Title Sequence Research

 First title sequence: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

This title sequence was very dynamic and had a lot going on, which could be overwhelming for some audiences. It featured a comic-style look while staying consistent with the patterns of Spider-Man. Spider-Man was shown throughout the entire sequence, really emphasizing his importance. The credits were displayed in a comic-style font, which matched the design of the sequence. The music was adventurous and complemented the action, as Spider-Man or the camera moved dynamically. This was also an animated title sequence, which is more complex than a live-action shot sequence. There was a rise and fall throughout the sequence. Since the sequence mainly featured the same comic-style look with Spider-Man, the animators added variety by shifting the scenes from something boring to something more interesting to capture the audience's attention. The rap and electronic music matched the theme of what was being shown. At the end, after the comics were displayed, the title appeared with a beat drop and a black screen, signaling that the movie was about to start. Overall, I’d rate it 7/10.

Second title sequence: Terrifier 2 (2022)

This relates similar to the genre that is going to be in my final project. The genre is horror, now even though this is not the exact vibe we are going for it's similar. The sequence starts off with the protagonist, art the clown, cleaning a mess in a laundry mat in which he finishes, and then as he is walking we see a dead body he has killed (it is implied) and then the screen turns to black. Where the eerie music and vibe that was present disappears and we see a young woman/girl making a costume and in the beginning of this the objects in her room are shown to introduce a new setting. It's off putting because we just saw a dead man and now it cuts to a calm unbothered lady who is making a costume and that is all that is shown during the title sequence after the showing the dead man. The title actual title was shown after the dead man was shown then followed by the lady making the costume which was very unsettling and honestly, something my group might go after since it's so eerie. All the credits were introduced where harshly with the screen cutting to black every time and showing them in bold red letters, symbolizing that even tho the scene of the girl is cute nothing about what is going to happen beyond this title sequence will be happy. The music they use for the cute girl scene is in a way young, pop, and exciting but also unsettling because the music is a low-beat song so it feel like there isn't something right with what is being shown and what is being played. The ending was a simple presentation of showing what the girl made, and they were angel wings and some amour, when they were shown the music stopped, fading out as she blew the candles around it out. Possibly signifying her peaceful light of life is out? I wouldn't completely know tho because I haven't seen the whole movie, just clips. Overall an 8/10.

Third title sequence: La La Land (2016)

This third sequence begins with music, showing traffic on a highway and zooming in on a girl humming, then singing. She gets out of her car and starts performing a musical act. Others join her from the cars in the traffic, and they all dance and sing. The entire sequence was joyful and enjoyable to watch, as it was upbeat and energetic with lots of music. The credits were smoothly incorporated with fade-in and fade-out transitions. The scene was vibrant and filled with colors. The title was large, dramatic, gold, and in a way, vintage, and it appeared at the very end of the sequence. Before the sequence shows the actual title, it ends with all the singers returning to their cars and closing their doors on a beat drop, shifting everything from a bubbly, fun musical back to the mundane traffic, with honking and people complaining. The camera then zooms in to show a young man struggling with his radio to choose a song. The camera moves out to reveal the full scene of cars on the road before displaying the movie title. This was honestly very different and unique compared to most title sequences I’ve reviewed, and although many have been unique, this one was the simplest yet most impactful. It demonstrates that with the right movement of the camera and the right elements shown and heard, you can quickly capture the audience's attention. I believe that with how the music was portrayed and the classic font used, nothing detracted from the theme conveyed throughout the title sequence. Overall, I’d rate it 9/10.

Brainstorming

    

My group with Abby, Jadelyn, and Haaniya have all discussed that we wanted something classic or potentially older. We liked this idea because we all like the 2000's and older movies as they all have such a different feeling compared to newer ones which feel less intriguing. The overall three ideas that were being discussed were either first, a trad wife and her story of how she kills her husband that day for the reason that she works for an assassination company that kills specifically men who have done wrong. The other idea brainstormed was a boy who breaks into a house with his friends but it's actually his mom's house that he didn't recognize from all his bad influence over the past few years with his terrible friends. The third idea was completely different which was about a girls death anniversary and her story of her living her life every day as a ghost but having to endure being completely invisible to her loved ones, but one thing can see her. We are currently majorly considering action for any film that we do, although the issue is that the filming will be difficult because of how rapid it would be. Not only that, but it can also be difficult because it could result in potentially getting hurt for the actors since we are not professionals. That was the main issue with the second idea. The issue with drama is that it is hard to get the audience's attention if the film isn't balanced and interesting with all the elements, via the issue for the second idea. It needs to be just right to capture an audience. The positives of action are that the audience's attention can be captured easily and it is fun to film as much is going on. Positives for drama would be that it is much easier to film and it is more intimate for the audience. However, we found that a balance between the two would be perfect for the third idea. Now, since this idea isn't that much of an action idea we can rule those out. But this film idea is more dramatic but eerie, the edge-of-the-seat feeling. We have gathered it's the perfect way to get the attention of the audience and a grader to who needs something exciting to have it stand out.

