In As Media, we have been learning about how to write a script. We looked at the fundamental format for a script (Page Number, Title, Slug-line, Action line, Character's name and Dialogue). We were given the assignment to write our very own script out of the 5 pages of a book. We were given the book called 'The Winter Hedgehog' and created our script below.
In As Media, we have been looking into how text is presented to the audience, how the colouring of the background really expose the title and make it clearer to see and how the font and colouring connotes and denotes and how they represent and conform to the convention that movies of its genre typically need to have. I chose three films to analyse, these three films are: 'Tron Legacy (2010)', 'Psycho (1960)' and 'King Kong (1933)'. The reason why I chose these film is because each film has a distinguished way in which they use typography, the way in which they size and length the text, the positioning of it and the colour that is used helps to not only give off enigma codes however actually subliminally states the genre, the personality of the characters and the theme of the film.
Tron Legacy
Tron Legacy had really use typography in its title sequence effectively. It uses a really bright blue colour scheme which really works upon the background of the title sequence. The colour of the background is dark so the colouring of the text is clear to be seen, the text is big and fills up the frame. The size and the colour schemes go hand-in-hand with one another as the mixture of both really attracts the attention of the audience, with all the focus being set on the big and colourful title. The contrasting colours of the black background and brighter text is used quite frequently in title sequences, this is because black and dark colours are not eye-catching and therefore does not attract the attention of the audience however unlike the text which is usually a brighter colour than the background. Colourful texts attract the audience, by having the dark background and the colourful text together help to focus just on the text and to imply that these texts are important. The difference between a dark background to a more colouful one is that a dark one is bland and so colourful texts show up better on it but a colouful background would be attractive and eye-catching so the text will not be able to shown at its best.
When we see the neon colour of the title then we connote the future, this is because we assume that the future will have all these colourful neon colours so we are quick to associate the colour quickly to the future. The font is really thin however is shaped to make the words of the title and gives off that futuristic and robotic tone, the colour and font then helps to determine the genre of the film, which is 'Sci-fi'.
The way in which the title appears is that it is placed upon the outskirts of a building, this is a post production text as it was placed after the shooting of the building and the city. This is a contrast of what we are expecting to see in a sci-fi film because sci-fi usually center their location in a more futuristic and high technology area however this looks to be set in a more modern and present time area, this could create enigma codes as to the link in which the title and present location has with one another. Overall just by looking at the title sequence, listening to the futuristic and space type music that is playing in the background and the neon coloured text then the genre is likely to be determined just by looking at it, all these concepts associate with sci-fi and therefore the conventions really does conform to its genre.
Psycho
Another text that I chose to analyse is 'Psycho' which was first created in 1960 however was remade in 1998. This title has some similarity to that of 'Tron Legacy' however also has it differentiation too. The similarity that 'Psycho' has with 'Tron Legacy' is that they both choose to display their text upon a black and dark background and use a brighter colour for the text. This once again is good to use as the audience are able to really grasp the text that appear clearly without the necessity of moving closer to see it, it is eye-catching and allows the text to really stand out at us as audiences. Although they use the same idea, Psycho uses the classic colours of black and white. This at the time was use very frequently in the past however as time went by, film started to use other ways to display their typography, making it look really presentable and decorative unlike this text which is just black and white and the font remains basic and not as eye-catching. From looking at the two title sequence, we are able to see just how much title sequences has changed over the years, from when they use to be just bold and plain letters that would continuously appear and disappear, the very simple and boring animation and transition for the text, to what it is now, really colourful and in your face texts, the fun and creative animation of the text and the visual that of abstract openings that would paint its own story and keep the audience intrigued.
