Quantitive Data:
I made a questionaire and asked a few people about their views on different films. I asked questions like:
"What is your favourite film genre?"
"What is your favourite thing about a movie?"
"What don't you like about your favourite movie?"
"What Coming of Age film have you seen before?"
These were the results I got:
Qualititve Data:
After this, I asked my friend about opening title sequences over messenger. This is what she said...
I also videoed someone else's answers and what they thought about the opening title sequence of 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off':
Learning Comment: From doing this task, I have learnt different views and opinions about different types of opening title sequences, such as; what people like/dislike, their favourite film genres, favourite films, what they expect to see in the opening title sequence, the credits they expect to see and the orders and why. Because of this, I can use the information I collected and use it when making my own opening title sequence. I can use them to know which genre will be most popular to the target audience it is set for. This is important because the more popular it is, the more money it would go onto making and in order for any film to be successful, this has great significance.
John Hughes director study: I found some things out about him like the sorts of films he made and what actors he used:
I also found some trailers and interviews from and about his own films;
Learning comment; From doing this task, I have learnt about John Hughes and what he did. Also, from studying him i worked out what sort of films he made and why he did. Because of this i can use his ideas and contribute them into mine. This would make my film better as the end product would look more professional and thought out.
Learning Comment From the research i did to complete this task, I learnt the definitions of producers and distributors and what they do in the making of films. Because of this, i am now able to give different people roles when making my film so that it can be as organised as possible. I also now know what film producers can show in the beginning of my film to make it look more realistic so i wouldn't have to make my own and focus more on the actual editing and making.
What I have learnt:
This task has enabled me to gain ideas about what I could possibly include some of my opening film scenes and how each bit shown in the film can symbolise something else. And also how simple things like font, editing and camera angle can be made different to keep the audience interested throughout. I also learnt how different opening title sequences from any film are so different but still work so well. Because of this, I can interoperate these findings into when making my opening title sequence; although it might not be the same as another film, it is still likely to work. I need to include different features like camera angles and different font of text to give the audience different clues about what my film might be about. I should also include features that give away who the target audience is for. For example, I should show bits of the set in my opening sequence to give a brief idea to the audience.
Learning Comments:
From doing this task and from watching old and new opening film sequences I have learnt that they can be very different to each other as some can be more serious than others. I have noticed that a lot of old films are about students in high schools and seem to have more music included in them whereas modern films are more focused on serious things such as alcohol effects and can be more emotive than before.
Our clips in this video joined together well and had no pauses.
You could not realise that we only had one camera, throughout the whole thing it looks like we have 2.
The sound effects and music also improved the continuity and helps the videos move on swiftly to the next.
Things that we could improve:
We didn't crop out the actual sound from the videos, you can sometimes hear people speaking in the background which made the film look less professional and a bit more confusing for the audience.
Some videos still didn't go together completely. For example, one of the clips here i am running down the stairs, I run straight instead of around at the bottom so I had to crop it a bit but you can still tell they aren't the same.
Learning Comment:
I learnt that adding sound effects can really help the continuity of the film. It adds effect and although some videos may not join completely, the music helps this and makes it look much better than without.
This was our first try at the 180 degree rule and we did some things right and some wrong.
Things we did well:
Some videos joined well and worked well with each other.
We took POV shots and shot reverse shots.
Some videos looked good within the overall video for example, we made a video when the camera was falling which showed it from Milly's point of view. It made it look lie the camera was her eyes as she was falling and getting dizzy.
We broke the 180 degree rule to create effect which made it look interesting as not all videos looked the same and followed the same rule.
We also showed the conversation well by showing it from different angles. This made it look like we had two cameras although we didn't and added a good effect.
Things we need to improve on:
We filmed all of the videos in portrait, which made a black border around the whole thing. We should have filmed in landscape which would have avoided this issue.
The videos when they were joined looked disjointed at parts which made them look jolty. We should've made it flow more which would've made it look better and more professional.
At some points, the 180 degree rule didn't work as we kept filming from different points which made the backgrounds not look the same as they might have in another video before. We need to make sure we film each point from the same place because then it wouldn't have looked so confusing for the audience.
