For the film Split, as I commented in my previous blog, the title sequence focuses mostly on typography and the stark contrast between a black backdrop, white text, and the way it is layered, sliced and presented in between takes of consciousness. Creative Director Aaron Becker and his team ensured the typography of the film would be segmented in ways that could represent the film’s overall development; unnerving and unprecedented.

For the title sequence of the film Signs, the bleak typography and gloomy backdrop cause creeping dread primarily with an eerie score delivered by James Newton Howard. The eerie music serves as a nerve-racking sensation as the typography on the screen fades in and out parallel to sound on a blue-grey pitch.

For the title sequence of the film Bambi, the film makes a classic take on the 1940’s era of naturalism and realism. In the past, Disney’s studios had been known for their fantasy-styled naturalism, therefore influencing Disney’s studios to make a stride towards being closer to nature. This goal implemented the natural backdrops of leaves, flowers, plants, and trees in cool-toned pitch colors to present nature. The subtle noises of nature overlapping the opera-esque score gives Bambi’s title sequence the classic touch it sought out.

For this task, I was asked to examine and comment on the titles of three films that either interested me or were in the genre of my final task opening. This stated, I examined the following titles from the following films: Split (2017), Signs (2002), and Bambi (1942).

The title of Split was a reflection of the film. The black screen and white letters displayed a sharp contrast, a concept used throughout the film to help viewers realize character developments and changes. The title displayed text in numerous ways, primarily by slicing and layering bright, white text over a blank, black screen. In addition, the title switches in and out of blurry, unnerving scenes that present a sense of one’s unawareness of their surroundings, furthering the eerieness of the title.

The next title I viewed was that of the film Signs. The title opens with the film’s signature music for when the dark presence lingers and tension is flaring between humans and extraterrestrials. In contrast to Split, Signs uses dark and serif text over a gloomy, greying blue background, edged with black. The black edges add a level of intensity that the title sequence would not possess if it were not there- it’s unnerving feeling only grows as the background music grows louder.

The last film title I examined was that of the 1942 film, Bambi. The title sequence commences with light, flowing script text over a fairly cerulean backdrop, fading in and out slowly. The backdrop contains shadows of natural surroundings, ranging from flowers and plants to trees and assorted leaves. The sequence is paired with orchestral music and opera-like singing as the backdrop color varies and continuously changes to different, cool-toned colors (e.g. purple, blue, grey, etc.)

Films that Influenced Us

• “Birdbox” and “The Dark Knight” were the two films that influenced us from the three films that my partner and I studied. While the concepts were different in both films, many of their features were some my groupmate Val and I recognized we would like to incorporate within our film opening.
• In “Birdbox”, the opening is slow and tranquil. There is no fast-paced action that occurs right off the bat, which is how we would like to set our scene. We do not want chaos, but rather, a sense of mystery. Birdbox further develops the sense of mystery by creating a dialogue without revealing what the dialogue pertains to or is truly about. The use of diegetic sound is a tactic we would like to utilize as well. In addition, the use of dull, gloomy colors is a tactic we feel we can utilize to set a dreary tone. The lack of light can reflect the mystery behind the imminent death of one of our characters, a tactic “Birdbox” utilizes.
• In “The Dark Knight”, the opening scene begins very quickly. There is no hesitation to get into the action, which is not how we would want to begin our opening, but it is a way we would like to convey the scene in which one of our characters drowns. When our character drowns, we want chaos and fast-paced, thrilling music, very similar to that in the opening of the Dark Knight during the robbery scene. This chaotic scene is essentially purposed to thrill and form a sense of unease behind all action.
• On the contrary, however, “Flatliners” did not influence us. Flatliners was too eerie and featured little-to-no dialogue that our film simply must have to establish the scene and the context of the situation. “Flatliners” was not as chaotic as need be for our film.