Psycho title sequence is bland and boring however does give away indication to what we are expected to see. The title 'Psycho' in the title sequence appears in the center of the screen, allowing the audience to familiarise ourselves with the title of the film but a few moments later the title start to disorientate and move out of proportion. The film title 'Psycho' connotes somebody that is not mentally stable and out of place, this has links to the title as the words to break apart and move out of place, connoting unusual which is exactly what the word 'Psycho' represents. The title and the disorientation of the title could have links to the character, as a psycho is somebody crazy and unstable then it could or represent a character within the film and may be considered a psycho or may have very similar traits to one. The way in which the words are displaced and the strips of lines that would make up the next frame and the text, this could be a symbolic code for a knife. Knives are used to pierce and strip through objects, this could suggest that knives are used within the film. Knives usually connotes death and pain, this could also suggest that the film may involve killing and so help to determine the likely genre. The colour scheme is quite dark and creates a mysterious atmosphere, this colour scheme is a convention for 'Horror' and 'Thriller' films. There is nothing happening within the title sequence except for the disorientation of the text, it help to exaggerate the mysterious atmosphere that the colour already creates and gives off enigma codes as the audience will want to know what is the need for the disoriented texts? what do they have to do with to narrative of the film?
This film has little symbolic codes that may have association to the bigger picture of the film and also creates enigma codes with the style in which the display the texts. This film was later remade in 1998 however the remake was an intertextuality of to the previous film. The remake referenced the style of the old film, it uses the stripped lines and and the disorientation of the word 'Psycho', it also uses the bland texts and style of crediting; also uses the black and white colour schemes however the 1998 version has green within it. Title sequences really influence others as seen with this film, this film's title sequence is good to not giving away anything about the plot and setting of the film unlike 'Tron Legacy' however uses more interesting symbolic codes that give off the possible personality of the character through the way they used their typography.
King Kong
The final film I chose to analyse was 'King Kong', this film is really different than the previous films, in a way, worse than the other title sequences. King Kong was created in 1933, the way in which they credit the main people of the production is very traditional to older films. Whereas most modern films (I.e.: Iron Man) would wait until the end of the film to then credit those who have helped with the film, King Kong decides to credit before the film begins. This could be a good idea however also a bad one. It is good as with modern films and the crediting being at the end, not many people stay down and watch the whole of the crediting, by putting the crediting at the beginning of a film then the audience are mostly forced to watch the crediting if they hope to watch the rest of the film however it is bad because it is boring to watch a few words appearing and therefore affect the audiences' interests to watch the film.
King Kong tries to use the idea of dark colours and brighter text however this film displays the white text on a grey background, this is not as clear to read from unlike what it would be if it was black as the grey and white both stand out with each other making it hard to just focus upon the text. Although the colours are not effective, the font is really big and bold, also uses overshadow, this helps to read the title, the big and bold font attracts our eye upon it, forcing use to focusing only on the words as it takes up quite a lot of the frame. The overshadow help to draw the text out more so that it is a bit easier to see and focus on.
The transitions are really basic with just simple fade to the next frame, it express the fact that the film is old. When 'King Kong' title appears, it is much bigger that the rest of the text, also it is on a frame of its own. This helps the audience know that this is the title and everything else is the crediting. All the text I have analyse do the same, they always find a way to make the title of the film different from the other text seen in the sequence, Tron Legacy uses a different font but the title sequence does not contain much credits or other fonts, Psycho slits the the title apart and makes it ridge and out of place; King Kong make the font bigger and bolder than the other text.
From the text it is really hard to determine the genre of the film as the text does not really have any indication to what the film may have in it however because the text is big it could suggest that the film will have link to things that are big and bold. This text does not give off as much enigma codes unlike the others however it does make the audience wonder why the text is so big? The film could also have a binary opposition of small versus big, as the title of the film is really big and has hardly any text upon it whereas the other text is smaller and has much more on its frame, this could be a representation of big and an individual and small and many of them. This then could possibly connote a battle between, actions and violence, this could determine the genre of 'Action'.
Overall, text is very important in title sequences as by just looking at the text and how it is used could help determine the genre of the film, plot, representation, theme and binary opposition.
In As Media, We have been learning about soundscape and the effects that sounds have in a movie. In this task I was asked to watch and listen to a film's title sequence as explain the effect the sound has upon the story of the film.
