Research: Film Openings (9 Frames title sequence analysis) (Anna Gajda)

Research: Film openings- Institutional

Creed(2015,Ryan Coogler):

Observations and analysis:

• The title at the start is shown as dirty and damaged which could highlight the character being damaged and hurt but near the end it changes to the title being cleaner and solid which means that he's stronger and not so damaged and tainted.
• The start shows him as a child with a beaten face and then it goes to him being a strong toned man getting ready to fight he's wrapping his arm this is important to show him being stronger.
• 17 titles which show the most important information  which is needed it highlights the main distributors first so the people can have a image or idea of what the film could be about based on the distributors and then it goes to actors and his name is repeated last
• Still image with editing of the words zooming into the audience and the words are white on the dark background showing the power and strength of the character
• The film opening establishes itself through what the audience sees, we as an audience can see the credits from the start informing us who its made by we see the title twice so that it stays in our mind as its the last thing we see.
• The soundtrack( audio line) is shown with one song played from a slow piano at the start then it builds up gradually adding in guitar and a modern beat to make it appealing to young demographics. The audio builds up nearer to the end with vocals being joined in when the woman is shown which highlights her being the singer and empowering the main character as it  intensified when the still of them together is shown.
• The visual line is mainly still images flashing with sound to represent power and the film is made with flashing colours blue, red, green colours which with the images establishes the narrative of the film being a boxing one
• The location is established from the still shots due to the shots being located locally in america and its more focused on inside a fighting ring which also helps to establish the characters through the visual line as we can see the main character having a trainer and a girl which allows us to create a connection between them
• Mise en scene is used in this to create a setting of a boxing ring and the life of a man who trains to be one of the best, he has more modern, street clothes such as Jordans and tracksuits
• The editing of the film creates an gradient of navy blue to create a sense of it being a collection of photos being viewed it also has a blur to create a sense of time being passed.
• Nerve (2016, Jessica Sharzer):

Evaluation/Observation:

• Title is seen at the end of the film, this is purposely placed at the end as its the last thing we see which makes it stick into out minds for longer.
• The editing consisted of modern technology being implemented into the staff names such as emojis, loading buttons, sparkles and in different fonts to make it more modern to younger demographics which the film aims its audience on.
• The institutional line has 20 credits which includes most important names who participated in making the film however In my opinion i think that they have included way to much staff credits and should have included some stills of the film or the characters shown instead of it being mainly names being edited on a black canvas. However they included the names in a creative way of if the name had duty over costume then they would edit the name to look more fashionable like a patterned name or emojis which was used in the case to show how the name linked over that specific job
• Each credit had its own name personalised to the way and the job they had, this is creative and innovative as they had a personal touch added to it which would appeal to the audience. The institutional line work best together when its linked with the Audio line and Visual line but in this case the institutional line works best on its own its has its own personal touch and makes it unique in the way they are portraying their film which appeals to the audience due to it linking modern technology to the names.
• When it gets to Dave Franco and Emma Roberts name they added special effects to it to create a sense of personality out of it, Dave Franco has his name in blue which creates an effect of him being the angel and good one which contrasts with Emma Roberts name which is shown with red with flames highlighting her being the evil and more daredevil.
• The visual line is what the audience sees and throughout the film, we see no images of the actors,setting or even no narrative to whats happening, none of that is shown just editing on the screen. This is where they use the smart idea of adding modern technology to create an image to match their name.
• The audio line has a song which has a catchy beat going along it throughout the trailer and it quiets down the closer it gets to the end of the credits and when the title reveals itself.
• Additionally there are sounds which are added from a soundboard to create more effect such as the first credit had the apple loading icon with was coupled with the loading noise to create verisimilitude this also occurred with the construction icons which had a amplified sound of building materials such as a hammer and a drill being used to create effect, this occurred with the hacking noise, sparkle noise, click sounds, scroll sound and water/fire sounds for the two main actors 

Conclusion:

Film openings allow us as an audience to get a taste of the film, we can see which characters are who, what their situation is and what lead them to that situation. Most trailers which are thriller do well without a narrative but leave it to the credits and institutional line to explain when, where and how the characters got there. Additionally the use of the celebrities names in big writing can intrigue certain audiences as they might watch the film due to the star that is starring in the film which would bring a wider audience to watch .Such credits on screen actually allow us to get to know the producer/director of the films and with the knowledge of the producer next time we see a film by him we will remember the one we have seen before which can give us an  idea on what style the film is. The Film openings also should include the distributors such as Lions gate which allow the audience to have an idea on what the film could be about due to the previous films we have seen with such logo. So for film openings its crucial to have, the directors name at least twice and the name of the film twice to make it the first and last thing they remember, depending on genre there should be characters names besides the character they play in film to establish a connection between them two.

Key things to include in a opening of film:

• Director and producer names-whole staff not needed
• Actors names
• Location
• Narrative
• Audio
• Sound effects
• Some dialogue
• Quick flashy pics of the film
• Title &Credits