When trying to break the 180 degree rule, we showed the movement of the camera. We should try and change the shots from different angles without showing the movement as it can make it confusing for the audience to watch.
This is our story board:
Learning comment:
From doing this task I learned a variety of new techniques such as camera angles and which ones worked best and which didn't. I also learned things which don't work and what we did work. For example, when we filmed our videos in portrait and not landscape it made a black border around the overall video when it came together and couldn't move. Because of this we will be able to correct this for future filming and learn from our mistakes.
Retake of a short film:
After analysing our first video and realising there were many things wrong with it, we decided to try it again and this time it was much better. We kept the camera much more still than before and used the 180 degree rule better which added much more effect. We also included close up and long video shots which we didn't do before. We also kept the background the same and tried to use the same camera angle on each shot which we didn't do before.
Things we could still improve on:
We should have done more closer up shots because we had things in the background which weren't necessary to have. For example, we had chairs in the background when filming Milly. It made the room look a bit more messy and congested but the audience should be focusing on the actors - not the backdrop.
This is our story board:
Learning comment:
Through doing this task I have learnt which different angles of the camera which i need to do in order for the film to look successful. Doing two different films helped me learn much more about close ups and long shots too and by doing this, I know that in the future when making films, I can include these in them which would make them look much more professionally made.
Typography
In the opening title sequence it tells us that Paramount Pictures presents a John Hughes film and there are many credits shown;
Alan Ruck
Mia Sara
Music score by Ira Newborn
Casting by Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins
Costume designer; Marilyn Vance
Edited by Paul Hirsch
Production designer John Wicorso
Directer of photography Tak Fujimoto
Executive producer Michael Chinich
Produced by John Hughes and Tom Jacobson
Written and directed by John Hughes
Font
The font in blue and names are written in capital letters which isn't too distracting for the audience and it gives us the idea that it is a fun film as the words are curved and not too much of a harsh font. The order of the credits shows the importance of each character or producer. For example, it said a John Hughes film at the beginning and at the centre of the screen so that the audience see it clearly and don't get distracted from anything else.
Audience
From the opening sequence we can tell that the audience is aimed at teenangers as most of the characters are teens themselves. The opening scene shows the main character Ferris, having a conversation with his parents saying that he is too 'ill' to go to school. It means that the audience can relate to the characters in the film as most of them also go to school and most of the time try their best to get out of it.
Opinion
I like this opening for 'Ferris Buellers Day Off' because the whole film isn't ruined by it, we are still left in wonder from this and makes us want to know more and continue watching.
Juno
Typography
In the opening title sequence of 'Juno", many credits are shown. These are;
Fox Searchlight Pictures presents a Mandate Pictures, Mr.Mudd production
A Jason Reitman film
The name of the film
Ellen Page
Michael Cera
Jennifer Gardner
Jason Bateman
Allison Janney
J.K Simmons
Olivia Thirlby
Casting by Mindy Marin and Kara Lipson
Costume designer Monique Prudhomme
Music by Mateo Messina
Songs by Kimya Dawson
Music supervisors Peter Afterman and Margaret Yen
Co-producers Jim Miller, Kelli Konop and Brad Van Arragon
Film editor Dana E Clauberman
Production designer Steve Saklad
Director of photography Eric Steelberg
Executive producers Joe Drake, Nathan Kahane and Daniel Dubiekcki
Produced by Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick and Russell Smith
Written by Diablo Cody
Directed by Jason Reitman
Font
The font of the credits is very bold and fun. It is not too harsh and as it it big and colourful, it suggests that the film is going to be fun and creative. Again, the order of the credits show the importance of each person during the making of the film. For example, Ellen Page is the first credit shown (of people) which tells us that she is the main character in the film.
Audience
From the opening sequence, we can tell that the film is aimed at teens because of the upbeat song choice and as the main character herself is also a teen. She is also drinking 'Sunny D' from the bottle itself which shows us more that she is a teenager and suggests she maybe doesn't have as much class as most people wouldn't count that as having 'manners' as such - teenagers are more likely to do things like this, attracting them more towards the film and makes it more relatable for them.