In ‘G.I. Joe: Rise Of Cobra’, a song is played
in the beginning, where the institution is shown; the song then bridges on to
the main title sequence that shows ‘spyglass entertainment present’. The song
is a ‘Score’ as it is not a soundtrack that everyone knows, it is especially
composed for this film. From listening to the sequence in which the title is
displayed, we may guess that this film may not be one that has a really dark or
uncomfortable story throughout the film, like a ‘Horror’ film. From the title
song we might be able to tell that it might be an action or superhero film due
to loud and upbeat banging noises that happens twice in the sequence, it really
drowns out the composed music that is playing, the instrument used, sounds like
those that you would expect to hear in a ‘Superhero’ genre film, the sounds
that we may hear might give off the impressions that maybe there are some link
to heroes. As the song is quite sad and mysterious it may be associated to
‘evil’ and the loud beats within the song has some association and denotation
of ‘good’, this may help set the binary opposition for this film being ‘good
versus evil’. This film does not have a long title sequence and goes straight
into the action of the film. In the beginning, we hear horses galloping, metal
clanging and people speaking English and another language (If you know your
languages then you may be able to identify that they are speaking French) this
makes it seem that the film may not be within an English country and may be set
in period of time that was far before the modern era as the horses were used
for transport in the past and as we can hear the horses instead of cars then we
could suggest that it may be set in the past. Later on after the first scene we
start to hear more modern and futuristic music, we connote 21st
century and beyond. This challenges the sounds we hear in the first scene as
one had all the ambient sounds in the past whereas another have all the ambient
sound we would usually hear in this time we live in. This may create enigma
codes as the sudden change in setting due to the sound and language we hear in
the second scene may cause question to arise, such as, what does the two period
of time have in connection with one another?
Overall the film’s sounds does
well to create enigma codes and help give us the provisional location that
parts of the film may be based in and what kind of genre could be. This film is
not straight forward to determine the time period and genre from just the
sounds we hear, unlike a film like ‘Tron Legacy’ which has a sci-fi tone to it,
using sounds that we would usually associate and stereotype to ‘the future’ and
the fact we can only hear this type of music helps give off a clear indication
that the film will be of a ‘Sci-fi’ genre and due to the accents of the voices
in the background, then it may be set in America.
In this lesson, we have been learning about how crediting usually appear in a title sequence, we had to pick a film to draw a time line for, this timeline was to show at what time each credit appears. I did my crediting on 'Ocean's Eleven (1960)', this title sequence is over 3 minutes long however consist of about 29 crediting title (from what i could count) which i a lot. The film follows the convention of typical title crediting, stating the institution and the actors first. From this task I have learnt the typical order that most title sequence conform to and how to break up each credit in its timing. Timeline is the best format to place the order as it allows you to see what time each title appears, what it will say and how long it stay on the screen for. It also allows to show the song and when it starts and finishes, when it may change and when it will fade out.
In our Media class we have been looking into designs and fonts that are usually seen in title sequences, we looked at the effect they give to the audience, layout, etc. We were exploring the text that is used pre-production (Added during recording or before) and those that are used post-production (added after recording) like this title sequence of 'Anatomy of a Murder'. This is my version of Saul Bass's title sequence 'Anatomy of a Murder':
My Version
Saul Bass's Version
These videos had to be 20 seconds long so we had to get enough shots so that we could make up to 20 seconds. We used a camera to take the pictures and we had to cut out a few shapes from a piece of paper that was identical to the way that Saul Bass did it in his version. Every-time we took a new photo of the build up and isolation of the body, we had to take at least 6 pictures of the same image, by doing this allowed us to get the right amount to use per frame so that the video was long enough and the continuity work and flowed much smoother than it would have with just one photo and readjusting the duration of each frame. After we have taken the pictures, they were uploaded and ready to use in 'Final Cut Express'. From Final cut express we were abled to add text to the frames and music which is just like the original version by Saul Bass.
What is a Theme? The theme acts like the overall or underlying idea, it acts as the foundation of a piece of work or art or medium which makes everything within it link to it (Example: Christmas, the things that should be typically seen within the themes would be presents and Santa Clause).
