I've chosen to talk about the opening title sequence for the film, Coraline is for a number of reasons. Firstly, for the purposes of research the Coraline title sequence was produced using the stop motion animation technique that I will also be using for my title sequence. I think during the title sequence the animation itself is intricate in its portrayal of things such as thread and fabrics. A lot of thought has evidently gone into how to make it appear as though fabrics are breaking and tearing as needles go through them, the way the thread seems to fall so naturally. Another thing that I want to take from this is the innovation of how certain physical aspects were created. An example of this is where the stuffing for the dolls is being poured from a height, and the way it looks on screen is very believable despite the use of stop motion. This accuracy and believability is something I want to make sure I portray during my stop motion title sequence with difficult aspects such as steam, water boiling and other features that in reality you don't really have control over. Another thing I really liked about the title sequence was the use of camera angles and shot framing combined with the transitions between individual shots. A mixture of close up and extreme close up shots are used to bring the audience up close to the action where threads are being passed through the eyes of needles and intricate bits of sewing is taking place. I love this use of continually close up shot because there is a very clear focal point on screen continuously. Furthermore, there's no particular story told in this section, at least not in conjunction with the films main plot - but it immediately sets the tone of the film and presents itself to the audience through the style, colour and same character that continues on throughout the duration. There is a hint of ambiance during the title sequence, because of the ambiguity of the subject and this is emphasised by the cut in shots that focus on various parts of action without committing to any particular subject as the main focus, whilst machinery and props are the main point of interest for this sequence. One last thing I noticed from this title sequence is the use of machinery that was incorporated due to the narrative or story that the sequence shows. The movement displayed by the machinery in the title sequence is very mechanical and representative of how machines perform, there will be a lot of contraptions and devices of a mechanical nature in the sequence I plan to create so I would like to be able to emulate the movement in a similar way to this. One of the reasons I chose to look at this particular title sequence was I've been looking at the vignette style of piecing pieces of footage together as I think that style of editing would work well with the different ideas I have for my own title sequence in having the main character perform certain tasks around his lab to give the audience a back story to the type of work he does and set the tone of the environment the story takes place. Overall, from this incredibly well put together title sequence I would like to portray the same seamless transitions and flow between the well planned shots and simultaneously produce quality animation, even when tackling difficult ideas such as the boiling of water or the rotation of fan blades.
Marco Polo
The title sequence for the television series 'Marco Polo' is a very captivating piece of work produced by The Mill. It was created using a form of ancient Chinese painting, using inks to tell a story in a decorative way. The use of animation here is brilliant as it uses abstract shapes at first before the ink takes form and the image becomes clear to the audience. This techniques grips the attention of anyone that is watching it for the duration of the title sequence. The images of the ink were taken using a camera, however some of the wider shots, such as that of the army were composited using a 2D team. The overall feel of the sequence is a very natural and traditional one, with the approach used feeling very original. Another thing to note about this particular sequence is the use of shots and panning throughout. It's almost as if the paper the ink is absorbed on is the land and the ink is in a sense moving over it. The reason I say this is because the paper isn't perfectly flat and has a slight curve or bump to it which in turn represents a landscape very well, whilst also creating shadows, giving way to a very tasteful use of lighting in combination with the dark ink. The camera movements in the title sequence are incredibly subtle and you hardly notice them unless you make the effort to, because they are so seamless. I like the mix of extreme close-up shots and wide shots to tell the story depicted using the ink and each shot type used within the title sequence has a different feeling, for example the wide shots of the birds or the army has a real sense of scale and awe whereas the close up shots give the audience, or me at least, a feeling of intricacy and detail. Some of the aspects I think I can definitely take away from the Marco Polo title sequence and incorporate in my own animation is the use of lighting and the use of different camera angles and camera shots. The lighting, although subtle is a great example of setting a mood through the use of lighting alone, and gives the animation a great tone using the shadows in combination with the ink. The colours are warm but monotone because of this but it looks great in the finished sequence. One of the reasons I chose to look at this title sequence during my research was to look closely at the use of panning and the transitions between the various shots used within the sequence. As well as this the use of still or fixed images as oppose to animated or live action footage stood out and reminded me that titles don't have to be the same, and the way the Marco Polo sequence was done was an excellent example of how title sequences can be experimental and successful. Finally, the use of shots is varied and a no point feels repetitive. The transitions between shots are also seamless and feel natural whilst watching it. Overall, it's a great sequence and there are definitely aspects I can take and use in my own sequence.
