Fonts for Opening Credits

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Research Into Institutions - Conglomerate's

Research into Institutions

In our opening sequence it is crucial that we advertise an institution since that is one of the objectives of an opening sequence. The institution we choose must represent our film genre. The institution we chose and constructed will be displayed at the start of the opening sequence, which follows most other film opening sequence’s format. All institutions also have a logo, which consumers identify with. Logos are extremely important because that has how people remember the names of company’s. It is easier to identify with and therefore when creating our own we must make sure it is simple but unique. Therefore, I will also analyse the logos to help my group and I design our own logo, which will go with our production company.

I researched into institution to retrieve ideas, which will help us when we distribute our product. Here are some well-known ones:

NEWLINE CINEMA

New Line Cinema, often simply known as New Line, was founded in 1967, and is one of the major American film studios. It initially began as an independent film studio but in 1996 it became a subsidiary of the conglomerate, Time Warner (Warner Brothers) therefore part of a conglomerate. The first commercially successful film was ‘A nightmare on Elm street’ which is also a horror genre therefore this institution is a possible one we could use as the audience will know them from this genre. New line cinema also released films, which won Oscar awards and this means they are an established institution by not only the audience but also other distributors. Distributing through institutions, which are very well known and appreciated puts the film at an advantage as the budget will be bigger and therefore could be advertised more.

‘New line Cinema’ has also collaborated with other distributors such as Castle Rock Entertainment on the film ‘Fracture’. This was their first joint venture since the 1990’s before both the companies were taken over by Turner.

New line cinema has released well-known and hit films such as: ‘The lord of the rings’, ’The notebook’ and ‘Hairspray’ as well as horrors such as ‘A nightmare on elm street’, ‘Friday the 13th’ and ‘The number 23’. Since they’ve had experience of releasing horror films it will help the image of our film to release our product through New Line cinema also as they have made their name in the market and are well known.

New line Cinema logo

The background is black which is a very common colour. This makes it formal and by looking at it you can tell it is an institution logo. All logos have an image to go with it and in this it represents the film industry by having an image of a 35mm film which directly reflects the genre of film. The image has a blue light behind it enlightening it. The text is written below it in white, making it stand out.

TWISTED PICTURES

Twisted pictures is another well-established distributor but fairly recent as it was founded in 2002 in Los Angeles California. Its is associated with the horror genre. It gained wide attention through the production of the Saw series. The logo that goes with the text is also similar to the genre it represents and mainly creates. My group and I are very fond of this genre and were considering using this institution to distribute our product since it is new and would be appealing to our target audience. It is also mainly linked to horror genres and this is the aspect which attracts us the most because it represents our ideologies the best.

Logo

Twisted pictures also have a logo which goes with the text. The logo is a moving image of a knife/saw and chains. This really compliments the type of films twisted pictures releases. They are known for horror film and their logo promotes this ideology. It also has a sound effect, which accompanies it. This is a sudden sound, which goes with the genre of the film.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Paramount Pictures Corporation is a American film production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. It was founded in 1912 and is currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still headquartered in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Paramount is consistently ranked as one of the top grossing movie studios.

Paramount pictures is the world's oldest existing American film company as it was founded in 1912. Paramount is consistently ranked as one of the top grossing film studios. It is headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Paramount is possibly the most famous and successful film company of our time which would tempt us to use Paramount as our distributing label and institution. They have made hundred of films over the years and most are very popular. Paramount created the infamous horror film Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde and they have lots more experience in creating horror films. Although Paramount are more mainstream and they do not specialise in the making of horror films so this may persuade us not to use them as our institution.

Logo

the text is written in a italiac way and looks like an olden style of writing. This institutions might not be suitable for our film because our target audience is alot younger and this does not have that fresh and innovative look that we want.

The text is written with stars around it like a circle making the text more obvious and important. Both are in white over a blue background like the sky. The image on it is of mountains and this is clever because the word ‘mount’ in paramount could represent the mountains. Mountains are a great image as it could connate reaching the top and to a place that’s new and unreachable. The colours are blue and pink which are calm and peaceful. This institution would probably suit a romantic-comedy better.

WARNER BROTHERS

Warner Bros is an American producer of film and television entertainment.

One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank, California and New York City. Warner Bros. has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, TheWB.com, HBO, Cinemax, CNN, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT, TCM, and DC Comics.