Music
The music in the opening title sequence in 'Juno' is very upbeat and more high pitched than others. This suggests that the film will be happy and fun otherwise it would have a more dull, low pitched song playing first. The music in opening title sequences in different sorts of films is one of the most important as it gives us a brief encounter or idea of what the film might be about and what atmosphere it has. As said before, we can tell this film will be more fun as the music sounds joyful. Not only the music, but the weather and atmosphere in the opening scene can also give us ideas. The atmosphere in 'Juno' seems to be fun and the weather is sunny and hot which seems nice and relaxing for the audience.
My opinion
The 'Juno' opening title sequence is one of my favourites because it is unique and makes the audience feel happy and want to continue watching.
The Breakfast Club
Typography In the opening title sequence the credits tell us that;
It's a Universal film
An A&M Films Channel production
A John Hughes film
The title of the film
Emilio Estevez
Paul Gleason
Anthony Michael Hall
John Kapelos
Judd Nelson
Molly Ringwald
Ally Sheedy
Casting by Jackie Burch
Costume designer Marilyn Vance
Production supervisor Richard Hashimoto
Executive producers Gil Friesen and Andrew Meyer
Music composed and supervised by Keith Forsey
Edited by Dede Allen
Production designer John W.Corso
Director of photography Thomas Del Ruth
Co produced by Michelle Manning
Produced by Ned Tanen and John Hughes
Written and directed by Joh Hughes
The opening title sequence has no film or anything happening whilst the credits are on screen. This makes the audience focus more on the directors and actors etc, as it must be the most important thing to see. For 'The Breakfast Club''s film opening, rather than ordering the credits of actors' names in most important going first, they have ordered their names alphabetically. This is different to other films so makes it more unique and interesting to see something new.
Font
The font is yellow and a nice font which again, isn't too harsh. The ends of each letter are curved which tells us that the film won't be scary as if it was, the font is more likely to be bigger on the screen and have pointier edges on each letter and word. The colouring of the font makes it seem more relaxed instead of having a bold colour like dark blue, the writing seems more relaxing to the audience to see.
Songs
Just like the font colouring, the music in the background of the opening title sequence is quite slow and relaxing. It is not too upbeat and helps the audience relax and prepare for the film to begin. It helps us to have a brief idea what the film will be like and what type of film it is.
Audience
The whole opening title sequence is just words and credits up until the end. A quote is shown by David Bowie and then the screen seems to shatter into glass and we end up looking at a high school. This suggests to us that the film is targeted at teenagers as the main characters and scene must be in a high school for it to be the first main image that we see.
Opinion
I really like the opening sequence as it is different to other films as it only has the credits on the screen and no background image. I also like how they are shown alphabetically and not of importance like others.
Napoleon Dynamite
Typography Credits are shown during the opening title sequence and they are;
MTV Film
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Paramount Pictures present
Starring Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite
Jon Gries
Aaron Ruell
Efron Ramirez
Tina Majorino with Diedrich Bader
Casting by Tony Weitz
Music by John Swehart
Jeremy Coon
Production by Cory Lorenzen
Director of photography by Mimm Powel
Executive producer Jony Weitz
Produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt and Sean Covel
Written by Jared Hess and Jekusha Hess
Directed by Jared Hess
This opening title sequence is very good as it shows a variety of things when showing credits. It shows food and items which is a interesting and fun idea. It gave me lots of ideas of what to include in my opening title sequence and made me want to continue watching the film because it seems fun. The ordering of credits shows the first name of an actor who seems to be the main character. This shows that they aren't ordered alphabetically but of importance like most films i have seen. This also gave me information on what to include in my short film.
Camera
Throughout the video, there is constant colour and brightness and the camera angle is mostly from birds eye view, from above. This is interesting because having the same camera angle throughout makes it clear that the items and food which are shown in the video are making it most interesting on its own, not the camera angle itself.
Audience
From watching the opening of the film, it looks like it targets young adults like teenagers because of the images shown and the items which the credits are shown on. It's a fun idea and the music supports this encounter; it is upbeat and joyful which shows again that the film will be happy and not scary or sad and makes us want to continue to watch. It could even attract younger people up to 13 as it does look fun and people that age seem to like food more than adults might and the colours attract you to watch it.