Bunny and the Bull
There's a lot of interesting aspects in the 'Bunny and the Bull' title sequence. To me it's a very nice style with seamless transitions between the different shots and the combination of things such as lighting and music go together in this piece very well, to create a very polished title sequence. The idea for the title sequence is that the audience is directed around the inside of a home via the camera, which stops on various inanimate objects which have cleverly placed on them the names of the cast and crew. Something I liked a lot about this was the inventiveness of the idea and the execution. The transition between different objects as the camera moves feels very natural, and although not an animation per say the camera work in this piece is definitely something I want to be able to achieve in mimicking the smoothness and almost natural feeling panning between different shots. I found myself being really drawn in, due to the smooth camera work as it navigates around the room. The use of lighting in the title sequence is also interesting and the use of shadows in the earlier parts of the introduction are very good whilst setting the tone of the piece as a whole. Few title sequences I've looked at so far whilst doing the research for this brief have come across as unique as the title sequence for this film. The use of panning shots and transitions between the different shots is very well done, and is something that I definitely feel inspired with and can take and implement in my own titles sequence. From doing research on this particular title sequence I also thought that, like I've previously mentioned the use of various house hold and inanimate objects to house the credits is a very seamless and natural way to display the names of cast and crew members. With some of the title sequences I've seen the text used almost looks out of place in that it's simply overlaid onto the top of the visuals and can look unnatural. However, this seems to be one of the strong points of this title sequence and this technique works very well. Something I think that I could take from this, is the use of props throughout the sequence. The quality of the props used is quite high, and I definitely want to have a good quality of props in my animation that look good and do their job whilst not looking out of place.
Se7en
The title sequence for the film is comprised of a montage like sequence containing a series of fragments and vignettes that together tell the story of a man, (who is presumed to be the character John Doe from the film) making entries in his diary through the shots of his hands. The main shots in the sequence are of clippings, developed photographs and found or collected imagery. This specific use of imagery and object coincides with the films crime/mystery genre and represents well the type of detective work that is depicted in the film. The grotesque and dark imagery is quite impactful to the audience and the way it's strung together and edited is very suspenseful when the things are combined together. Photographs and other images that are used in the titles can be compared to the work of Joel-Peter Witkin who; deals with such themes as death, corpses (and sometimes dismembered portions thereof) and physically deformed people within his work. Furthermore, the effort that went into creating the props for this piece was phenomenal. Notebooks that you see in some of the shots are all hand made meticulously as it was imagined the serial killer character from the film might have made them, with all of the writing from the books being done by hand with the use of photographs, old tape and other found materials being intertwined into the book also. Finally the books were hand stitched and baked to give a hand made and old or worn feel, this shows just how much work went into the creation if just this two minute title sequence. In terms of the use of camera in the title sequence there is a lot of close ups and extreme close ups used to show in detail the actions of the character in the scene, and the meticulous care that's being taken over the compiling of his notebooks. The close up shots also give the who sequence a mysterious feel because the identity of the character remains unknown. Details are clear to the audience when the camera is used this close up and thus the images shown of various grotesque objects and ideas are more visceral and explicit. One of my favourite aspects of this title sequence is the use of editing and insert frames throughout as well as the layering of different clips. The insert frames give the sequence a very grisly and erratic feel and the range of shot lengths due to the choice of editing is really appropriate given the context of the narrative and overall style of the titles. The layering of different clips to give an almost double vision effect to the audience is a nice choice also and reinforces the idea of the psychotic or obsessive character. This is an example of another title sequence that I've looked at due to firstly its use of vignettes to tell a small story or give a little bit of insight into the mind of one of the characters. The use of vignettes seems to be popular within title sequences because of how quickly the visuals can move on, and thus can convey a lot of information in a shorter amount of time; such as the length of a title sequence. Also, the grisly and dark style that this title sequence in particular has is something that I can take and use in my own when it comes to the use of shadows and lighting in order to convey the eeriness and suspense that I want to convey. The close up shots and slow movement of the characters hands is the final element that contributes to the level of suspense that is seen here. Finally the use of text to list some of the cast and crew is very fitting and fits seamlessly in the sequence as it looks like it's almost been scratched onto the film. In reality it was hand drawn and edited slightly. Overall, this is a very impressive and fitting title sequence that has take a much different approach than anything I have seen yet, and it's experimental style is something I can take forward and use with my own title sequence.
