience.

 

Font 2

 

Our group discussed the scratching effect of this font in which we felt it related to the genre horror not comedy. When asking the public, one person thought it was the font used in the opening title sequence Se7en, this concluded this font will not be suitable because it does not enable our narrative to come through, therefore having a negative impact on our sequence.

 

Font 3

 

When discussing this font we felt it was to child like and wouldn't appeal to our secondary audience; a member of my group felt it looked like play dough and didn't like the young feel to it. We want the font to appeal to our target audience in which they are young but not that young.

 

Font 4



This was our favourite font out of the ones previously discussed because we like the idea of it being written by our protagonist; this resembles his importance in the film and enables the audience to understand the comedic and entertaining elements involved in the characters traits. We also feel the font is smooth and accurate without it being to 'thoughtout', this contributes to the comical aspect of our film. A member of the group also felt our target audience could relate and understand the font as it represents handwriting. Overall we really like this font and when asking the audience this font received the most positive feedback and votes on our tally, therefore we will be using it in our opening title sequence.

 

Deciding on the font colour

We discussed the connotations of colour to ensure that it would give our title sequence a positive feel.



Red: The first colour we discussed was red because we felt it didn't have a direct gender associated with it, therefore appealing to our target audience. But we felt this wouldn't be a suitable font because of the connotations of blood, danger and romance, even though we do have an underlying theme of romance the colour will not represent our narrative or genre.

 

Blue: The next colour we discussed was blue, prominently associated with a masculine colour we felt it would be appropriate for our main target audience. However, the connotations of blue are depressed and loneliness which would not be suitable for a younger audience although these feelings are expressed when our protagonist loses a family member (his grandmother.)

 

Black: The final colour we discussed was black as we felt it would reinforce the handwriting font, it would also represent a modern style. The connotations of black consist heavily of negativity but we feel this will not be presented strongly and will be easily overlooked because of the font, props and soundtrack used in which a humorous atmosphere will be felt. 

Lesson Notes - 14/12/12

Typography

The aim of this  lesson was to understand what typography, design and the way in which the titles appear communicate to the audience.

Throughout the lesson I considered these connotations: Genre

                                                                        Style/ Mood

                                                                                          Possible narratives

                                                                                          Production values

                                                                                          Themes

Regular way of the order of the titles:

1. Name of studio
2. Name of production company
3. Producer name
4. Starring  - Starting with main characters
5. Featuring - Featured actors
6. Casting director
7. Composer of music
8. Production designer
9. Editor
10. Director of photography
11. Producer
12. Writer/Writers
13. Director

Now I have a good understanding in the way in which titles appear, I feel I will be able to apply this to my title sequence and consider the order of my cast and featured actors.

Analysing Typography

 

Catch Me If You Can



- Titles integrated ( Apart of the action.)

- The sequence is stylised and modern which works alongside Jazz music

- The geometric shapes, colours and lines are influenced by Saul Bass's style and             

techniques.

- Moves smoothly which makes the sequence flow with elegance; movement also suggests a sense of travelling may be involved.

- Suave and sophisticated

- Informal, representing a non serious character; it also foreshadows a humorous aspect

- High production values

- Sans Serif

- Typewriter hints the era of the film is 1960's and the significance of the object

 

I really enjoyed this title sequence and the way in which a range of things such as the genre and era can be identified through the typography used. From this sequence I have taken into consideration how important the typography is and want my title sequence to represent the protagonist and genre through the use of typography.

 

Seven

 - Distorted typography represents the characters state of mind

- Sharp lines foreshadows violence, weapons and suggested murder

- Handwritten giving the audience a sense of the character and suggests a mental illness ( Not stable.) Also gives us a theme of identity.

- Colour of typography is dull and faded looking, this foreshadows a fading character or death.

I like the typography used in this title sequence because it immediately suggests violence and the movement of it allows to identify the genre is a thriller. I really like how you are able to identify so many key/ important aspects of the film just through a simple thing such as

typography. Although now i realise it isn't as simple as I first believed it to be.

Lord Of War

- Not integrated

- Subtle

- Small scale

- Russian Military

- Square suggests not friendly

My most favourite thing about this title sequence was the camera angle, I really like the way in which the audience gets a point of view from an object; the bullet.

 

Forest Gump

- Serrif 

- Similar to Times New Roman

- Constant position, colour and font style. Suggests a continuous character trait.