The theme of 'Friends' is to show the friendship between the six characters within the show, this is express by the fact that the opening uses many different clips to create a montage of the characters from different episodes. In the scene one of the characters are usually seen with another character of the six, this really expresses the point that these characters are good friends as they are seen with each other a lot within the montage. What is a Style? Styles is the way that the production expresses the way things look under the influence of a theme.
In this opening for 'Superbad', it uses a lot of visual style, i.e.: the silhouette of the character's dancing with the contrasting colours of their silhouette, the poor transition and very bright and colourful colours. These examples can be associated with the the theme of the 70's however this is a contrast of when the film is meant to be set in but by doing this create enigma codes as it keeps the audience guessing about the film.
Theme and Style Analysis: Dexter
This opening sequence from the TV drama 'Dexter' we are able to see or link what the show will be focusing around. There is many connotation of blood that is seen quite frequently within the sequence, although most of the time it is not blood. The first connotation of blood is seen when a bug (mosquito) is upon the arm of a character, this character hits it, this leaves behind a red substance upon his arm. This can only be associated with blood, the fact that the character does not seem to bothered about the blood on his arm suggest to use that he does not mind blood or enjoy the sight of blood. In another scene in the sequence, the character is seen shaving himself inside his room, after awhile, again another red substances (however this time it is more liquidise than before) starts dripping down his neck and into a sink. The large amount of the use of red connotes blood and death, it further denotes that the character may have a strange interest to blood as it is seen a lot in the sequence. It also helps to tell the the theme of the drama, this drama is about a serial killer who works as a blood analyst.
This visual style of the red substance helps fit in with the theme of the show as this person is a serial killer and works with blood so is use to the sight of blood and that it is a big part of his life. Later, we see many objects that has the same look and properties of blood, i.e.: the ketchup being red however the way that they express the ketchup is unusual to how we would normally see it, they make it spit and gush out upon the plate, the colour of the ketchup is red and therefore links to the other red substances from previously and plus they don't show that it is ketchup because they do not show the bottle, creates enigma codes as the audience does not know exactly what it is and because they have been expose to the red substances that is most likely blood because of the source of where it comes from consist of blood, the audience will question the fact that if that is ketchup or is it blood. The style that they chose, uses a lot of connotation of blood due to the liquid red substance, to help link with the whole theme of the show and to help the audience understand the sort of things that they are expecting to see from this character.
In our As Media class, we were giving a preliminary task to complete. The preliminary task was to: Film a scene which involves a person walking into a room, siting down and having an exchange of dialogue with someone.
We had to plan our scenes on a storyboard with the shot types that will be used in every scene. After creating a storyboard, we then had to make a shot list which had all the different shots that would be used throughout the preliminary task. When we showed our teachers our plans and got their approval, we were allowed to go out and film our scene. We had to work in a group of three, one person who is working the camera and the 2 people who is involved in the exchange of words.
When we managed to get all the footage that we needed then we used Final Cut Express to use all the footage and put them together to create a final production. This is my final production of the preliminary task:
Evaluation:
Overall the whole production went very well, we have not had that much experience with a camera however with the use of the tripod (at times) we were able to record our clips and used Final Cut Express to produce a good video. We did well to use the camera shots that were needed to be seen in this task (Establish shot, Over the shoulder shot, Match on action and Shot, reverse shot) and we did well to obey the rules of the 180 degree rule, making sure that the person who is seen on the left, always stays on the left and never broke the 180 degree rule and moves to the right. We managed to keep a continuity with each scene so that nothing looked out of place and if there was an error then we tried to fix it using Final Cut Express so that it continued to look like a continuity footage. We managed to keep our film mysterious and giving out enigma codes to the audience, this made the film more exciting to watch and more intriguing to the audience.