Former student work

 Roll call:

Some weakness of Roll call were some shaky camera work which was distracting from what was occurring in the scene, the mug shots that were shown were too out of the frame, the showing of the title in the opening looked out of place, one actor had broken the third wall and looked at the camera while talking. Some strengths were the camera zooms were very good and they were stable, the props were utilized correctly which enhanced the film, and the acting for the most part of professional.

New everything:

New everything was in my opinion was a little sloppy for the reasons of the weaknesses being the transitions were sloppy, shaky camera work, sound quality was bad, it seemed very uninteresting as the story had no dynamics or something that made it stand out. The strengths of this were that at times the lighting had focused on the main character and the story had a structure to what was happening to it was easily understood.

Dreamland: 

In Dreamland the many strengths were that the scene was very established to what was happening, there was creative use of camera skills and editing, great camera quality, appropriate use of camera shots. Some of the couple weaknesses that were in this film were that it was a little unstructured and it relied a lot fo reversing for the first half of the opening scenes.

Dear Lover:

Dear lover was a very interesting film opener as the story was well established by the use of many scenes in such a short time, the explanation of the story was clear, various  types of camera shots, and it left the audience easing for what would happen next. The weaknesses were that the camera work was shaky, lighting was too broad and had no dynamics to it.

Dare to thrill:

Dare to thrill was my personal favorites for its many strengths such as great use of music, the advantage of editing in words, the dynamic and focused camera movement, the engage to the audience through excitement, properly setting the scene, putting the title in at a proper time and not an awkward one, and lastly leaving the audience of edge leaving them yearning for more. I have found no weaknesses for this movie opener.

Group members

 

Group member #1: Jadelyn Rodriguez

I chose Jadelyn Rodriguez because she shares most of my music and TV/Show interests. She also has delicious taste when it comes to the art of music and television, so her influence would be great in creating an awesome A-grade Cambridge video submission. She is also someone I have gotten closer to since I was a freshman and she was a sophomore, we were partners in debate together which caused us to spend time together very often. I never feel uncomfortable when I am with her, so working with her would be much more of a pleasure than work!

Group member #2: Abigail Natino (Abby)

I chose Abigail Natino for the reason she is like a big sister who always tries to help out. I know this project is a team effort that requires all hands, and I know for a fact she will not leave me behind. I have known Abby for a year now, and I am close with her family as well as our shared friends. She has a great amount of loyalty in her heart, so it's a fact I can count on her. She is trustworthy and reliable to do her work to help our group get an exciting A-grade.

Group member #3: Haaniya Imran

I chose Haaniya Imran because of our close humorous friendship, I believe with our healthy relationship of just understanding one another very well we will be able to work diligently and spice up our video submission. I have introduced Haaniya to my friends Jadelyn and Abby as they do not know her, but I've known Haaniya for five close years, it is very confident to say she will not be unhelpful in our group. She gets along very well, and goes with the flow with whatever comes her way. We need someone caring like her, but yet not caring when things get in the way. She knows how to easily overcome obstacles and find the best in things. 

Story Boarding (Written Blog post ONLY)

 

I've learned that storyboarding is actually pretty fun but a little tedious, definitely something that I wouldn't want to do as a career but it seems like something I'd have fun doing if I made a short film, not a whole movie. Storyboarding allows the director to visually see what the producers are looking for and determine test runs to see how smoothly the scene will actually look before actually filming them. It saves lots of time for directors when filming so they can get what is actually valuable filmed and done. The only challenge I faced with the storyboarding was how time-consuming it was and the drawing as I am someone who does draw often I struggle to create something as close to what I want in my head as my creativity in drawing people lacks a lot. As well as it is just something I don't find as interesting so those were the only things I struggled with during storyboarding. But it was overall a cool experience to draw out a movie that I enjoy!  