They have media-cross owner ship and therefore a lot off finance! They produce big budget films and are a very well-established and recognized company. People recognize this company from all ages. If we got Warner Bros to distribute our product it will be very beneficial to us since the audience will trust the film to be good.

Logo

The background is of clouds giving it a peaceful and calm feel and the colours give off a fun vibe. The colours are blue and orange. There is no such image for the logo but the writing of the company is written in a way which almost makes it a picture. I like the way the text is written in that way and we may incorporate this style.

METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER

This is a very old producing company and yet not the most well-known name. The logo of this company is way more popular and is a moving image. I am sure if people saw the image of the lion they will instantly recognise the institution which shows the importance of an image with the text.

The background is black with gold writing and a circle. The institution name also includes ‘gold’ and therefore it is clever to use this colour.

Analysing Shots and Edits

Scenes for Inspiration

By researching real media products I have gained a huge amount of inspiration and ideas for our own media product. Here are the shot and scenes from various opening sequences which I have drawn inspiration from my own opening sequence:

These are some shots and edit which I have gained inspiration and could incorporate in our final product:

TWILIGHT NEGATIVE FLASH

This is a scene from the 2008 film Twilight. I found this clip to be effective because it goes from normal digital colour to a sepia/ negative edit, which creates panic. This is an edit, which I can incorporate in our opening sequence.

BEHIND TREE IN TWILIGHT

This is another scene from Twilight. This is a forest scene, which is a typical location for thrillers and horrors. Twilight is a fantasy film however includes similar codes and conventions. In this shot the camera come from behind the tree onto the actors. It gives the illusion that there is someone watching.

ESTABLISHING SHOT FROM STAR TREK

This is an establishing shot from the sci-fi film star trek. It is a crane shot which shows the city. This allows the audience to know the area and gives them a better understanding of the scene, which is about to come. This would be difficult shot for my group to carry out as a crane would clearly be out of our league. However, an establishing shot is possible and could be used!

Questionnaire 2

We will be carrying out another questionnaire to help us with the production of our horror film opening sequence. We will ask our target market to know exactly what they want.


1. What is your favourite horror film?
Scream The Exorcist The Ring Jeepers Creepers Creep

This question enables us to use other films to gain inspiration and ideas for our film.

2. What type of horror movies do you like?
Psychological Gory Thriller

We are asking this question to determine what area of horror our film should be about so that appeals to our target audience.

3. What attracts you to horror films?
Actors Storyline Trailer Film Poster Website Magazine

This question shows what is essential for us to put in our own film. Also, what codes and conventions we should follow.

4. What grabs your attention when watching the opening sequence which makes you want to watch more?
Music Actors Suspense Action Scenes Camera Work

Attracting our audience will be very important for us, when creating our opening sequence we need to know what scenes we should include so that it draws in our audience.

5. What do think is the most important aspect of a film?
Actors Set/Location Plot Music

This shows us what we should include most of in our own work to appeal to our audience.

6. Have you ever been influenced to watch a film after seeing its poster?
Yes No

This question shows us how important the poster actually is. It may show that we should include more information in the opening sequence than we should in the poster because it will be more influential.

7. Do you read film magazines?
Yes No

8. Do you watch films after seeing their advertisement in the magazine?
Yes No

This shows us how we should portray our film on the front cover of our magazine.

9. What is the best way to build suspense in a film opening sequence?
Music Short Scenes Dialogue Long Scenes

This will help us when we are filming and editing because we will know whether to include short scenes or longer scenes. Also whether silence or music helps build tension more.

10. What image would you like to see on a horror film poster?
Actors Location Graphic Images Only Images Only Text

This will help us decide what should be put on the poster that we will create for our movie.

Todorovs Narrative Theory

Background:

Tzvetan Todorov is a Franco-Bulgarian philosopher. He has lived in France since 1963 writing books and essays about literary theory, thought history and culture theory.

Here is a brief diagram of his 'Narrative Theory':

Conventions of Opening Sequences

-Opening sequences are a vital element in film marketing as the first minutes will captivate the audiences’ attention; viewer decided to watch the rest or not

- Creates immediate interest in the film from the start

-Does not give away crucial elements; some opening sequences are criticised for giving away too much detail

-Opening credits placed at the beginning of film. The purpose of this is to inform viewers what is expected in the film; audience often decide to watch a film based on the actors in it.

