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Week 2
Doomed from the start!
27/9/18
Objectives: by 5.30.
To prepare your first 1 minute film by producing a storyboard
Research noir style fonts and download a suitable lettering style
To create a Noir style title card
Create lighting plans for the shots in your noir style film
The assessment for your Advanced Skills module states that: You will demonstrate advanced camera and lighting skills within your first one minute film which will be driven by the narrative but will not include dialogue. (Delivered in a Film Noir style).
Deadline 11th October 2018
Starter:
List three conventions of the film noir genre.
Film noir isn't simply a style of film. It was a sub-genre of crime films after WWII.
Just because you light a film a certain way it doesn't make it
noir
. Noir involves a protagonist who is morally compromised, usually by a femme fatale. They are morality plays that show the dark side of human nature (thus the noir).
The protagonist, although sympathetic, is morally corrupt. An example of noir is
Double Indemnity.
It has all the ingredients of film noir.
Conventions of noir include
Storyline:
In a common noir storyline a man, often embittered by life or tarnished by his past, meets a beautiful, mysterious woman (femme fatale). He is sexually and fatally attracted to her.
Narrative structure:
Narrative structure in noir is non—linear, complex and twisting and the story is commonly told in the first person by a male narrator. It may be told in a fragmented, maze-like manner or in flashback - a technique which adds to the sense of hopeless/fatalism.
Amnesia suffered by the protagonist was a common plot device, as was the downfall of an innocent "everyman" who fell victim to temptation or was framed.
1st Person Voice-Over Narration:
The inherent subjectivity of Expressionism is also evident in film noir’s use of narration and flashback.
Settings:
Noir is set firmly within its contemporary American life and culture. Common noir settings are shadowy interiors, dingy offices and dark rain-lashed streets — a strong contrast to mainstream films of the time which were generally brightly lit. Sets were often only half or quarter lit throwing parts of the set and faces into shadow adding to ambiguity and mood.
Mood:
A mood of bleak pessimism is one of the defining characteristics of the genre.
Such moods are often recorded in the language of the titles, eg: Cry of the City, Fairwell My Lovely, Kiss Me Deadly, They Live by The Night.
it is important as well to take account of themes, mood, characterisation, point of view and narrative pattern. Both literary and cinematic noir are defined by: (i) the subjective point of view; (ii) the shifting roles of the protagonist; (iii) the ill-fated relationship between the protagonist and society (generating the themes of alienation and entrapment)
Noir style titles
Title screens are the initial titles, usually projected at the beginning of a film following the logos of the film studio. In student films they are often an ignored aspect, thrown in as an afterthought.
They can reflect the time period or era of the film, the mood or theme of the film.
Beginning in the 1940s, the look and themes of many American crime and detective films were dark and downbeat,
reflecting the insecurities and tensions of the time period
.
Classic film noir was developed during and after World War II, taking advantage of the post-war ambience of anxiety, pessimism, and suspicion.
It was a style of black and white American films that first evolved in the 1940s, became prominent in the post-war era, and lasted in a classic "Golden Age" period until about 1960.
Noir films counter-balanced the optimism of Hollywood's musicals and comedies. Fear, mistrust, bleakness, loss of innocence, despair and paranoia were readily evident in noir, reflecting the 'chilly' Cold War period when the threat of nuclear annihilation was ever-present.
The criminal, violent, misogynistic, or greedy perspectives of anti-heroes in film noir were a metaphor for the evils of society, with a strong undercurrent of moral conflict, purposelessness and sense of injustice.
There were rarely happy or optimistic endings in 'noirs'.
Film noir title sequences and opening credits reflect the same stylistic and thematic intensity found within the genre.
Noir opening credits entice audiences with hints of fatalistic narratives by employing powerful visuals and looming music. The title sequence and opening credits may only last a few minutes, but they clearly demonstrate the essential noir conventions.
The opening sequences of film noirs not only foreshadow film, but also stylistically and thematically display the essentials of the noir era they were made in.
Double Indemnity (1944) is one of the essential film noir because it successfully employs a wide variety of important noir conventions. The film is busting at the seams with noir styles, such as oblique angles and extensive use of shadows. Most notably is usage of the flashback with a voice-over narration.