My opinion
In my opinion, this opening title sequences is one of my favourites because it has a very fun idea and makes me want to continue to watch it. It also has given me many ideas on what to include in my short film.
Anchorman
Typography The opening title credits are;
Dreamworks presents an Apatow production
Will Ferrell
Anchorman - The legend of Ron Burgundy (title)
Christina Applegate
Paul Rudd
Steve Carell
David Koechner
Chris Parnell
Kathryn Hahn
Fred Armisen and Fred Willard
Casting by Juel Bestrop
Jeanna McGarthy and Blythe Cappello
Co producer David Householter
Music by Alex Warman
Costume designer Debra McGuire
Editor Brent White
Production designer Clayton R. Hartley
Director of photography Thomas Ackerman
Executive producers Shauna Robertson and David O Russell
Produced by Judd Apatow
Written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay
Directed by Adam McKay
The text is white and bold with blue outer lining and the background is mostly black. This makes the audience mostly focus on the writing as it is bold and hard to miss.
Sounds
In the opening title sequence, there is a quiet song in the background. It is fun and upbeat and makes the atmosphere seem joyful and bright. Not only is there music but there is a narrator who mostly explains what is happening in the film and helps us to understand. Having this narrator is good because the speaker is funny and witty and makes us laugh. Because of this, we want to carry on watching the film because it seems funny and worth watching.
Audience
The song and humour in the opening sequence, we get the idea that the film is for teenagers an young adults as some is hard too understand for anyone younger than that. Having the narrator speak in the background is helpful as we get an idea what is going on and what maybe might happen later on in the film.
Opinion
I really like this opening title sequence because its funny and the narrative part is unique. It also gives the idea that the film is good for anyone to enjoy and has a variety of different things to it and describes the background very well.
The Purge
Credits shown are;
Universal Pictures presents
A Platinum Dunes/Blumhouse/Why Not production
Lena Headley
Adelaide Kane
Max Burkholder
Edwin Hodge
Tony Oller
Rhys Wakefield
Arija Bareikis
Chris Mulkey
Costume Design by Lisa Norica
Music by Nathan Whitehead
Edited by Peter Gvozdas
Production design by Melanie Paizis-Jones
Director of photography Jacques Jouffret
Co producer Jeanette Volturno-Brill
Produced by Jason Blum
Produced by Sébastian K. Lemercier
Produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller
Written and directed by James Demonaco
Font
The font of credits is very small and a bright white colour which makes it hard for us to see. This suggests that it isn't seen as very important as there are videos playing in the background which makes it seem more important than anything else. The credits also don't seem to be in any specific order. This opening title scene seems very different to others which i have seen. The font is also in quite a sharp font which makes the edges of each letter seem more pointy which adds the more dangerous effect to the film and makes us think that is isn't as joyful as other films are.
Sound
There is music in the background whilst playing the opening scene and credits but it is quite peculiar. The song almost sounds quite relaxing to listen to whereas the videos we are watching are the opposite to relaxing and are quite horrific to watch. This makes the whole thing very different as both things seem to counteract each other and give a very interesting view.
Narrative
There isn't any speaking during the opening title sequence, there is only soft music which makes us pay more attention to the videos which are playing in the background. From just the videos we can bring together a brief idea about what the film is going to be about and that it isn't going to be the happiest one ever.
Opinion
I find this opening sequence quite difficult to understand as the features seem to be very different to each other and the writing is very hard to read; almost like it was done on purpose so that we as the audience don't read the credits, they want us to watch what is happening in the videos. Although, it is very interesting to watch and different to lots of other films.
Learning comment:
From this activity I learnt about different typography and how credits for showing names can be ordered in different ways, whether it being in alphabetical order or an order of importance. I also learnt about audiences and how if you study the films carefully, you can see clues which tell you what sort of audience it is targeted at. Lastly, I learned that the font of every writing on the screen can make a huge difference within the film and tells people what genre it may be or why it has been made like that.
