Title Research: Split

This title sequence came from artofthetitle.com and it is from the movie Split released by universal studios

1. How many titles are shown during the opening sequence:

There are 23 titles shown during the opening sequences. All of the slides show one title beside one slide that shows two titles.

2.What images are Prioritized during the opening sequence:

In the title sequences, clips of the main protagonist asleep are mostly shown. Also, small glimpses of the basement are shown too.

3.What connotations do the images carry:

The multiple titles in the sequences jitters around a little to show the movie's uneasy feeling.

4. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset:

The genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset by how the characters are displayed by the short scenes we get to see. In the scenes with the main protagonist and villain being just a little blurry for the protagonist and completely blurred for the villain, giving a disturbing and foreboding feeling which generally starts of most thrillers.

5.How does the film establish an enigma from the outset:

The film establishes an enigma from the outset by basically having of its shots is very puzzling.

for first time viewers, you don't know who these characters and why are they in this area being carried and being put on a bed. Everything feels like something's wrong but you don't know what.

6.What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience:

 The main strategy that the film used to ensure it appealed to its target audience is to show what type of genre it is. With the unsettling feeling some of the shots gave, a viewer can easily tell that this movie is not meant for a child audience and should probably be taken seriously. With all of the conventions, it follows a viewer can easily tell that its a thriller movie, and if it fits their taste of movie genre.

7.How has technology been used effectively?

In this title sequence, technology has been used effectively. All of the jump cuts that were edited together were perfect, with just the right amount of time. The camera angles were also fantastic with showing enough to know what's kind of happening but not showing some stuff to keep you still questioning. To continue with, and probably the best part, the editing was super cool and deep because behind the slides during the transitions you can see the same slide from before 24 times symbolizing the 24 personalities of the main villain.

Title Research: Venom

The first title sequence that my group and I decided to research is Venom. It can be found on the website artofthetitles.com.

1. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

Twenty-three titles were shown in the title sequence of Venom. Each title includes at least one name; some titles have multiple names, like the producers.

2. What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

In the opening sequence, there is a shot of a city street to start off the movie. The rest of the title sequence is just of inkblots that move and look like there is a monster in them.

3.What connotations do the images carry?

The images carry a scary theme and a sense of confusion. This makes you think the movie is going to be very interesting to watch and keep you on the edge of your seat.

4. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from outset?

All of the titles and images after the first city shot is in black and white with a few parts that are red. This creates a thriller like atmosphere. The score is similar to many other thriller movie scores so you know the movie is going to be a thriller as well.

5. How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

The film gives very little information in the beginning, it only gives you a sense of what the movie will be like, in this case, sci-fi. However, the title sequence does not tell you anything about the plot of the movie.

6. What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

The target audience likes sci-fi things and constant action, they do not want to be bored. This title sequence is perfect for them. All of the moving parts keep your attention and the monster-like figures in the background bring in a sci-fi aspect.

7. How has technology been used effectively? You might want to consider camera angles, transitions and editing techniques.

The technology was not only used effectively in this title sequence but it was used exclusively. The title sequence was entirely computer-generated so camera angles were not a huge factor. Different editing techniques along with transitions brought together the sequence. The use of the same transitions for each title made the sequence flow well and everything looked in place. The use of editing to make inkblots move and monsters appear in them was the focal point of the title sequence.

Title Research: Godzilla (2014)

This title sequence is from the movie Godzilla. It can be found on artofthetitles.com

1.  How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
Thirty titles were shown in the opening title sequence. Some titles had multiple names but most had one name.
2. What images are prioritized in the opening sequence? 
 Many images are prioritized in the opening sequence. Ancient newspapers for the names/titles, many different ancient photos of animals, and many old fashioned videos that look from back in the day.
3. What connotations do the images carry?
The images create a sense of mystery. Since Godzillas a pretty old story, these images also give a sense of suspense and gives a small backstory in ways.
4. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from outset?
The titles in this sequence are brought slow and introduced through newspaper lines which bring the feel of suspense, and in turn, bring shows the theme of a thriller.
5. How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
The film establishes an enigma because of the pictures in the back of ancient animals. It brings mystery because you don't know what these animals signify or mean. Everything seems very ominous.
6. What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?
The strategies used are the slow pacing and pictures in the background. Like before, the titles bring suspense, and suspense draws in audiences to a good thriller movie. This keeps the viewer from being bored and being engaged even at the beginning of the movie.
7. How has technology been used effectively?
In this title sequence, the technology has been used well. The many jump cuts between background pictures and video clips are used extremely effectively. However, there was no camera angles or shots used because the title sequence was computer-generated. But besides that, the background music was ominous but loud at the same time which was perfect for build-up. The titles were also shown effectively with the newspaper idea which required good editing.