I believe that the task went well however we did experience some problems while we were filming. The first time we filmed our preliminary task, we broke the 180 degree rule numerous of times which meant that we had to re-film the scenes where we broke the 180 degree rule. On the day of the re-film, one of the actors was not in; leaving only two people to do everything and at a result of the absent meant that the camera man had to become an actor and we had to re-film the whole preliminary task over again. This took up a lot of our editing time, but we managed to re-film and edit before deadline day. While we were recording the first run of the preliminary task, we kept rewinding the tape which caused problems for the uploading and took more time from our editing as we had to wait for the clips to come before we could edit. Although we had problems with our productions, we managed to get everything done, sticking to our plans that we made, the shot types we said we were going to use and managed to get the re-film and editing on time. We have learnt how to keep inside the 180 degree and how to break it and we also learnt to not rewind the tapes in the camera as it cause problems when it came to uploading. Using what we have learnt will help us later in our As Media classes when we are faced with similar tasks.
In this task we were given a selection of different clips that we were told to edit and make it a continuous scene. Using the year 13's clips and Final Cut Express, I was able to use the clips to make a continuous scene.
From this task, I have learnt that it is important that when filming you should keep everything the way it was set, such as props and lighting. This is important as it make the scene look more realistic so by changing these factors around could cause confusion to arise and take the continuity away making it seem obvious that the shots may have been done at complete different times, therefore taking away the realism of that scene. This task will help me plan out my future filming work better as it has allowed me to see what different editing techniques and shots is best to use to show continuity within a scene (I.e.: Match on Action and Shot reverse shot). It also has helped me to use different clips to make a film seem like it is continuous by using simple editing techniques. It has helped me to recognise where the 180 degree rule has been broken and by doing this will allow me to abide by its rule in my filming so that it makes sense to the audience and does not ruin the continuity of the filming.
In this task, we were shown a CSI opening like the one above, then we were told to create a opening scene like CSI. Given many different clips to add while using the clips we recorded within the lesson, I was able to create an opening by fusing the clips together and adding text to the clips.
CSI: SOUTH NORWOOD
From this task, I was able to get a bit of an understanding of how an opening/title scene should look like, what is required of an opening to make it more effective to the audience. To make an effective opening it is important to make sure that the opening flows smoothly so the editing must be good, the visual looks well placed and in sync to the audio that may be playing in the background. Another aspect that makes an opening effective would be the text, the text must be able to be read clearly so when making an title/opening sequence it is important to think about the typography, how will it look with the visual, how much of the screen does it take up, how will the colours of the text match the background and still able to be seen. The last thing that make a opening effective is the way in which they create enigma codes, enigma codes really make the audience think about what they see and what they expect to see and makes the audience intrigued to watch the media product.
The 180 degree rule is when the camera keeps the characters on the same side where ever it may be on the 180 degree side. If camera exceeds the 180 degree side then it has broken the rule as the character will be on the opposite side of what they were before.
Why is it important to use this rule?
The 180 degree rule is important so that the audience does not get confused. It makes it easier to follow the character as they stay within the position they were set in. If the 180 degree rule is broken then the character move from their previous position, this make it harder to track down and will become very confusing if the character keep breaking and going back to the 180 degree.
How do you change direction?
In the 180 degree rule, the camera must stay within the '180 degree area', where ever the camera is in the area it will keep the characters in the right position (The red chess piece will always be upon the left side whereas the blue will be on the right, when ever the camera changes within the area
How will this impact on your planning for your preliminary task? This rule is very important when it comes to planning our preliminary task as the task consist of two characters exchanging dialogue to one another.The 180 Degree Rule is important in a scene like this as it is very important that the characters stay in their correct position. While planning we should take into consideration of the 180 Degree Rule when plotting the camera for each scene, trying not to break the 180 Degree Rule so that the audience do no get too confused on where the characters are meant to be position. Getting it right in the plan will reduce the time that is spent trying to keep in the 180 Degree area, which means less time on recording constantly.
In As Media, we have been investigating into the world of narration and stories. We have looked at the differences between a 'Narrative' and a 'Story' and how a story is set out. We learnt how these stories are set out by looking into 5 different theories from 5 different theorist.
Narrative: The way in which a story is meant to be told. It is an organised way of how the story will be told by or how something is set out to be.
Story: A sequence of events which is know correctly as the plot.
How to analyse a Narrative?
When analysing a narrative, we analyse the construction of the story (i.e.: the way it has been put together, not the story itself). You also need to consider what the story is about in its most basic term, the 'Theme'.
