- Explain that you watched this three times
- title design has changed over time and new technologies such as CGI have had their impact
- good title design entails a link between the graphics and the film genre
- you studied the different types of approach: some used CGI, some live action, some a mix
- you pick (say) 5 or 6 of your favourite from this screening, decode the iconography and say what you yourself might like to use from this model / inspiration
- screenshots!
- use bullet points: keep text crisp and concise
For example:
Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii, 1995)
- The title sequence to Ghost in the Shell belongs to the 'inner workings' genre
- Its style is a mix of
animation and other editing techniques
- It includes hi-tech CGI with computer graphics that mimic computer code
- It features Japanese manga / anime and naked torsos
- The sound track is Kenji Kawai’s intimidating, minimalist score.
- It
follows the construction of a cyborg from the inside out
- First the robot’s inner-core is
assembled, then the imagery becomes softer and warmer colors as the
cyborg takes on a more human form, soon emerging from the mechanical
womb as a young woman.
- I find this compelling as it creates a cyborg in front of the viewer and signals the genre very clearly
- One of our students has used the computer code imagery and if I were doing a crime or spy film I would seek to convey a high-tech world by incorporating computer graphics.
Today I started to research opening title sequences in more detail...
As I am doing the film brief, I started my detailed research into opening credits..
In class I investigated the very useful website The Art of the Title http://www.artofthetitle.com
Delicatessen (directed by Jeunet and Caro, 1991)
For my first piece of close analysis, I used my own observations, class discussion and the website's own commentary, including the thoughts of Karin Fong, creative director and designer at Imaginary Forces, whose title work Terminator: Salvation, Boardwalk Empire and Rubicon. I have intentionally included comments on what in particular inspired me and my thoughts on how I might use the inspiration in my own foundation production.
- The genre of this film is black comedy, so the title design is witty, in that it invites the viewer to take pleasure in the way that each credit is embedded in an appropriate visual clue: the director of photography engraved on a camera, the costume designer is embroidered on a clothes label and so on.
- The historical period is clearly established by the period quality of the artefacts: old technology, paper tags, folding wooden ruler and so on.
- Colour and lighting are key visual codes. The sepia tone lends a period air and the colour black predominates, underscoring the grim nature of the subject matter: the objects are all the dusty possessions abandoned by their owners who have been invited in, fattened up and butchered to feed the hungry inhabitants of the commune.
- The camera movement is part of the method: the camera pans in a slow glide over the series of abandoned possessions, stopping over each credit to allow the viewer to scrutinize and take in the cleverness of each device.
- Our class undertook a project based on this stylistic approach. We gathered together a group of objects that had a common theme - that of the Far East - and, using the same techniques, we made a short film opening. Each of us undertook some of the camera work, directing and editing, with the final results all slightly different, as we added in some live action, to develop the narrative.
- Our finished result can be seen below: my group called our version The Scarlett Lotus (Blood Lotus / Siagon Darling...) From this project, I learned....
