Music

In today's post I will be discussing the music I will include within my opening title sequence.


This first piece starts off very slow and builds up to create suspense which is what I like. It helps to create a very eerie effect but then the music kicks in and becomes more fast paced which sounds good but I don't think I'd be able to fit it in with the tone and mood that I'm trying to achieve in my opening sequence. For that reason, I won't be using this music in my piece.



This next piece begins straight away and slowly builds up with string instruments, again to help establish the sombre mood I'm looking for in my final piece. However, this piece itself doesn't sound like it belongs within a horror genre, more like a dance film, if anything. If I was to include this within my piece, it would give an almost contrapuntal effect which is something I want to avoid. And for that reason, I won't be using this music for my opening sequence.



This next piece is a very iconic piece for a zombie film which starts of quiet and soft before slowly building up as more instruments are added. When envisioning this music within my title sequence, I feel it would fit well into it as it match the mood, pace, and tone of what I'm trying to establish within my final piece. For that reason, I am considering using this in my opening sequence.



The last piece of music I am considering is from the video game, The Last Of Us which is set many years after a zombie apocalypse.   This piece starts off with a guitar riff and stays the same pace throughout which is what I'm looking for as I want to keep a slow sombre mood throughout my opening sequence. I can see this fitting in with my final piece and when creating my storyboard, this was the music I was thinking of when writing guitar riff under the music heading. Because of this, I am considering using this for my sequence too.

So it is between The Last of Us and In the House In A Heartbeat. I will make my final decision in post production when I've finished filming and begin to edit my opening sequence. Right now I am edging towards TLOU but it does depend of whether or not they will fit my vision.

 That's all for today's post. My plot outline and script will be uploaded on here within the next couple of days.
 Until next time,
                           Toni

Storyboarding!

This post is the continuation and also the beginning of my planning for my final piece for this course. Today I will be sharing with you my storyboard which will include details all about my plot, shots, scenes, scenarios and any other details worth mentioning.

It looks all over the place and very confusing at the first look but I know what it means and hopefully I still will when I film it in a few weeks. It'll be further outlining the plot and scenario in my script which will be on here in the next few days. Also, I'll be sharing with you the music I have decided to include along with a few other contenders whilst furthering my plan across more blog posts in the upcoming weeks so keep an eye out for that.

 This was just a small post to kick off my plan on this blog, so that's all for now.

Until next time,

                           Toni

Plenary Post

So I've finished analyzing my chosen title sequences of the apocalyptic genre and today's post is the plenary. This will include a general overview, what narrative I'll use, representations etc. So if you want to know what I've chosen then keep on reading.


Overview
Generally, I found all of the opening sequence has both their similarities and differences between them. The main one that stood out for me was the use of colours. They all were dark and dim which helped to set the tone of the film (especially in the beginning of the credits) - the world's just ended so of course no one's too happy about it. No matter the genre, all had dull colours. For example, Land Of the Dead used is more of the horror genre and uses such colours. Whereas Armageddon falls into the science fiction genre and uses similar colours because of the space element involved.

 Also, the music used - if there was any - was generally low and dense, before building up as a way of creating tension. The only exception was World War Z as it used a different range of instruments and the tempo was quicker, it still built up in a similar fashion.

However, there was a couple of similarities worth mentioning too. For example, the range of camera angles, movements and shots differed too.

The best example which included the full range was The Day the Earth Stood Still and Armageddon. They both included many different shots and angles. TDTESS had a very impressive range of shots such as an array of close up all the way through to wide shots and long shots. Armageddon includes a range of shots and camera movements. For example, when everyone begins to panic, the camera swivels very quickly numerous times around Billy Bob Thornton and the camera follows him when he walks through to address the room. Sorry for the set up of this paragraph, the pictures refuse to stay put.

There is a general template that these films follow. It starts with the distributor's logo, then the credits appear on screen in the order of the distributor and producer, names of the stars, the title of the film, other co-star's names, other crew members (makeup, set design, casting director etc) before finishing with the director's name. However, other films such as I Am Legend doesn't even have an opening sequence as such and World War Z finished with the title instead of the director's name. Yet, the majority stuck to the order and that is the order I will produce mine in.

Institutions
There was a range of different large scale and popular distributors used in the films I chose; 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal, Buena Vista. These are big studios rather than independent so I will keep this in mind when I create my final piece. After completely some more research I found the best distributor to use would either be Universal or 20th Century Fox as they have both produced popular apocalyptic films such as 28 Days Later, Children of Men, Dawn of the Dead etc.

