Analysis of opening credits.

Today I'm going to be analysing opening credits from post-apocalyptic films. The websites I will be using to get the titles from are- http://www.artofthetitle.com/titles/ and http://www.watchthetitles.com/collections/Film, take a look!

The first opening credits sequence I will be analysing is Pacific Rim, a recent post-apocalyptic film about robots invading earth.
Pacific Rim (2013) — Art of the Title

The order of the titles are as follows:

• T1-00.02-DIRECTED BY.
• T2-00.08-SCREENPLAY BY.
• T3-00.13-STORY BY.
• T4-00.20-PRODUCED BY. (1)
• T5-00.25-PRODUCED BY. (2)
• T6-00.30-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER.
• T7-00.37-DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
• T8-00.43-PRODUCTION DESIGNERS
• T9-00.47-EDITED BY.
• T10-00.52-MUSIC BY.
• T11-00.56-COSTUMES DESIGNED BY.
• T12-01.01-CO-PRODUCER
• T13-01.06-CASTING BY.
• T14-01.12-VISUAL EFFECTS SUPIVISOR. (1)
• T15-01.16-VISUAL EFFECTS SUPIVISOR. (2)
• T16-01.22-ANIMATION SUPIVISOR.
• T17-01.27-ACTOR (1) TO ACTOR (12)-02.02-T24.
• T25-02.06-PRODUCTION COMPANIES.
• T26-02.11-PRODUCTION COMPANIES.
• T27-02.16-PRODUCTION COMPANY.
• T28-02.22-TITLE OF THE FILM.

As you can see the titles have a specific order and a specific time they come on, this will be planned before hand for a reason. After analysing the terminator title sequence and pacific rim I have noticed some patterns that occur in the titles. For example the director always comes at the start of the titles or at the end maybe because of the importance of his role. Furthermore the titles always come close to each other minimum 4 seconds apart and maximum 7 seconds apart. Finally the titles are always in organised form and are grouped together when they come on. I have gained a lot of information from analysing these titles and will use this when creating my title sequence for my final video.

Researching Film openings/scenes - Mise en Scene.

Today I am going to be analysing how Mise en Scene is used in my chosen genre (post-apocalyptic). Mise en Scene refers to everything that goes into the composition of the shot including:

• Lighting
• Sound
• Costumes
• Editing
• Props
• Camera Shots/Angles
• Set Design
• Cinematography   
• Locations

Basically everything included in the scene...

Today I am going to be analysing a short clip from Battle los angles on how Mise en Scene is used for effect on the viewer. Battle Los Angles is a post apocalyptic film about a squadron of U.S marines who become the last line of defence against a global invasion. Here is my Prezi informing you on how Mise en Scene is used in this film opening, hope you enjoy!

Researching Film openings/scenes - Special Effects.

Today I am going to be analysing special effects in post-apocalyptic movies. Special effects are visual or sound effects that are introduced into a motion picture. Special effects or (SFX) are used in the film and entertainment industry to create effects that cannot be achieved my normal means, such as travel to other star systems. They are also used when creating the effect by normal means is prohibitively expensive, such as an enormous explosion. Special effects are used frequently in post-apocalyptic movie's to make them realistic and visually interesting.

Today I'm going to be analysing a scene from War of the worlds. War of the worlds is a film out an alien invasion and what takes place during and after the attacks :

             
    This film uses special effects all the way through the movie. Special effects are a key part to play in this movie as you will see by the use of them in this scene.

Straight away the scene uses special effects as you can see from (0.00-0.10). Firstly you can see there is a giant robot alien in the scene, special effects are blaintintly being used here to create the visual effect that the robot is real. Along with this there is a sound effect being used when there is a long shot of the robot, sound effects are used to make the scene more realistic, the sound effect used in this clip is a loud mechanical trumpeting this is used to make the viewer know the robot is going to act and that something bad is going to happen. From 0.10-0.40 there is also another sound effect being used, this sound is to the viewers eyes coming from the robot and is a whirring sound, as the seconds go on the whirring intensifies giving the viewer an indication that the robot is doing something and is about to attack. Furthermore after the whirring sound occurs there it is then followed by a zapping sound. In this scene the zapping sound is accompanied by another special effect, this time it is a beam of light interpreted by the viewer as a laser.  As the laser hits the people they disappear into a cloud of ashes this is another special effect that is being used. In addition to this there are many special effects used from (1.00-2.10) for example sound effects such as explosions, smashing glass sounds, screeching and the sound again mechanical sounds coming from the robot. There is also special effects such as fire, props being destroyed and again the robot patrolling the streets.