To Kill a Mockingbird
The title sequence for To Kill a Mockingbird is another good example of a well thought out out and appropriate sequence that acts as a nice transition into the film for the audience. Made in 1962, this title sequence takes us through the mind of a child as a sequence of extreme close up shots focus on her belongings. It starts with the opening of a cigar box, revealing a set of items belonging to the child. As the sequence continues, shots almost at the macro level examine up close these items in detail. For the audience, seeing these items close up has a strange effect. The level of detail that the items are viewed in and with them taking up a large percentage of the shot means that the attention of the audience isn't allowed to deviate from the objects and we are submersed into a child like mindset for the duration. The slow panning of the camera across the objects is almost surreal in combination with the slow music playing in the background that you don't quite realise is there because of the intense and eerie visuals. There is also frequent shots and references to a crayon and a child's drawing which at some parts of the title sequence the camera seems to be led by, which is an interesting way and an innovative way of guiding the camera path without making it look planned or too staged. Another thing to note about the title sequence here is the text used to depict the credits is also quite subtle, obviously being made in 1962 this film was in black and white, but it seems that the background the items were places on to film was very pale. The text used is also pale and almost white making it so it doesn't contrast very highly with the background, and they don't stand out a lot when you are viewing the sequence. This could have perhaps been to not detract from the visuals and have the audience focus on that than the text that drifts in and out of shots using a slow fading transition.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The title sequence for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is different than anything I've looked at so far, because the entire sequence was CG as oppose to live action or stop motion like things I've looked at up to this point. Despite it being CG it's just as impactful as anything of the sequences I've seen so far, the type of imagery used throughout is dark and gritty just like the sequence to Fincher's Se7en but different and much more abstract. On commission whilst thinking about the theme and content of the film, Fincher asked the studio for CG, very adult, super dark, leather, skin, blood, snow, breasts, vaginas, needles, piercings, motorcycles, vengeance', as themes for the sequence. However the imagery stretched to much more than that in the final sequence, and includes imagery such as; wasps, fluid, cables, drowning and fire. All highly appropriate and faithful to the narrative in the film and book. The editing style of the title sequence if fast paced and racy which works well the imagery that was chosen to be shown within the sequence, and gives it an aggressive flair. The use of CG is very well done and gave the designers a lot of room to show various imagery that they would have trouble depicting otherwise. Another important quality to this particular sequence is the use of a very dark colour scheme that is almost entirely black, the only variation from this seems to be the reflection of light off various simulated materials and substances such as the thick oily material that is used throughout. Despite the simple colour scheme, it is effective and reflects the dark themes and colours used in the film, thus introducing the audience to the dark film style straight away. The various use of camera angles throughout the sequence is a great feature also. A huge mix of close ups to extreme close ups as well as some medium shots and some interesting view points, gives way to a nicely displayed action of varying levels of detail, gripping the audience for the duration. Looking at this title sequence as a reference has taught me a lot because it has a lot of differences than some of the other title sequences I've looked at. Whether it is the medium of CG where from what I have seen isn't used for many other films or series, and live action seems to be the most popular. Also, because of the use of CG as oppose to live action, the choice of imagery here was very representative and abstract in comparison. Some examples of this are the phoenix, wasps, the way the figures break down when they collide with objects which can have deeper metaphorical meanings when looked at in combination of the plot. These of course only becoming clear when you have seen the film itself and look at some of the content of the title sequence with the film. Including this piece in my research has helped me a lot and again opened my eyes to the possibilities of what can be achieved when compiling a title sequence, and from this I definitely feel more open to being more experimental with the materials I use or the way I produce my title sequence rather than using established techniques and methods to achieve what I want. Overall this is a very innovative and well-executed title sequence that has shown me the possibilities are almost unlimited when creating something gripping and original. The use of abstract imagery and motion within this title sequence has taught me a lot about the limitations of what can be pulled off and done to a successful degree.