Representations
Now, not many of the films I chose showed an obvious representation of a social group. The only three were Armageddon, I Am Legend and The Day the Earth Stood Still. All three of these films represented men as the dominant sex. They all have power to survive and control over others (this is particularly highlighted in Armageddon). However, despite this I've chosen to represent teenagers in my opening sequence as I feel the market has a gap within this genre. There aren't many with children, the only recent film I could find was How I Live Now but this wasn't the kind of film I particularly wanted to look at as this was more of a romance hybrid. So, I will be representing youths within my final piece.

Audience
Surprisingly enough there wasn't much I could find out about my target audience other than the general age and this was more to do with general knowledge of my chosen genre as typically these type of films are aimed at those of 12 and over. However, in some of the films I'd chosen - especially Land of the Dead - there were graphic scenes such as blood and gore and other scenes related to death that those of a younger age would find upsetting. Looking at the age ratings of the six films I chose, they all had around the same result:
Land Of the Dead - UK 15, US R
Armageddon - UK 12, US PG-13
The Day After Tomorrow - UK 12A, US PG-13
World War Z - UK 15, US PG-13
The Day the Earth Stood Still - UK 12A, US PG-13
I Am Legend - UK 15, US PG-13
So it seems the target audience is at least 12 but I find the best apocalyptic films and TV shows are aimed for those of 15 and over which is why I will rate my sequence at 15. This will allow me to include more graphic content as well as producing a more graphic script too.

Narrative
The way each story was told differed. Some title sequences didn't include any dialogue or even any actions scenes which wasn't effective in creating a storyline and was quite boring to watch (here's looking at you World War Z). The best narrative was Armageddon as it immediately started off with a voiceover which foreshadowed the plot of the film whilst including an action scene whilst the credits were playing. I Am Legend and The Day the Earth Stood Still were also very good in narrating and introducing the storyline. These opening sequences are similar to how I want to structure mine.

Genre
As far as elements go, it depends on the genre. I find that apocalyptic films are generally of the science fiction without needing to include any obvious elements such as space or giant asteroids. I will be including more horror elements in my sequence such as blood, gore and dark dull colours when it comes to editing. Due to the time of year I'm filming, I hope to use the winter weather to my advantage which will probably involve a few early mornings here and there.

So that's all for this plenary post. As I said this was just a general overview of the opening title sequence I've analysed over these past couple of weeks.

Until next time,
                          Toni

Land Of the Dead Opening Title Sequence Analysis

So in today's post I will analyzing my sixth opening title sequence and this one is Land Of the Dead, an apocalyptic horror film all about survival in a world infested with zombie.

So the film begins with a very old version of Universal Pictures logo, despite that this film was made in 2005. The contrast of the colours has been edited to appear very yet slightly vibrant, so we are still able to see the credits. Universal Pictures is the distributor of the film. The sound used almost sounds like lightning or a plane which a screeching can be heard too. The logo fades out, like it has disintegrated, which creates somewhat a feel of eeriness. It makes the audience feel anxious as it isn't the typical Universal logo and the sound helps create a sombre mood - something isn't right.

We then see the logo of Atmosphere Entertainment Productions MM, the producer of the film. The colours have still be manipulated which gives a grainy effect to it overall. Used with the previous logo, it almost gives an old fashioned feel to the film. The logo fades in and out in the motion in the previous shot.

The next screenshots are of the first text to appear on screen, reminding the audience who help in the production. The editing still gives the graining effect as the text flickers, much like an old fashioned video camera. The background music builds at this point, building suspense as the volume increases. 



 

At the title appears, the music reaches its climax, highlighting that the title is the main focus of this clip, it's what it's been building up to. The tone of the music adds to the dark mood of the film and we know that there isn't a happy feel to the film at all. The text continues to flicker and the music screeches, a very recognisable element used in many horror movies.

At this point in the sequence, we learn the upcoming events happened some time ago which is why everything looks vintage and has an old fashioned feel to it. The names of the actors names appear along with aerial shots of a city. An old fashioned radio begins playing news reports with static, signifying that technology too is old and broken. At first sight the shots appear to be as they should but then the camera flickers and the bright contrast of the dark is brought into affect again, possibly because the camera too is broken. This casts a dark dingy feeling over all the upcoming shots which perhaps signifies that everything turned dark very quickly - there was nothing left unturned. The radio reports that dead corpses are coming back to life and eating the living, which tells us straight away the main theme of the film if the audience hadn't already guessed from the title.

The camera then switches to a close up of a hand and a man's face (not shown) who appears to be lying down and dead. The news reports continue in the background, warning those to stay inside and mentions that the dead survive by eating human flesh. The images are grainy and much like the text, flicker. It then cuts back to the hand again as it starts to move whilst a woman says in a calm manor 'if you are bitten you will just become one of them'. The way the movements of the hand is shot isn't in a smooth motion as the camera jumps every couple of seconds, making the footage appear jagged and rough. The images disintegrate in a similar fashion to the credits.