The fonts used in the title sequences of the period
Task1:
You are to prepare your first 1 minute film by producing a
storyboard
(The Meeting).
The opening titles of your film need to include the LMA logo which can be produced digitally or filmed and include dramatic lighting as discussed. This should be in the noir style.
Opening titles should be
on screen between 10 and 15 seconds
.
Task2:
You are to research noir style fonts and download a suitable lettering style for your first film title sequence.
Task3:
Using Adobe Photoshop, you are to create a Noir style title card for your first one minute film.
This should be exported as a PSD and have a transparent background.
Task4:
Create rough lighting plans for the shots in your noir style film.
Save these to your Tumblr or blog . These can also be created digitally.
Example of a rough lighting plan:
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Week 1
Intro to post production and Film Titles
20.9.18
L/Os:
Familiarise with linked Advanced Tech Skills brief and assessment criteria
Identify aspects of post production
Analyse video clips of examples of motion graphic titles
In this module you will develop your post production skills and use them to add finishing touches to the films you create in completion of your Advanced Skills for Digital Film and Television module.
Starter:
List as many aspects of post production that you can.
What is post production in film?
In digital film, post-production refers to the tasks that must be completed or executed after the filming or shooting ends. This includes tasks such as the editing of raw footage to cut scenes, insert transitions, creating titles and inserts and working with voice and sound actors.
Post-production is the third and final step in film creation.
What is the post production process?
The post-production phase of creating a film usually takes longer than the actual shooting of the film it can take months to complete because it includes the complete editing, colour correction, and the addition of music and sound.
Post production workflow. Re-familiarise yourself with this.
Aspects of Post Production simplified:
Rough cut - Where the film begins to resemble its final product. Recognizable as a conventional film, but may have notable errors or defects, might not have the desired narrative flow, may lack soundtrack music, sound effects or visual effects, and still needs significant changes before release of the film.
Post production sound - all stages of production happening between the actual recording in a studio and the completion of a master recording. It involves sound design, sound editing, audio mixing, and the addition of effects.
Effects and titles
Color grading - encompasses both colour correction and the generation of artistic colour effects
Final mix - During this phase of post production, a sound engineer balances the various audio elements in the film. Problems such as dialogue or sound effects that just don’t work, background noises, audibility issues are identified then edited, removed, or included
Final cut - The final stages of editing include: adding visual and sound effects, trimming or adjusting clips to control pacing, adding title cards and transitions, making colour corrections and applying filters as needed, establishing continuity of style, equalizing the soundtrack
_________________________________________________
In this module you will develop your post production skills and use them to complete your submissions for Advanced Skills for Digital Film and Television module.
Thursday afternoon will be your opportunity to work on the edits for submission of Advanced Skills.
You will explore DaVinci Resolve editing software and other packages.
For the first part of the module we will focus on Film Title Design.
Issue Advanced Skills brief.
Assessment part 1
You are to produce a portfolio of evidence which comprises the following for semester 1;
Three films of one minute duration each.
● You will demonstrate advanced camera and lighting skills within your first one minute
film which will be driven by the narrative but will not include dialogue.
Deadline 11th October 2018
(The Meeting - possibly noir style)
● Your second one minute film will demonstrate your editing skills. This will also be
driven by narrative but will not include dialogue.
Deadline - 15th November 2018
(A title sequence for a feature film)
● Your third one minute film will demonstrate script writing, storytelling and narrative
structure ability. Your third one minute film will be scripted with dialogue but include
no more than two characters.
Deadline - 13th December 2018
____________________________________________________________________
The title sequence from the espionage thriller Deep Sate.
MMMultiply - Deep State Title Sequence from MMMultiply on Vimeo.
This opening sequence sets up the themes, mood, and central character of the show, taking us through locations and surveillance footage, through fog and fire and smoke. The character is a complicated, mixed-up man on a desperate chase to prove his mettle as a father and tie up loose ends in order to make good. But the truth is a myth and the smoke is in everything.Featuring lyrics from the Talking Heads’ “Once In A Lifetime,” . The piano melody is paired with distorted flutes and rough electronic scratches while a dark voice articulates his confusion. The questions are familiar but the narration is different, edged in gloom, reeling with shock and anger. As the visuals move from light to dark, the music becomes heavily distorted, descending into a heavy wave of glitches, static, and cymbals. In the closing frame, eyes gaze out intently, folding into the angles of the title text and daring us to join him on a journey back into the dark.
Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
Task 1: Create a blog or Tumblr for use in this module call it Post production.
Email a link to the published page to:
[email protected]
Task 2: Watch the title sequence from Walk on the Wild Side (1962) by Saul Bass
Analyse the action and its impact. Write up on your blog.
Consider:
Setting
Metaphors
Technical aspects of sound, edit, lighting and framing.
What the message is.
Task 3:
Think about the most memorable film title sequence you know.
Use the internet to research, then embed a clip of the sequence in your blog and describe why you think it has been successful.
Break 15 mins
Film Title Design brief history 1
Within Film Title Design we see the bond between the art of filmmaking and graphic design.
They serve a greater purpose than themselves: to move the overarching story forward.
Originally a motionless piece of artwork called title art, it slowly evolved into an artform of its own.
silent filmsFilm titles made their appearance in the earliest silent films, along with letter cards (or inter-titles), which provided context.
The main title from D.W. Griffith’s “Intolerance” (1916)
These cards were the responsibility of the lettering artist, who collaborated with the scriptwriter and director to create narrative continuity so that audiences could follow what they were seeing. Distinct from these inter-titles was the film’s main title, a vehicle of particular concern to film producers because of the legal, copyright and marketing information this footage had to bear.
White lettering on a black background is another characteristic of this era, because titles simply looked better this way when projected with live-action B&W film.
Inter-titles are typical of silent movies. This is the silent western West of Hot Dog (1924)
In addition to hiring lettering artists, the biggest film studios began to employ typesetters in the production of title cards and inter-title cards.
The emergence of typography sought to match letterforms with the subject matter and even the zeitgeist — including typefaces inspired by art movements such as art nouveau, art deco and expressionism — as well as the commercial vocabulary of packaging design and advertising.
The main title from the American release of “The Cabinet of Dr. Calligari” (1920) is much less expressive than the title from the influential original German film.
When the silent era ended, movies grew more popular, their titles evolved. Movie producers invested considerable sums in film production and sometimes resorted to fixing a dog of a film by rewriting the inter-titles
Quality artists began to design their artwork to "set a mood" and "capture the audience" before the movie started. An overall 10% jump in box-office receipts was proof that this was a profitable improvement to the introduction of their motion pictures.One famous example of the form is the work of Saul Bass in the 1950s and 1960s.
His title sequences for the films of Alfred Hitchcock were key in setting the style and mood of the movie even before the action began, and contributed to Hitchcock's "house style" that was a key element in his approach to marketing.
Saul Bass often approached the lettering of a main title as he would a logo, making it function as the core element in a full marketing campaign. While the variety of solutions increased considerably, their anchor was always the relationship of on-screen typography to the movie itself.
Task 4:
Research the work of following film title designers and write an exploration of 2-3 title sequences they have created:
Stephen Frankfurt (To Kill a Mockingbird)
Kyle Cooper (World War Z)
Describe how the film titles they created are both an organic part of the film, yet separate from it.
Consider how they approach themes from a more experimental direction.
__________________________________________________________
Film Noir Openers:
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/fallen-angel/
In the opening title sequence to 1941’s I Wake Up Screaming, the credits are spelled out in lights superimposed over the New York City skyline.
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/i-wake-up-screaming/
Road sign credits overlay the dark winding artery. The tremulous camera adds an unease heightened when the bus driver turns and stares. His was our initiatory point of view… and now his eyes are not on the road.
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-third-man/
Simple titles fade in and out listing cast and crew, adhering to the rigid formality of most films of the era. But the star of the sequence is theViennese musician Anton Karas whose music sets the mood and tone of a film
__________________________________________________________
Task 5: With consideration given to the following title;
The Meeting
Create title cards which reflect the Film Noir genre and 2 additional film genres of your own choice. Use Photoshop or illustrator and export the cards as jpegs or pngs and embed them in your blog page.
Write a paragraph about how you arrived at your final images.
Are there any connotations that link to genres?
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