True Detective
You can tell from the title sequence for True Detective that it is heavily influenced by the story and setting of the television series based on the imagery they used. There are heavy uses of landscape and includes the presence of the petrochemical infrastructure of Louisiana in the 90's. The design team for the sequence read the script for the first three episodes before they started producing the titles to get a real feel for the type of visuals that would fit well with the themes and genre of the series. Visually there is a heavy use of double exposures and in this sense the combination of figure and landscape photography to integrate the two together, and show the lead characters in locations. What I like about this title sequence is the use of photography as despite the simplicity it translates very well onto an on screen sequence. One of the designers mentioned that when planning the animation for the images that they wanted to make them feeling like living photographs, and in the final sequence it makes the photographs look like they're floating and surreal which I think is perfect at capturing the mood for the show. From a camera perspective the slow panning combined with the slow motion gives an eerie feeling to the images which again compliments and reflects the setting and mood of the series. The washed out effect used on the images completes the sense of depressive, hopeless themes that are depicted within the show and no shot is on the screen for too long, the overall pacing of the transitions is in tempo with the slow kind of country or blue grass music. Throughout the sequence there is a huge range of different shots used, or shots used within the images that are displayed so that it doesn't come across as repetitive or over done in a sense. The mixture of subject matter also contributes to this, with there being a varied amount of content form locations and landscapes to figures and extreme close ups of objects or facial feature. I noticed there is also a lot of emphasis on elements, with certain shots capturing the weather or fire to represent the idea of the petrochemical industry perhaps. There is essentially, huge amounts of representation in this particular title sequence when it comes to subtle aspects of the plot and general themes, some of them being quite striking and adult in nature, giving a certain serious flair and style to the title sequence. On a personal note, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the title sequence for True Detective and thought that the design team that developed it created something very fitting for the shows aesthetic and at the same time something that looked great as a stand alone piece. Like previously mentioned the way they used still photographs and animated them to make them seem like living images worked really well because of the subtle movement involved, and it has given me numerous ideas for creating a similar sequence using still images and using experimental transitions and subtle animations to create a truly interesting title sequence. Overall, the subtle use of animation to make the highly appropriate choice of images come to life in a slow and eerie, almost surreal way, combined with the music and seamless transitions demonstrate how something can be visually compelling despite the simplicity of the idea or execution.
The Last Horror Film
The title sequence for the film, The Last Horror Film is one of the less mainstream pieces I've looked at when looking at different titles so that I'm making sure to cover different areas of film and television to make sure the research of various title sequences is as varied and thorough as possible. The title sequence from this particular 80's film is again comprised of vignettes that detail a person trimming a piece of film and attaching it to the film reel. What I found interesting about this vignette style compared with a couple of the others I've seen is that when the titles of crew and cast members appear on the screen the film playing in the background pauses, before continuing on with the visuals. I guess the reason for this is so that the audience can examine the name if they want to but more importantly the paused on screen action, overall it has a nice effect and works well. The colour scheme that runs throughout the title sequence is dark and has some low key lighting in the form of a blue and green hue, and the use of cold light here is a nice choice considering the main materials seen by the audience are the metal from the film equipment and the film itself. One thing I noticed about this title sequence when I watched it was that it started after a small introduction from the film, and wasn't placed at the very beginning of the film. This was interesting, because I hadn't seen it in many other films where I had focused on the title sequences. However I liked that it was almost a side plot from the actual film but carried on from the film in the fact that it was showing the changing over of the film, when previously the film was set in the cinema. The type of shot the title sequence features is a mixture of close ups and extreme close ups of various actions in a montage like sequence. This sequence is another example of a good use of vignettes to depict action close up and in turn tell a simple story through details. Like I mentioned previously, the use of montage within title sequences from what I have seen during my research is popular and is always a successful component in the sequences I have seen it used in. Furthermore, another aspect of the titles I found helpful was the lighting like I mentioned earlier. Not just the cold lighting tones used but the low levels of light, to emphasise the shadows. I think in this instance it also highlights the genre and sets the tone for the film, and since it's a title sequence it does this very early on. This reminded me that although it's not part of the actual production whether it be a film or television series, the introduction in the form of a title sequence is vital to the audience as it sets the tone and almost acts as a first impression of the production.
Up in the Air
The reason I decided to look at the title sequence for Up in the Air was that it focused heavily on shots of landscapes and is made up almost entirely of birds-eye view shots. As for part of my title sequence I want to show the city the story is set from above, I thought that this could be helpful in visualising how it's possible to incorporate this kind of huge scale view into a title sequence similar to what I would like to do. Furthermore, I feel that it's done very well in this sequence and I can use it as a solid reference if I need to. One thing that I liked most about this sequence was the transitions and positioning of the panning shots in combination with one another works really well and is another nice example of compiling various shots in sequence. There is an array of different transitions used; including, panning, zooming; appearing on screen in sequence next to each other, swiping across the screen and panning through various shots before stopping and flicking quickly between stills. These almost over the top transitions are fun to watch and in a way set the tone of the film being quite a light hearted overall, allowing the audience to adjust into the right frame of mind before the film starts. This sequence is paced well and fits the pace of the music that's laid over the top, which happens to be quite soulful in genre, so the two aspects compliment each other and allow for an enjoyable introduction to the film. As well as this, the text used to credit the cast and crew members isn't too formal and uses other interesting transitions to introduce the text to the audience, similar to that of the images that are transitioned on and off screen. One of the main reasons for choosing this particular title sequence as a research piece was to look specifically at how shots high above the ground, and of various landscapes were done. In the title sequence I'm creating I want to be able to create one of the sets to be a city scape and be able to shoot some high angle or birds-eye-view shots of the city scape. So the main goal with this title sequence was identifying what the best way to shoot these over head scenes and also how various other title sequences including this one had worked with them and made them transition between each other. I want to use what I have learnt from this to make the sequence I'm making as professional looking as possible, and the reference here is a good starting point in my opinion.