The next shot is a close up wide shot of a door being locked and a woman's eye looking around wildly as the radio continues to say 'they are not your neighbours and friends, not anymore more'. As this is said, the sound of a door locking can be heard, signifying that people are becoming more and more terrified as the fear and disease spreads. 

Similar images of horror elements such as a fill more and shadows appear along with more credits. What's most important in this title sequence is the audio as the news reports give vital information to the audience such as how the disease is spread and what people should do in order to survive. It introduces the story well and includes action codes as it helps to move the plot along.

More credits appear on screen along with more images of a heard of zombies, ground being dug up and a close up of the same man's face from the previous credits. By now, background music of a slow drone of string instruments can be heard as they are made more prominent as the sequence continues - it is building up to something.

At this point, the radio plays reports in a range of different languages, showing that the disease has now fully taken over and spread worldwide. More and more reports continue to play as we hear eyewitness accounts of the horrors and people screaming. The screeching and ringing in the background can be heard and string instruments begin to fast shot sharp notes which gradually increase in sound, creating even more tension as the audience knows there is something to expect, the music is leading us to something.

The final credits in this style finishes with the director of photography whilst the music climaxes and we are informed that the next events are all happening today. The title sequence acted as a flashback. The colours of the low angle long shot of houses changes as it fades to a dark blue, restoring colour and normal contrast levels. The word 'today' appears on screen and the scene jolts before cutting to black, as if the camera has run out of tape. 

There is then an establishing shot of a worn down sign and then the camera pans slowly to the right over the location of the next scene. More credits appear on screen but fade in and out normally. The background music fades in and out in a slow screeching sound and we hear small groans from the surrounding zombies as the trudge around slowly in the scene. We hear a slow tap of a tambourine along with a slow drone of a trumpet. The camera continues to pan to the right and it is then revealed to us that there is a group of zombies trapped in a gazebo along with other brass instruments, wearing similar uniforms. The background movement creates an eerie effect as it crescendoes, working alongside every little diagetic sound made in the scene.

So again, there wasn't any representations that stood out in this title sequence but it contained all the conventions and adapted them well to fit the mood and tone that the film tried to create. I especially like the use of the old fashioned title (very creepy!). So that is all for today's post.

Until next time,

                          Toni

Armageddon Opening Title Sequence



So the next movie I will be analysing is Armageddon. This film is a science fiction apocalyptic hybrid.

The first few shots are of the logos of the production company, Touchstone Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Valhalla Motion Pictures. Whilst the logos appear, string instruments begins to play as background music in a long low drone.

The next screen shots are again of the productions companie's names. The camera pans to the right and we see we are in space, an obvious element of any science fiction film. The stark contrast between the background and the text has been used in every film sequence I've analysed so far. The camera then moves through space past the moon and flutes are added to the background music. This type of music is usually heard in periodic or fantasy films, however it is very iconic of the film and instantly recognisable for anyone who has heard it before. It is very angelic and gives an almost heavenly feel, which again has been used a few times in the previous opening sequences I have already analysed.

The camera continues to pan and the audience sees the Earth along with the name of the director who has directed many science fiction film such as the Transformers franchise and I Am Number Four along with other films of the horror genre. We then hear a voice over of a man who talks of a piece of rock which wiped out life in prehistoric times. He says 'It has happened once and it will happen again', foreshadowing the event of an aesteriod on the verge of destroying the planet. As the rock hits the earth, the camera zooms in and swivels around 180° as a way of dissorienting the audience. However, it could also be used to signify that the whole world will be turned upside, literally, if the same event from prehistoric times was to happen again. As the asteroid hits, the chorus of girls who are harmonising suddenly change tempo and the music momentarily stops, immediately changing the mood from majestic to disastrous. Then a screeching sound can be heard as the man continues to talk about his disaster. Drums are added in which causes the music to speed up and the mood continually changes as the audience realises the effects of what one piece of rock can do to the world. The warning that it will happen again is more and more becoming true as the music changes to a more fast based beat.

The camera begins to pan left from the Earth to the dark, shadowed side from the previous shot and the first actors' name appears. Willis' is the first as he in the main character and is the most recognised star in the film. The camera continues to pan left as the title of the film appears and we are reavled the Earth once more, burned up and left raw as we know all life has been destroyed. The title then disappears, almost as if it has been broken down or blown apart. The music continues to build and by now, strings have been added to add to create an effective anxious mood amongst the audience. As the title appears the music builds up and slows down so all attention is on the title. The particular effect of the title on fire is an affect of what happened in the prehistoric times, however it also foreshadows the events of the film. It's only a matter of time before it is to happen again. The word Armageddon  according to the Book of Revelation, the site of gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location. The term is also used in a generic sense to refer to any end of the world scenario.