Story Boarding (Pictures and link to Movie clip ONLY)

 

Movie I Storyboarded on

Movie name: 500 days of summer

(There is one bad word that I apologize for)

Mis en Scene (Stranger things, Season 3 E4: The sauna Test 2019)

Costume: The character (Eleven) is wearing what seems to be pajamas that is indicated by her brushing her teeth in a dark environment, she is probably about to go to sleep.

Location: The scene does not tell us much about where is set at, so it is not possible to tell where she is aside from a bathroom. Although, from me already watching the show this takes place in a town called Hawkins in Indiana.

Setting: Eleven is in a bathroom brushing her teeth, the bathroom seems to be a causal household one saying she is most likely in a household with a family living in it.

Scenery: Directors made this scenery look homey, and like it is a bathroom that is currently in use by people. The house she is in is clearly not lonely.

Props: To give context to what Eleven is doing the actor is holding a prop of a toothbrush and is brushing her teeth while leaning her hand on what seems to be a bathroom counter, it is most likely the end of the day and she is brushing her teeth at night.

Lighting: The light seems to be mainly on eleven and the items next to her but darker in the back area and bottom of her. 

Actors: The actor in this scene is Millie Bobby Brown, she was around 15 when filming this season.

Framing: The actor is to the left side of the screen and the props are shown onto the side of the right so we can see what is surrounding her environment and where she is. From seeing both the props and the character from the framing including them both we understand where she is.

Costume: The characters seems to wear simple clothes that are about to be slept in since they are also in a bed. Max, the girl to the right is wearing something teal and the girl to the left, Eleven, is weating a stripped shirt. We cannot see further from there of what they are wearing.

Location: The location again is hard to understand where they are outside of the bedroom because we only see the bedroom but like before I know we are in Hawkins, Indiana from my own knowledge.

Setting: The setting takes place in a bedroom and most likely a house, since the environment seems so comfortable. I take this from the bed the girls are on and the nightstands, plus decor around the room.

Scenery: The scenery is purposely made to look homey and have a warm feeling, the surroundings are covered in posters and a filled nightstand to make it seem this a safe space.

Props: Character, Max, is holding a magazine to show her friend. But even tho those seem interesting, she is focused on what Eleven is saying so maybe something has caught her attention.

Lighting: The lighting is focused on the two characters, but mainly Eleven who is. possibly because she is expressing something out to Max. The frame's border is darker which shows the rest of the room is irrelevant at the moment.

Actors: Millie Bobby Bronw as Eleven at around 15 years old while filming. Sadie Sink at around 16 years old while filming. Max looks eager to listen and Eleven seems worried.

Framing: The girls are in the middle area of the frame and all the props around them seems to be irrelevant from the girls being the main focus.

Costume: Robin, the girl, seems to be wearing a sailor outfit but an actual costume instead of a real sailor's outfit. She also has a bag on her shoulder, she seems to be going somewhere. The charecters in the back wear vibrant clothes, they are possibly in a timeline that is not ours since the clothes look very 80's style.

Location: This place looks like a mall so outside of this the location is most likely a city with many people. The mall look busy so most likely there are many people in this city.

Setting: The setting takes place in a mall, since we can see how busy it is and the stores surrounding the main character. There are also bags in peoples hands. 

Scenery: The people in the back are arranged causally as if they have no importance but they are important because this is a busy 80's mall. The environment is also purposely very vibrant to make it seem like this place is alive. 

Props: The only props that are really relevant is the bag on robins shoulder, which tells us that she is going somewhere with something possibly important in the bag. 

Lighting: The lighting is bright everywhere but the focus is on robin so we only focus on her but know the environment is in, is busy. There is a contrast of dark, light, dark. If you look you can see the places in the back are dark but then the people in the middle have very bright lighting but then Robin has darker lighting. Yet, it focuses on her still.

Actors: Robin looks shocked and like she is excited to rush. She is played by Maya Hawke was around 20 when she was filming to play Robin.

Framing: Robin is in the middle since she is the focus and the background characters are in her back while the stores are even further back. Although they don't play much of a place in this scene other than establishing this is a mall.