- Subtle and delicate

- White suggests purity and innocence

- The film is timeless

 

Brainstorming and Story Board

My group used a spider diagram to present the ideas we have for the title sequence, this gave everyone the opportunity to discuss and explain props, locations, actions etc. they would expect in our final outcome. From the discussion and diagram we came up with the themes love, friendship, family and stupidity, we will be presenting these through the use of iconography and characters personality traits, which would include bird poo for stupidity; confetti, wedding ring and a camera flash for the themes love and friendship. My group also wants to represent the genre and the spy theme of the film through the title sequence and so will be using stereotypical iconography such as a magnifying glass. I feel this group work helped everyone understand every ones opinions and ideas, this was successful because we was able to form final ideas which completed every ones expectations.

 

 

We then went onto storyboarding where we placed our ideas into an appropriate order, this enables our title sequence to flow in a continuous and sophisticated way. We also added the cinematography we will be using and the sound/ dialogue which will be included in the shot; this will help us throughout the shooting of our title sequence because we will be able to refer back to it.
 Because our target audience is aimed at younger children we decided to add humour to engage the audience and to involve them in the narrative.
We chose not to show the main characters face because we wanted to reinforce the fact he is a spy and has a hidden identity.
The storyboarding has given us an understanding of the locations and the development throughout the process of our title sequence.

 

Audience Profile

Kyle Cooper Presentation

Kyle cooper presentation from Nicolavickery

Film Studio Research

Film Studio research task on Prezi

Saul Bass Presentation

The Art Of Film Title Design Throughtout Cinema History

Titles in silent film –I chose this topic because I really like how it involves a technique which is rarely used in today’s film productions. I find it interesting how the titles would not present the narrative or genre through what they say or the typography used. The limit use of colour – black and white also meant the story, emotion and tone were unidentified. I find this interesting because when comparing these designs to modern ones it seems unbelievable that films attracted so many people; but I appreciate this technique was the first of its kind and would have been quite astonishing when the world didn’t have the constant access to films or the creation of coloured screens. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel about a film if the title sequence consisted of a black screen presenting white words, I don’t feel I would be interested because of the lack of knowledge I would have about the film. Modern title sequences are very important as it consists of the genre, themes, some character and personalities etc. and the typography represents so much detail and impact the film may have within itself E.g. Sharp, vivid edges to a letters would represent anger and violence compared to a curved letter which would show elegance and would set a calm mood.

I found the similarities of The Man With The Golden Arm and Monsters Inc titles sequence very interesting because they were created years apart, one in a classical time period and the other in the recent modern times but they both almost mirrored each other in there visual and audio contributions. I really like this idea because it shows how older designs are being used to inspire the title sequences of today. The use of geometric shapes are simple but effective and this is presented through both sequences. The similarities in the audio was shocking because they both present different genres and themes – The Man With The Golden Arm is an American drama which involves a heroin addict and Monsters Inc a fantasy, adventure film created for young children and families, it is fun filled and humorous.

Another part of the movement in film studies included a breakthrough in which typography interacted with metaphorical imagery to create its own world; the designers of this technique included Saul Bass and Pablo   Ferro. I really like this milestone in the film industry because it not only made me appreciate the design of film titles and the imagination needed to create such dynamic imagery, but it also made me feel as if it is more of an art form because it needs creativity and enthusiasm to present these moving images to an audience in which they had to understand the detail and ideas behind the directors/designers intentions. I also appreciated the creations because of limited technology back then compared to the hi- tech tools we have today; I really found it interesting learning that the designer Maurice Binder worked on the 007 gun- barrel sequence which has now become an iconic aspect to the agent and has been seen by millions. – This shows how the simple design is so effective.

I really enjoyed the power of minimalism because in today’s film industry title sequences often involve many imageries and a dramatic typography which is effective but often not simple. It was interesting to see the simple title sequences such as ‘Alien’ (1979) because I found it truly expressive even though it had little detail. I really like the typography used because it creates and enigma to its audience because we want to know why it is presented with that appearance. The limited colour also creates an effective idea because the black and white form conflict between each other which could foreshadow the conflict in the film.

 

Overall I really enjoyed learning about the developments in the film industry because each one I have previously mentioned has created such a large impact on how title sequences are created today; they include all the movements such as typography – which was a huge leap in title sequences because the typography used back then still inspires modern designs. I find it truly amazing to see how quickly the film industry has developed and wonder how much more the industry will move on.

Presentation

The presenting of our film was a scary thought, having to explain the idea and getting them to understand it without overcrowding our thoughts and opinions on it appeared quite difficult to begin with. When presenting I was quite nervous but found the whole experience quite exciting because it is going to help the progress within our film and title sequence and made me appreciate the aspects of presenting; because it not only gave me confidence in our idea but also showed us the areas we need to improve on.

 

 

 

 

Film Presentation