Year Zero - Offf Barcelona 2011 Main Titles
This is one of the more grisly title sequences I've seen and happens to be on of my favourites. The actual title sequence itself acted as an introductory sequence for the prestigious post-digital event OFFF festival, that's held in Barcelona. This particular title sequence was based off of the festivals theme of 'year zero'. The content is based around a nightmarish idea of the future and features a very loose narrative the future getting progressively bleaker. One thing about this title sequence is that it's around 5 and a half minutes long, so much longer than any other title sequence I've looked at by almost double, so there is a lot of content to talk about. Firstly, the colours are very appropriate to the content consisting of dark mostly earthy tones with the addition of some low key lighting in green and purple but that's very subtle and isn't very noticeable in the grand scheme of the sequence. I feel like the point of this sequence as the introduction to the festival it was made for is to build up for several minutes until the climax at the end, signifying the commencing of the festival. This is shown in the way it's shot.The shots at the beginning are of every day things, people travelling, using the underground for example as well as shots of buildings and cityscapes. There is also several shots of a man walking, which can be calming to the audience at first due to its slow pace. Some of the camera work is quite shaky which I like because is gives of the point of view type shot, as if it's some form of amateur footage, this works especially well due to the nature of the narrative as vague as it is. The way the credits are positioned within the footage and various visuals is really inventive and something I liked a lot from this particular sequence. Credits are shown through the tattooing of pig skin, graffiti on walls around the city, sign posted on signs or billboards, through crumbling structures, written along steps, and are injected into the finger nails of characters. Due to the immersive element of the title sequence the credits are quite hard to pick up on despite them being quite visible and just blend naturally into the environment. This makes it so it doesn't bring you out of the feature which is something I like. From watching this technique of adding credits to the feature combined with the others I've seen want to incorporate this into my animation so as to not take the audience out of the sequence and create an short animation that can be appreciated as an animation on its own as well as a title sequence. Another thing to note is the variety of different camera shots that are actually used through out the sequence, I noticed as I was watching there was a huge amount of variation, from huge wide shots of the city scape to close ups and extreme close ups of characters and other pieces of action. The transition between them isn't too extreme though thanks to a high standard of editing that switches well between various different types of content, from characters to maggots for example. The transition for something like this in the title sequence is done via some inventive and experimental editing techniques such as the camera snapping between shots in quick succession or the layering of footage and changing how transparent the different layers are to make it so the footage almost seeps through rather than just appearing on screen. Furthermore, I like the combination of live action footage and the composited CG footage that I believe was necessary to create something like this partly because of the science fiction element of the infection that is spreading. CG helps with certain aspects such as the destruction of building and the floating vehicles we see throughout the sequence as well as more subtle aspects such as the incorporation of credits and lighting. Despite the use of CG is was used very sparingly to create all in all a very real feeling product, that due to the constant barrage of real elements and locations you get fully submersed in as the tension, music and content builds over the period that you're watching it. The way the feature builds up towards the end of the feature is very natural and almost catches you off guard because of how gradual it is over the 5 or 6 minutes that the title sequences lasts. The shots get shorter and more close up, revealing smaller details in quick succession which almost over load you with visuals; combined with the building of the sound in combination of the visuals the sequence leaves a very impressionable feel on the audience. Using this as a piece of research or reference was very helpful for me because of the large amount of content it had to offer, from the incorporation of the credits; the use of different mediums as previously mentioned with the use of CG and live action footage; the atmosphere that's created so well with the lighting and sound and finally the high quality of editing that was achieved in order to make the title sequence feel like it had a natural flow to it, these are the main things I can take and try and implement into the work I produce not just in this project but in any other projects I undertake.
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