In regards to our Final Task, my groupmate Valerid and I were asked to conduct research through questionnaires and film opening analysis to help us conduct our Final Task further. Once, analysed, we were to compile our findings into a powerpoint. This powerpoint includes photos of the questionnaire that was given to other students to fill out based on their film preferences. In addition, the powerpoint also includes an analysis of my findings from the questionnaires. The powerpoint also includes notes on films in the same genre of our final task (thriller in our case). These notes discussed media techniques used throughout these film openings and our observations. Lastly, I concluded my questionnaire findings in addition to my findings from the film openings I viewed and correlated my observations to the central techniques and tactics used in the media world.

AICE Media Research Powerpoint (1)

 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1W3H1PmLXpKOIIitd8DDzmsnhM5mGjznEQ05ZqfkBkA4/edit?usp=sharing

 

For this activity, my partner Valerid and I were asked to watch the openings of three films within the genre in which our Final Task will be in, and identify any conventions from our previous blog that may appear in these openings. This said, we chose three movies in the thriller/suspense category. The film openings we watched were to the following movies: Birdbox, Flatliners, and The Dark Knight. For the most part, most of the conventions in our previous blog appeared in these film openings. For example, dark, gloomy lighting and intense, eerie music appeared in each of these openings. In addition, masks of some sort appeared in two out of three openings, and a murderous male wearing a mask was in one of them. However, on the contrary, in my previous blog, I also mentioned the costumes of law enforcement or a bathing suit. None of these costumes appeared in these film openings, however, a law enforcement vehicle did appear in one of them. In all, I was fairly accurate in suggesting typical conventions in a thriller/suspense movie.

My groupmate Valerid and I have come to the conclusion that our film will be in the Suspense/Thriller genre. We have been asked to consider the possible/typical conventions that would present themselves within the movie opening in our genre. For example, three characterizations (stereotypes) that would present themselves within the opening of a thriller film could be a vulnerable teen at the beach, a killer, and/or some sort of officer of the law. Three possible costume ideas could be an officer’s uniform, a bathing suit, and or dark, baggy clothing for a killer. Three possible props may be a pool float, a car, and a sheet to possibly cover a body. In regards to lighting, the filmmakers may want to consider establishing a darker/gloomier scene to set an eerie feeling. An example of a non-diegetic sound may be a loud ensemble of instruments with heavy bass or edited police sirens. On the contrary, an example of diegetic sound may be a scream from a victim. These are some of many examples of conventions that could present themselves in a Thriller film.

The following pictures are from my pitch planning with my groupmate. As previously stated, during our planning, we drafted numerous ideas to ultimately come out with two pitches we would present to our teacher. The pitch we are using for our Final Task is: A group of friends purposely drown their friend whom they are angry with, and attempt to cover it up. Alongside our teacher, my groupmate and I mutually agreed that this pitch would be easier to film and convey.

 

 

During our pitch meeting, my groupmate and I presented two pitches to our teacher. These pitches were:

1. A group of friends purposely drown their friend whom they are angry with, and attempt to cover it up.
2. A hitwoman is recruited to rid a wealthy tycoon, only to meet her match in what will be her most difficult case yet.

Of the two pitches, option one was chosen, primarily for two reasons. First, our instructor believed it was less complex than the second pitch, in addition to probably being easier to convey. Second, our instructor also believed the concept was overall better, to which my groupmate and I agreed. We mutually felt as if it would be easier to film our Final Task based off the first pitch.

Pitch Chosen: A group of friends mistakenly let their friend drown, and soon try to cover up the death by guiltily staging a disappearance.

This past week, my groupmate and I were asked to produce two pitches. A pitch is a concise presentation or description of an idea for a film. In this case, our pitches had to be 25 words or less. Both of these pitches were designed to help my groupmate and me roadmap our final task. With these pitches, we were able to have more than one option as to what we would ultimately decide to film.

 

 

As it is that time of the year, my groupmate and I are moving forward with the final task for the AICE Media Studies exam. For my final task, I have made the executive decision to work with a groupmate I have worked with all year. Her name is Valerid Navia, and together, we work very efficiently! As we both came up with a pitch, I realized just how great of a movie we can potentially produce should we work together. For now, we will continue to pitch ideas that can help us reach our cinematic goals.