Planning Blog: Title Design

 The opening credits of my film will be in the Goudy Old Style font. I really like the way this font looks, and think it fits my film well. It is very elegant and gives off a bit of a mysterious air. Overall, I think it will look very good in my opening credits.

The credits will either be bolded, italicized, or both. I will have to experiment with this while editing. I will end up choosing whichever looks the best.

The credits will not have any special sort of way of appearing. They will not be typed in for example. Additionally, they will not be embedded into the setting. I don't think this would fit the genre of my film. In all of my research for title design in my chosen genre, embedded credits were never used. Most of them were just presented on the screen and then disappeared. I plan to do this or I will take inspiration from some of the titles I saw and have it cut to a blank background with the credit on it. If doing this, the opening credits of my film would transition back and forth from actual footage to a blank background with credits on it.

The color of the credits will depend on multiple things. If I decide to just overlay the credits on top of the footage, then I will choose a color that contrasts well with the background. If I decide to overlay the credits onto a blank background, then I will have to choose a font color which contrasts well with the background.

The titles will dissappear after about 3-5 seconds. The working title of my film is "An Unknown Place."

Planning Blog: Other

 Location

• The main location for the film will be my mother's house

• I anticipate that some scenes will be filmed outside of the house and others will be filmed inside 

• Scenes will take place in various rooms of the house

• Some of these rooms include the kitchen, living room, and bedroom 

Participants

• I will be the main participant in the film

• I may ask my friends to participate in the film and star as characters 

• If they are not available, I could have my family star in the film

• The film will not have that many characters in it so there will not be many participants 

Health

• Not many health protocols will be taken

• Most of the filming will be done in and around my house 

• As a result of this, not many protocols will be taken

• If I have to go out and get props, then masks will be worn to prevent against COVID-19

Schedule 

• 2/25/22 - The planning blogs, including script and title design, will be uploaded as a blog.

• 3/4/22 - My storyboard will be created and uploaded as a blog.

• 3/7/22 - 4/13/22 - 10 production blogs will be submitted throughout these dates, including two filming blogs, two editing blogs and one blog about music. I plan on doing my filming first, doing my music blog second, and then editing.

• 4/15/22 - The final task will be completed and uploaded as a blog on this date.

• 4/22/22 - The CCR for the final task will be uploaded on this day.

Backup Plan

• There are not many issues with my plan already, and there is not much that I can think of that could go wrong. 

• If I am not able to film at my mom's house, I can always film at my dad's house instead. I have a few people I can ask to participate in the film if some are unable to. 

• If I am unable to film or edit on some days then I can always film or edit on another day.

Title Design Research: Good Time

 1. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? Which ones? -  There are many titles displayed in the film. There are around 20 to thirty of these titles. They begin with some of the actors. Then, they move on to other people associated with the film. For example, they have a title for the first assistant director. They also included a title for the re recording mixer.

2. What connotations do the images carry? (how do you they make you feel) - The images are very simple. They are only shown briefly. They contribute to the fast atmosphere of the film. They engage the viewer. They also create some tension. 

3. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? (Can you  tell what genre the film is) - The film included tense music. This is a common characteristic of thrillers. It makes the film more tense.

4. What conventions are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? - Tracking shots are used. These tracking shots make the viewers interested and engaged. They make the viewers wonder what happened and what is going to happen. They also create a very tense mood. Additionally, some close ups are used to draw attention to the character's emotions and get viewers invested in the characters.

Title Design Research: Parasite

 1. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? Which ones? -  Around 12 titles are displayed in this opening sequence. There is much less titles in this opening sequence than a lot of other ones. It starts with the distribution and production company. Then, the titles move on to the name of the film. The rest of the titles are mostly comprised of the actors in the film. 

2. What connotations do the images carry? (how do you they make you feel) - The images mostly just get you interested in the film. They also set the basis for the introduction to the characters. You can see that they are not wealthy based off the images. There are unique shots which draw the viewer in. 

3. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? (Can you  tell what genre the film is) - You cannot really tell what genre the film is based off this title sequence. It subverts a lot of the typical symbolic and technical codes of thriller films. For example, there is no foreboding music, it is just peaceful and upbeat music.

4. What conventions are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? - Close ups on the phone are used in order to draw viewers into what is on the phone. This gets them immediately invested. It creates a sense of wondering what the things on the phone are about. Additionally, tracking shots are used to keep viewers hooked. They work to tell a story and keep viewers interested. In other words, it makes viewers want to see where the story is going. Set design also helps to get the viewers interested. Since the house and characters all look poor, it makes the viewers wonder who these people are. This makes them want to stay and watch. 

Title Design Research: Glass

 1. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? Which ones? - Around 30 or so titles are displayed. The titles displayed first are the distribution company, production company, director, and then the title of the film. Then, it moves onto actors in the film. Then onto the casting director and the score creator. Then it continues with other roles associated with the film, such as costume designer, editor, etc. 

2. What connotations do the images carry? (how do you they make you feel) - The images create a bit of a tense atmosphere. They draw the viewers in. The striking purple color of the text really stands out. The footage takes the viewers on a journey. This gets them interested. 

3. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? (Can you  tell what genre the film is) - The score is a bit eerie. This creates tension in the film. By doing this, it gets viewers to deduce that this is a thriller film. Some of the diegetic sounds also reinforce the fact that this is a thriller. They exist to create a very tense atmosphere. This allows viewers to realize that they are watching a thriller film. 

4. What conventions are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? - Dark lighting is used to creep out the viewers. This dark lighting gets them tense and eager to see what happens. Tracking shots are heavily used to take the viewers on a journey of sorts. They gets viewers eager to see what happens next and they keep them interested. 

Title Design Research: Split

1. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? Which ones? -  Around twenty or so titles are displayed in the opening sequence of the film. These titles range from the name of the movie to the director, actors, and composer of the score. Additionally, it also contains titles for the distributor, production company, and casting director. Additionally, there is also a title for the costume designer and the editor. 

2. What connotations do the images carry? (how do you they make you feel) - The images are simple, and flash quickly between title sequence and actual footage. This heightens an already tense atmosphere. They give off a very eerie and creepy mood. They make you feel tense. They help to create a lot of tension. 

3. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? (Can you  tell what genre the film is) - The eerie footage helps viewers know that the genre is a thriller. The score also helps the viewers realize this. It is a very eerie score. It creates tension and fear, something thrillers are known for. The score almost makes your heart beat because of how much fear it causes. 

4. What conventions are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? - The film employs some dark lighting in order to scare viewers. it also uses this lighting to create shadows, which is a common characteristic of the thriller genre. The film utilizes tracking shots to keep the viewer invested. They make them wonder what is about to happen. This helps create a lot of tension and fear. The score adds to this fear by giving off an eerie mood.

Title Website Research

 While looking for websites to research title sequences, I stumbled across two websites which I think could be very helpful.

The first website is artofthetitle.com. This website is very interesting. It has a ton of title sequences for films. There is even a search bar to search for title sequences of specific films. You can also look at a specific designer or studio via a drop down menu. Additionally, there are a lot of helpful extras such as a list of 2021 Emmy nominated main title designs. This site also has a lot of interesting backstory about the title sequences. It is very easy to navigate, and very user friendly. I can see myself using this website a lot in order to research title sequences. I have a feeling it will be extremely helpful to me. 

The other website is watchthetitles.com This website is also very interesting. The presentation of the website is very stylish and sleek. It really appeals to my eyes. It contains some of the same features as the other website, such as a search bar to search for title sequences of specific films. It also contains a drop down menu of designers and studios, just like the other website. However, the selection on this website seems to be more limited than the other website. Additionally, it is a bit harder to navigate. I have a feeling I will be relying on the other website more than this one.