-Title and release date placed at end of film

-Names of directors and/or producers are embedded; phrases such as ‘from the creator of...’. The main intention of this is for spectators to make connections between the film about to be viewed and previous successful and recognised films by the same director/producer.

-Powerful voiceover may be present to captivate attention of viewers; pungent voice emphasises key elements of the film.

-Music is essential as it portrays genre, style and plot of film. Music is used in a clever manner to bring the opening sequence together.

Audience Pleasure of Horror Movies

After watching various horror films (The Shining, The Orphan, The Strangers and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Our group studied the films, and below is the key conventions we found:

v  Moon

v  Black Background title

v  Mirror

v  Drugs

v  Physiatrists

v  Looking from a point of view out of a window

v  Forest

v  Creaking Doors

v  Swings

v  Fireplace

v  Fire

v  Mobile phone

v  Torchlight

v  Silhouette

v  Knife

v  Stranger in mask

Extracts found from the 'Hammer and beyond British Horror' written by Peter Hutchings

‘Horror tends to be identified as a means by which an audience comes to terms with certain unpleasant aspects of reality. Horror film teaches an acceptance of natural order of things and an affirmation of mans’ ability to cope with an ever prevail over the evil of life which he can never understand.’

‘Horror sequences are really formulaic rituals coded with precise social information needed by adolescent audience.’

‘The psychopath tends to be a masculine as this is stereotyped as being the more dominant gender.’

‘Horror tends to include visible stress, acts of violence, predominantly adolescence audience and morbid themes.’

Our group acknowledged this statement by Peter Hutchings and tried to embed it into our extract. The psychopath in our extract is Arron Mallory. We decided to use him as he is masculine character, and this follows the general codes and conventions of horror as the character is the more dominant gender.

We have also portrayed visible stress from the protagonist in the extract, by screaming and distressed facial expression.

Research into Horror Films

Horror films are designed to:

v  Frighten and panic

v  Cause dread and alarm

v  Invoke our hidden worst fear

v  Captivate and entertain us in a cathartic experience

v  May conclude in a terrifying finale which shocks the audience

Fears created by horrors:

v  Nightmares

v  Our vulnerability

v  Alienation

v  Revulsions

v  Terror of the unknown

v  Fear of death

v  Loss of identity

v  Fear of sexuality

Convention of characters:

v  Lead character becomes the survivor of the film

v  Killer monster often has a trademark of the people he kills or the weapon used

v  2 characters are in a conflict – good vs evil

v  Good person survives and defeats the ‘baddie’

General conventions:

v  Isolated location

v  Female victim

v  Disruption of normality

v  Sub plot of male/female relationship

v  Defeat of monster

Conventions of Opening Sequences

-Opening sequences are a vital element in film marketing as the first minutes will captivate the audiences’ attention; viewer decided to watch the rest or not

- Creates immediate interest in the film from the start

-Does not give away crucial elements; some opening sequences are criticised for giving away too much detail

-Opening credits placed at the beginning of film. The purpose of this is to inform viewers what is expected in the film; audience often decide to watch a film based on the actors in it.

-Title and release date placed at end of film

-Names of directors and/or producers are embedded; phrases such as ‘from the creator of...’. The main intention of this is for spectators to make connections between the film about to be viewed and previous successful and recognised films by the same director/producer.

-Powerful voiceover may be present to captivate attention of viewers; pungent voice emphasises key elements of the film.

-Music is essential as it portrays genre, style and plot of film. Music is used in a clever manner to bring the opening sequence together.

Meeting 1

In our first meeting, we believed it was essential to discuss the genres within the film Industry. This would enable us to decide what genre our moving extract should be, and also allow us to think of idea of our narrative easily. Below is a spider diagram we created, presenting various genres:

We came to a decisive conclsion that our opening sequence would portay the genre of Horror. Therefore we investigated the different sub-genres within Horror.


How we done this: 
- We watched several horror films, in order to understand the principles & conventions needed to produce a successful opening sequence.
- Through the viewing of these opening sequences; we were able to analyse the concept for each film.
- This enabled us to conclude that there are five main sub-genres within Horror.


The five sub-genres are as follows: 
-Psychological
-Religious
-Based upon True Story
-Gore
-Monster