Overall this scene is jam packed full of special effects. Special effects are key aspects in many films making the scene more realistic and visually interesting along with the sound effects to accompany the visual effects. Special effects are one of the many conventions of post-apocalyptic films. The special effects in this scene are used very effectively in creating an immerse experience for the viewer.                                                                                                                                                                           

Researching Film openings/scenes - Shot types/Distances.

Today I am going to be analysing Shot types and Distances. I have chosen a scene from Battleship another post-apocalyptic film about an alien invasion. Here is the scene:


There are various Shot types and distances in this scene for exmaple the shots used are:
- close up
- long shot
- over the shoulder shot
- low angle
- high angle
- establisghing shot
- medium shot
- POV

Becuase the scene is at sea the distance of the shots are far away. Most of the shots are from a far distance as the props are massive. The scene also uses long distance shots so you can see the scale of the attack. Usually post-apocalyptic films uses long distance shots because of the massive props and special effect used in the movies such as UFO's and nuclear bomb explosions.

Researching Film openings/scenes - Edititng.

Today I am going to be analysing editing used in post-apocalyptic movies. Editing is how scenes are cut and fitted together. I have picked a scene from the post-apocalyptic movie World War Z. Here is the scene I will be analysing:


The Scene lasts for 1:33 and shows lots of different camera shots and editing. The editing used in the scene is very fast paced with quick cuts between each shot, this is used for effect on the viewer. For example quick editing makes the scene look more exhilarating and fits to the action. Because this is a zombie outbreak is makes the scene look panicked as the shots are so quick one after the other. A variety of camera angles are also used in the scene, for example from 0.00 to 15.00 there is a long shot, to a close up, to a tracking shot from a high angle, to a zooming shot. Lots of camera angles and movement are used in quick succession to make it look more action packed. The editing is fast for a specific reason.

Furthermore there is a lot of movement from the camera, this is a convention of post-apocalyptic movies, camera movement is used in this scene to track the running people and the vicious attacks in the scene.

Overall the editing in this scene is very choppy and fast paced, we may used some fast editing in the opening however not a lot because the opening needs to build the mystery to the film and create tension therefore we don't want it to fast.

Analysing title sequences.

Today I analysed a title sequence from 'the terminator'. I wanted to analyse a title sequence from a post-apocalyptic film to help me with my title sequence for my film. I found the title sequence on this website - http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-terminator/ This website comes in handy as it shows you a range of different title sequence's to fit my chosen genre, which is great because it gives me lots of ideas that I can use in my title sequence for my movie opening.

The things I am looking for are the order of the title's, the time between each title appearance, the speed in which the title comes up, the font of the titles, how big the font is, the editing, the camera shots used in showing the titles, and the music used.

I have made a timeline of the title sequence to help me break down how it works and what title comes where, here it is!

I have made the timeline to look like a heartbeat sensor to suit my genre of post-apocalyptic and in fact terminator the film. From doing this I have gained more knowledge on how title sequences work and I now have a good idea on how to create one for my film.

Researching Film openings/scenes - Lighting.

Today I am going to be researching into lighting according to my chosen genre which is post-apocalyptic.
The Film I have chosen to analyse is The Road. I have found a website to help me analyse every separate shot, the website is very useful as it is a blog that shows you every single scene in the movie, here is the link! - http://evanerichards.com/2012/2571

The opening three shots of the film have high key lighting, the man is standing outside and it is a very bright summers day, however in this scene the character is obviously dreaming because as I have found out in my research the conventions of a post-apocalyptic movies are low key lighting and straight away after the first scene there is a transition to dark lighting. For example the start goes from light to dark very quickly:

 shot 3 to shot 4 transition...



      After this the opening has very dark lighting which suits the genre of the film. .Low key lighting is used to create tension and enigma throughout the film. Post-apocalyptic films have dark imagery and therefore needs dark lighting to suit it. For example these are the fifth and sixth shots in the film...

             shot 5 and shot 6

 Overall the lighting in this film is dark and gloomy also like many of the other post-apocalyptic films I have analysed. From lighting research I have found that low key lighting is common and the transition from light to dark therefore I will include this in my film.