Editing 18/03/13

Since we have been using the new editing programme, Adobe Premiere, we have made consistent progress on our opening sequence. 
On Thursday we managed to finish the main bulk of editing, and downloaded a template which would help us construct our title sequence which we have finished. We experienced some difficulty when trying to export our titles, because the colour was not correct. However, we managed to fix this issue and luckily have managed to import it onto Adobe Premiere with the opening sequence. We now need to finish our sound sequence.

Storyboard

Here is my original storyboard I created before we filmed our opening sequence.

As you can see it is different from the finished product, some of the shots are different to the what we filmed, and the order has slightly changed.

Re-editing

Last week my group and I finally started re editing our opening sequence and today we finished the visual editing. We have had to familiarise ourselves with Adobe Premier which was another obstacle we have had to over come but hopefully we have been able to re edit our film to the same standard it was pre-robbery.

Here are some of the photos from the recent editing:

Credits and Titles: True Blood and Misfits

I have analysed to title sequences from two television programmes and how they reflect the genre of the show. Titles are shown in both of the shows in a certain order, and often only feature the most important members of the crew.

          True Blood:

• The True Blood titles start with the names of the stars.
• The titles appear on a different part of the screen as a different name comes up.
• The titles look handwritten, they are not orderly or conventional, which indicates the horror genre of the programme. 
• The titles are shown in the order of: Casting, Music, Editing, Production Design, Photography, Producer, Production Company and the Creator.
• The titles are surrounded by people acting spontaneously and suspiciously, which is parallel to the title and the programme, such as a very unique church pastor and a decomposing dead fox.
• The titles are white: which symbolise purity and innocence.
• The "True Blood" sign wiggles and flashes on a red, blood like looking background without footage or action. 
• The entire sequence in one and a half minutes.

          Misfits:

• Like True Blood it has it's own title sequence. 
• There is use of both black and white writing which is in the form of graffiti, links to the grimy setting of the show and title sequence.
• Letters of the title a jumbled up before they become clearer, this suggests the characters involved in the show, who are "MisFits". The titles look as it they have been written on paper, or scirbbled down quickly, as if there is no thought or perfection behind them, like those involved in the story.
• Most of the title sequence is in black and white and so are the titles.
• The names of the stars appear before anything else. 
• There is action behind the titles, like in True Blood, however the name of the show is on it's own background with no action with what looks like a grey wall behind it. The font stands out: it is very bold black writing.
• The entire sequence lasts around the same as the True Blood one.

     

It is important that title sequences and credits fit the genre of the programme or film. This research has enabled me to understand that for my own opening sequence it is important to create credits which fit the mood and setting of my opening sequence.

Sound: Speed

The sound from Speed, another thriller is to set a certain atmosphere and mood. The beginning starts with 20th Century Fox sequence, showcasing the institution behind the film. 
The start of the opening begins with the sound of a lift, which could be diegetic. The eery orchestral music featured us non-diegetic to create a tense atmosphere amongst the audience. This sound is parallel to the visual shown. The "Speed" title, as it quickly exits the screen, and with it is matching sound. The pace of the music gets quicker, and builds tension for the audience however as it slows down the mood becomes suspicious. There is no speech throughout the opening, with the only character to appear opening a door, with the sound being diegetic. 

Sound: A Mother's Son

I have analysed sound from the television programme opening of AMother's Son. This thriller programme aims through the sound is to set the mood and scene of what the programme is going to be like.
The sound of nature features heavily in this opening sequence, indicating that nature may have some significance to the plot. The first sound heard is the crashing of violent waves against the shore, and the sound of the grass rattling. This builds tension and suspicion among st the audience, as to why these sound are so powerful. Whilst the sound of the sea may be diegetic, the sound of the grass is most probably non-diegetic. Another non-diegetic sound in the opening sequence is the orchestral soundtrack, which heavily features violins. Such music is often used when mourning someones death, however this music is leading to the build up to this, so the pace of the music is faster, and more frantic. The only speech, which is diegetic, is the female saying "I'm sorry," however you can often hear her heavy breathing which adds to the tense mood of the opening sequence.

Coming from a thriller opening this has made me understand the importance of the soundtrack to build up tension and suspense when creating an opening sequence, as the sound is a vital part of creating a tense atmosphere.

Research into Similar Media Texts

This opening sequence comes from the film "Children of Men". 

• The Universal Studios sequence appears at the beginning of the film, Universal studios are both producers and distributors so we understand what institutions are involved in the making of this film.
• There is a black screen for the titles: however the sound we hear, is the news, presumably which is non-diegetic.
• The opening shot is a medium shot, taken from over head, of a group of ordinary people in a coffee shop- we are given no introduction the main character at first. However there is a close up shot of a male in the coffee shop, which indicates he is the protagonist. 
• Mise-en-scene: is ordinary clothing. This indicates those involved in the film are "ordinary people". It could also indicate the genre: it eliminates fantasy, fairy tale (which usually uses cartoon characters) etc...
• The tracking of the male from the coffee shop to outside allows a panning shot of a bleak London, which we know through the red bus, and the title along the bottom telling the audience of the location. There is also indication that this is set in the future, with moving bus advertisements.
• The music in the opening sequence is quite orchestral and reflective, gives a sense of something tragic.
• The music, lighting, and the narrative indicate the mood of the film, which is mourning and tense. 
• The lighting in the entire opening sequence is very dim and full of greys, blacks and white, there is a lot of pollution on the street which makes the setting look very unpleasant and boring.
• Characterisation: the main character seems to be very serious, middle aged white male. Males usually dominate thrillers. 
• Narrative: the narrative of Children of Men seems very easy to follow, there has been a killing of the youngest human on the planet. This adds a sense of enigma to the plot, as to why someone who is an adult is the youngest person on the planet. 
• Representation: Children of Men is very generic of thrillers, using a white male as it's main protagonist. Females do no feature heavily, apart from the fact that they may be portrayed as being more emotional, with more of them crying than males. 
• As there is a bomb explosion there is a piercing sound of what sounds like a female screaming. The camera's sudden movements indicates the intense and frantic situation of those involved. There is then a silence before the black screen with the title of the film, "Children of Men". The titles in this film do not move, and are black, plain writing.