Title Research: xXx State of the Union

The next title sequence my group and I decided to research is State Of The Union. It can be found on the website watchthetitles.com

1.How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

In this title sequence, I counted a total of 20 titles that included the name of the movie, and anyone who contributed to the making of the movie. Some titles were played out longer than others because they were either more important or more significant. Either way, everyone was included in the title sequence.

2.What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

Most of the images in this opening sequence were animated objects that relate to the movies overall theme and feel. Objects like barbed wire and bullets were displayed being that the movie is an action/thriller. There was one scene that was pulled straight out of the movie which was the very opening scene when Ice Cube was seen walking into prison escorted by two guards.

3.What connotation do the images carry?

The images give a feeling of action and at the same time suspense. The dangerous weapons and sharp items come together to give us the idea that this film is going to involve a lot of action and thrill. They are well put together to give the viewers the emotions to match the film.

4.How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from outset?

The titles in this sequence are all introduced very rapidly and it really pops with ominous colors. The background in turn also helps to give this thrill like emotion because it is dark with touches of red and chrome with pictures of dangerous items or remote atmospheres. The build of the score can be found constructed the same in a lot of other thriller movies so we as the audience can tell it will be a thriller as well.

5.How does the film develop an enigma from the outset?

The first scene of this sequence shows a man in handcuffs being escorted by police officers in what looks like a secure facility while at the same time giving a devious looking face. With this said, the audience is all sharing the same thoughts of why the man is in this trouble and what is he planning on doing with this look on his face. The sequence then jumps straight into showing the titles leaving us with only ideas and theories.

6.What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

Someone who plans on watching the movie probably already knows the genre and what they've gotten themselves into before watching it. Being that the title sequence is one of the first parts of the movie that the viewers will see, it has to compliment the emotions that are trying to be given off in the movie. A slow-moving vibrant color title sequence is not what the audience will be expecting out of a thriller movie. This title sequence compliments the movie well with its fast-paced music, dark colors, and popping names throughout.

7.How has technology been used effectively?
Most of the clips in this title sequence were computer made so camera angles and shots did not play a huge factor. The one scene from the movie that we did see was a medium close up shot of the men in the prison that turned to an over the shoulder shot. Transitions did play a huge factor in the making of this sequence as they were all different but were relative to the theme of the movie. They were very swift and quick to get our heart pumping. The editing involved included lots of moving pictures and titles as well. Overall, it was a simply made title sequence but effective one.

Title Research: artofthetitle.com

My group and I are researching the website, www.artofthetitle.com to get some background information. This way we can learn more about titles in the beginning of films so we can make our titles the best possible. The website includes many different movie title sequences so you can see examples of different styles and genres. There are also many different designers and studios to show how personal taste affects title sequence styles. Information about different designers and studios is provided so you have background information about each one. The icon for each studio is shown so you can recognize who they are if you see them in a movie. The designer's past and current studios are shown so you can make connections between designers and studios. Also on this website they have the top ten Title sequences of the year. These are great titles to study, because it is always good to base your rough draft of another title sequence. Each sequence is different form the next on the list showing different types off executions of a title sequence. All of these sequences have a unique spin on what a title sequences is and we hope that us as a group can replicate that but with our own charm. With all of these different sequences, there is a handful of great thriller movie title sequences on the website that we can use to study and help shape our own for our movie. My group mates and I didn’t really know what a title sequence was before we learned about it form this website. We didn’t know how intricate it is and how much it sets up the theme in a movie. This website is a great tool and a source for us to help make our movie the best it can be. 