Costume: Dustin (right) and Steve (left) are both wearing vibrant outfits. Steven is wearing what Robin was wearing, an imitated costume version of a sailor's outfit. Dustin is wearing a yellow shirt with a jean vest and a yellow hat over his head. 

Location: Since this seems to be an ice cream parlor these characters are most likely in a city full of people who get ice cream often. However, that is only taken from what is shown. 

Setting: This is ice cream parlor so this could take place in a mall, or in a plaza.  However if it's an up and running as ice cream store then it should be busy with costumers. So it is a busy ice cream parlor. 

Scenery: The characters are surrounded by toppings for ice cream and bananas, which help the viewers see this is an ice cream store. They also have the boys behind the counter, which means they have the power to scoop the ice cream, this helps us understand one of them or both may work there. The door behind them is also slightly opening, so they could've just walked out. 

Props: The characters are holding no props but are surrounded by a bunch of ice cream toppings, cones, bananas to give context to the audience of where they are.

Lighting: Lighting is broadly on the two characters who the main attraction from them being in the middle but also light is bright os it clearly shows them in the frame to be seen.

Actors: Steven looks confused, and Dustin looks zoned out. Joe Keery, who played Steve, was around 26 when filming Stranger Things, and Gaten Matarazzo, who played Dustin, was around 16 when filming.

Framing: The boys are in the middle while the toppings surround them, they are behind the counter and are looking at something in front of them. They also have a door behind them with a back area connected to it.

Costume: The three characters are all wearing business outfits, now even though the boys are wearing outfits you could possibly seem in the modern day the girl is wearing something that is 80's themed so they are possibly in the 80's her hairstyle also gives it away. The man standing has his sleeves up, he is possibly hot and not feeling well.

Location: This is a office, so from that I can create sense of them being in a city or town that has an office working area within it. 

Setting: These three business workers are in a office that is enclosed, so they are in a private environment having a conversation with this man. The blinds have light shining out of them, it is daytime. 

Scenery: They had made the scene look filled with business items so it is obvious this environment is serious and a workplace for possibly this man since he is the one behind the desk with all the props facing him.

Props: Props are causal business items one would find in an office. There is also a fan pointing at the man with his sleeves up, indicating he is hot. No characters are actually holding props, but the items such as the desk in bookshelf mean this man is hard working and has what we cal today vintage desk items as this is placed in the 80's

Lighting: The light is mainly coming from the blinds, which may mean that since the room they are in is darker, it might not be safe for them to be inside. But there is still light on the man  which is honestly more focused on him than the other characters, so the audience is meant to see what is happening with Tom, the guys who is standing, than Nancy and Jonathan. Nancy in purple, Jonathan next to her. There is alos a lot of light focussed on his desk.

Actors: Nancy seems concerned, Jonathan seems stressed, and Tom seems upset. Micheal Park who played Tom was around 50 during filming. Charlie Heaton was around 25 when he played Jonathan. Natalia Dyer was around 24 when she played Nancy.

Framing: The actors who are sitting seems to be in a weaker area since they are sitting down and Tom is basically standing and is on the upper area of the desk. In this from we see the whole environment and what room they are in and how enclosed they are as well. They seem like they are in trouble from how Nancys expression and how powerless she looks compared to Tom, same for Jonathan.

Mood Board: Home Alone (1990)

 

Mood board: Home Alone

The mood board I present today is one on Home Alone. How these pictures relate to Home Alone is mainly the aesthetic and certain scenes within the movie. Home Alone is a Christmas movie set in the 1980s, so I went for a vintage 80s Christmas vibe, such as how the Christmas trees looked then, how the airports looked, upper-class houses, churches, inside house decorations, and outside. As well as items that were showed through the movie such as a robe, stockings, milk and cookies, ornaments, and a telephone. The mood of the movie so a very warm and comforting with some mischief, overall though the warmth of the cameras lighting and vintage Christmas feel of this movie rely on pictures that relate to the ones that I have used that give that vibe. By using such photos with a warm filter over them and Christmas photos that have been placed in the 80's with that somewhat bad quality effect, conveys that comforting feeling the movies gives. The pictures relate strongly to Christmas, the settings in the movies, and objects found throughout. The big glamorous Christmas tree for example is what glows throughout the movie, so without that the movie would loose some exciting feeling but with it, it gives such a stronger effect of what the movie means to the audience. Same goes for the rest of the objects used in the mood board. The photos provide is what are needed to create the cozy magic feeling.