We then cut to an action scene whilst the credits are appearing on screen. There is a scene as a man in space is fixing the space station and having a discussion with those in Houston. The editing it especially good here as the camera pans from the movie title to the astronaut in space. The camera swivels when in space, simulating the anti gravity effect and the first time we see Houston, it pans across so we can see the entire place, similar to an establishing shot. The shots differ from an extreme close up to see the actions of the astronaut, to a long shot of the actual space station. This is used because we constantly cut back and forth from Houston to space, so this acts as a reminder as to where we are. There is a dialogue scene between the character on screen. The music, from the beginning of the scene, is harmonic and brings the audience back to a calm mood, leading them into a false sense of security that nothing will go wrong. However, it's not long before the astronaut in space begins to get nervous and as his fears raise, so does the speed of the string instruments, building up tension. Then, as the asteroids hit the station, a brass instrument begins to play a fast low drone, creating an erratic mood for the audience as they don't know what will happen next. A lot of enigma codes are created in this scene. Why were the fixing the station? Where did the asteroid come from? What will happen now that the station has been destroyed?

At this point, all the other names of the people appear on screen as the credits continue on from the action scene. The camera swivels from one person to another as a lot of people begin to panic about the situation that has just occurred. The music continues to build, adding to the tension now present. The camera then follows a man into the room as they tell the President of the situation and we see many people running around with a panicked nature about them - this event is clearly disastrous. The camera then pans around Billy Bob Thornton's face as he gives out order to those in Houston as the music continues to build. The camera pans as he moves through the mass of people in the room and we know he is the boss as, just like the camera, people are following him.

This idea is further confirmed as in the next shot, the camera follows him from behind, as if we re one of his workers trying to listen to his orders. The names of more co stars appear on screen as he continues to order people around. The music seems to quieten down when he talks, allowing the audience to pay their full attention to him.

There is another scene where there are no credits of a man in an observatory as he is looking through his telescope. His wife comes in and they have an argument and more credits appear on screen. At this point, no music is playing so we can hear the dialogue between the characters. In particular, the man yells at his wife to get his book which contains the numbers of NASA workers. The wife hesitates at first but then gets it as the man becomes increasingly angry, she obeys. As he yells, it echoes so the message stays with us. The event is so catastrophic that NASA is looking to anyone to help them, which also foreshadows another part of the story line.

In the next scene, the music starts again from where it left off as we see a long shot of the famous statue of soldiers in Washington DC. This signifies that idea that we are at war with nature now as an asteroid threatens humanity. There is long shot of a car being escorted by the police through Washington and in the car, here is a shot/reverse shot as two men have a conversation about what has happened in Florida. The music continues to play as string instruments create short, sharp notes, simulating a rushed paced as everyone is panicked by the event and is quickly trying to stop it.

After the dialogue scene, it cuts straightaway to a pan of New York City as Mister Big Time by Bon Jovi begins to play, immediately changing the mood with a rock song rather than tense music. This is almost contrapuntal as it doesn't quite match the mood of the movie.

The camera then follows a young black youth on his bike with his dog before it cuts to a medium shot of the dog in his basket and then to a medium close up of his face. The music then fades out at this point so we are able to hear him talk about his dream to rise to the top so he no longer has to ride his bike. He seems giddy and the song matches his mood, rather than the film's. The name of key crew members appears on screen as the dialogue is said.

The camera then changes back to a pan of the sunrise over New York and the track fades in again. Afterwards, it fades out once more as we see the youth riding his bike down the street and we hear the honk of his horn. It seems innocent and almost humorous as we watch him and his dog cycle through the city, unaware of the horrors yet to come. The credits continue to appear on screen.

In the final screen shot, the camera switches to a low angle and moves backwards as it follows the dog along the street. The music can still be heard and we continue to hear the man talking to his dog in a townie accent, making him appear common. It seems in this shot, the dog is more important than him as we follow the animal's movements rather than the youths'.

This has been the most interesting and entertaining opening sequence by far as we are straight away introduced into the film from the very beginning. I especially like how they include credits and action scenes but not at the same time. This allows the audience to engage with the film from the very beginning without getting to distracted from the text. We are still able to read it when nothing particularly interesting is happening, so we don't ignore it completely. This sequence contains a wide range of shots, camera angles and movements and has contained all the conventions of a title sequence.

There was one representation that stood out and was worth mentioning. One that has been present in a few is the fact that the male is the dominant sex. This is seen when Thornton is giving out orders to his workers and when the man is yelling at his wife, she obeys him as soon as he shows aggression.


So that's all for this analysis.

Until next time,
                          Toni