Narrative Theories
Theory 1:
Tzvetan Todorov
Tzvetan Todorov believed that a story is always told in the same 5 order:
Equilibrium- where everything is balanced or at the normal
Disequilibrium- Something comes along to disrupt the equilibrium Recognition of disruption- Something or someone notices the problem
Attempt to repair disruption- Something or someone does something to try and solve the problem Resolution/ New equilibrium- Start of a new equilibrium or back to the normal
Theory 2:
Syd Field
Syd Field believed that a story is made out of 3 act and within each act there are parts, in act 1 it is 'Set-Up', Act 2 is the 'Confrontation' and act 3 the 'Resolution'. Also in this paradigm there are two plot points, these plot points change the plot of the story into another direction.
Act 1:
This part of the story introduces the main character, the dramatic premise, and the dramatic situation.
Main character- the person in the story who has a need/objective to fulfill and whose actions drive the story
Dramatic premise- what the story is about
Dramatic situation- the circumstances surrounding the action
Act 2:
Obstacles--In the second act, the main character encounters obstacle after obstacle that prevent him from achieving his dramatic need.
First Culmination--a point just before the halfway point of the film where the main character seems close to achieving his or her goal/objective. Then, everything falls apart, leading to the midpoint.
Midpoint--a point approximately halfway through the film where the main character reaches his/her lowest point and seems furthest from fulfilling the dramatic need or objective.
Act 3:
Climax (Second Culmination)--The point at which the plot reaches its maximum tension and the forces in opposition confront each other at a peak of physical or emotional action.
Denouement--The brief period of calm at the end of a film where a state of equilibrium returns.
Theory 3:
Vladimir Propp
Vladimir says that each story will always have 8 character types in the story, these character types are:
The Hero- leads the narrative, usually looking for something
(Batman)
The Villain- Conflict with the hero, they always try to stop them
(Joker from Batman)
The Donor- Gives the hero something to help them to complete the quest
(Uncle Ben from Spider-man)
The Princess- Prize or reward for the hero
(Princess Fiona from Shrek)
The Helper- Helps the hero on his journey, usually in the form of a side-kick
(Robin from Batman)
The Princess' Father- Offers a reward to the hero
(The Sultan)
The False Hero- Takes credit for the hero's actions or tries to marry the princess
(Prince Charming from Shrek)
The Dispatcher- Character who sends the hero on his journey
(Lord farquaad from Shrek)
Theory 4:
Claude Levi- Strauss
Claude believes that every story is set around a 'Binary Oppositions'. A Binary Oppositions is a conflict between two qualities or terms (i.e.: Good vs Evil, Boy vs Girls, etc), Every story must have a binary oppositions.
Theory 5:
Roland Barthes
Roland's theory was that narrative works with five different codes which becomes active to the audience, these codes are:
Action- Narrative device by which a resolution is produced through action (i.e.: Shoot-out)
Enigma- Narrative device that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle or riddle to be solved. Works to delay the story's ending pleasurably
Symbolic- Connotation, the descriptions that is linked or associated with specific symbols
Semantic- Denotation, the meaning that is linked or associated with the narrative
Cultural- Narrative device which the audience can recognise as being part of a culture (i.e.: a 'made man' in a gangster film is part of the mafia culture).
Jelly Babies:
Looking into these narrative theory, mainly focusing on Tzvetan Todorov's theory, we wanted to create our own little story and use each dilemma of Tzvetan Todorov's theory within it. These jelly babies will tell a story by using Todorov's theory: An Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, New equilibrium.
4 jelly babies friends, happily enjoying each others company
One day, the black jelly baby got fed up with rest of the jelly babies
The black jelly baby isolated himself from everyone
In the night the black jelly baby went back to the city to kidnap one of his former friends.
The orange jelly baby is taken by the black one to his hideout
The black jelly baby eats the orange jelly baby's head
The orange jelly baby's friends find their friend's corpse
The other jelly babies find the black jelly baby sleeping
The jelly babies eat the black jelly baby's head off and carry his corpse away