Sound story

 

Sound story

Foley video

Script

My experience with the sound story

The sound story my partner and I created is based off a French bakery with is settled in Paris. The story presents a regular day for the Bakery of making baked goods for the customers before the bakery opens, the bakery then opens and a customer purchases a croissant. My partner and I used pre-made audios from youtube as well as our own foleys to create our sound story. It took a lot of time to do but honestly wasn't too difficult. My job was to send all the videos to my partner while she put it together, I had to make sure my sound blended well and was cohesive. We used I-Movie to create our sound story which is only found on apple devices on the app store. I have learned that this is an essential part in movies, if I only needed sound to paint out what a scene looks like I cannot imagine what movies would look like if there was a lack of sound. I also learned why movies take so long to create, sound is an important part of the big picture. A one minute segment took around 3 Hours too make I cant believe a 2 hour movie. This wasn't difficult to do, just time and brain consuming. Based on my previous editing experiences in this class and outside this was harder, as this was limited to only sound and not pictures/videos as well.

Home Alone (1990)

 

Hip Level Shot

This scene is in the beginning of the movie, we are first being introduced to a character who later on is relevant and important to this story. By zooming in closer on this character the watcher may now feel fixated on who this is, giving importance to this character. Without having this position of angle I probably wouldn't have focussed so much on who he was. This foreshadows what this character may now possibly bring for the rest of the movie. The emotions being curious of what may happen later from this police officer introduced.

Shoulder level shot

The closeness of the camera to Kevins face makes it seem as if we can see his thought process going through his head, as if we are thinking with him of what happened. You can also see the clear expressions on his face which indicate his emotions of wondering why his family is not inside of his house. It's clear he has nothing to do with them forgetting him and it was not intentional. With seeing Kevins emotions it is easy for the watcher to catch on to what the subject of the scene is and the emotion. Specifically in this scene the emotions are confused and concentrated. 

Eye level shot

In this scene Kevins mom is going back and fourth between what she has lost, at the moment she realizes what she has lost she has a breakthrough of shock.; displayed in this picture here. Meaning that by having such a eye level shot we can see what she is feeling. Just as if having a conversation with someone you could tell their emotions through the clarity of their face, you can also see in this angle of a shot. The watcher may now feel just as worried as her or feel a burst of emotions because of the news revealed that Kevin is left home alone.

Ground level shot

By having the feet only shown in this scene the watchers are meant to focus on the burglar falling to go through Kevins mischievous plan. The watcher now understands that Kevins plan of kicking the burglars out is becoming successful, and that by these actions of the burglars, such as this scene, indicates they are stupid. Focusing on the small things the burglars do, gives character development for their characters that they will never learn to give up. Without the examination of the little details given on the burglars falling for Kevins plan, it might not be as enunciated how gullible they really are.

Low angle shot

Using the low angle shot had really felt as if us, the watchers, were going to be in trouble. As in this scene Kevin is almost fully done with his plan until the plot twist came and the lower angle was shown of Kevin about to be snatched by the Burglars. It makes the watchers feel as if they lost power in the scene and are vulnerable, just as Kevin had felt as well. If done at a high angle most likely, would Kevin felt much powerful as it would show the burglars having less power. Although in this scene it is clearly shown that Kevin has lost his dominance, the emotions are now frightened in this scene.  

Blog post four: Transitions

 

Jump cut

During this type of transition I had to travel around my house to film these and cut the scenes to where they weren't smooth but instead, sharp. This was to display the distinction of different scenes but still relating to the same subject; getting to a different location. I had filmed these sequences myself, indicating that possibly when recording these in movies actors have to get into a personal distance of the camera to film their feet walking if that is the context of the the jump shot.

Fade

This transition is very smooth, and required no movement of the camera. I simply had recorded my dads actions then moved onto my mom shaking her head towards him in a separate clip. This felt as if it was the easiest to record as I didn't have to move around during the filming. Both thanks to my mom and dad volunteering to help film my transition. I also used CapCut to add the fade which I could not make myself.

  

Eye-line match

My experience filming this was completely capturing the essence of the subject my friend was looking at. I had to make sure I showed her eye level of her looking down, and then in a clear shot film what she looking at. My friend Tatyana had helped me in filming this, credits to her. This was easy to film, the close up of the object was kind of hard to get the proper angle, but other than that everything was simple.