Title Research: watchthetitles.com

         While starting our research towards title sequences, my group and I used a website called https://www.watchthetitles.com. At first, we were searching up "movie title sequences" and this proved very ineffective and slow. Then we came by this website. This source proved to be very useful once we learned that it carries a wide variety of short title sequences that we have access to. We also like this source because it's extremely easy to find title sequences in our genre. Starting this research topic, I didn't understand what a title sequence was until I watched a few of these clips and got a better idea. There was an endless amount for all kinds of movies that we can watch. We need to stick to thriller movies which shouldn't be a problem being that there are dozens for this genre. After watching a few of these clips, we saw some repetition between them. We noticed that the ways the names were presented, or what kind of music played complemented what genre the movie is about. We were able to figure out the genre before even knowing the movie. Another thing about this website is its wide variety. This website has title sequences of TV shows, movies, and even Video games. Even though we can only research movie title sequences; it's still a very great tool to use. This will benefit us in doing our final task.

Movie research: It 2

It 2 -2019
Cams- The camera angles, movements, and shots in this film were put together to fill a sense of fear of thrill into the viewer's eyes. After watching this movie, some of the camera angles I noticed to appear more frequently then others include Eye levels, low angle, and the extreme close up. All of the angles listed were used to make the monsters in the movie look a certain way. Either bigger, smaller, or like it's right in front of you. The camera movements in this seemed to be very repetitive. I saw zooms, tilts, and a few dollies. For the camera shots. medium close-ups, long shots, and aerial shots were all used.

Editing: Being that this movie's story was dated 27 years after the first one, multiple flashbacks and inserts were used to remember the character's past selves. Cross-cutting was also used a lot when each character was going through something eventful at different places but at the same time. All the edits came together when focusing on each character then and now.

Sound- Throughout the entire movie, sounds were used to create suspense and thrill to keep the viewer engaged. When the movie pace was slow and calm, the music matched. It was the same way for when the movie got more intense. The only time I noticed that there was no sound at all was right before something would jump out at you. Right after the jump, the thrilling music would start right back up again.

Elements: All thriller/horror movies are built around what mood they want to give a viewer. Usually, feelings of suspense and fear are aimed at when putting together movies like these. They keep the watchers engaged at all times and there usually aren't a lot of dull moments. Sounds, costumes, good acting, etc come together to get to this emotional target within viewers.

What I liked: In this movie, I noticed that it was very rare when dull or slow moments would take place. I really enjoyed the fast-paced action throughout the kept me engaged and interested the entire time. The acting and storyline were very good and it had me scared.

What I didn't like: While the story was good, I feel that some of the scenes in this movie were all over the place and really random. I understand the reasoning behind the stranger things in the film but it's almost like they were too strange. Almost laughable.

C.L.A.M.P.S in the movie

Costumes: The costumes of some of the characters and monsters really made up this film. They were well put together and looked really realistic. The protagonists of the movie wore normal clothes that wore as the fight went on. All the antagonist's costumes like I said were very realistic and made them play their intended character very well. Depending on which monster, some wore clothing that made them seem very old and dead while others were worn to make their makeup pop. The main antagonist wore a clown suit being that he is a clown.

Lighting: Depending on where the scene was taking place, the lighting varied. In places like the caves and tunnels, the lighting was very dark but just light enough to see the characters. In other parts, there was no light at all like right before something was going to jump out at us. Flashing lights were also used during the main battle between the protagonists and antagonists.

Acting: The acting was very dramatic and gave viewers the idea that they were generally scared for their lives or extremely angry. Jay Ryan, Stephen King, and Andy Bean were only just some of the actors that made this film great.

Makeup: Makeup was used frequently during the film to make a character look a certain way or give them a certain feature. Being that this was a horror film, blood was used on the regular either on the character or other places. A lot of makeup was used on the monsters making them look dead, like a clown, or even just scary. Some of the main actors used makeup as well to make them look, bruised, cut, or burned.

Props: Props were very big in this movie because there really wasn't a scene without them. Some of the props were weapons or body parts and other random objects used for scenery or as part of the story. Some examples I saw include, books, arms, fireplace tools, boulders, and so much more. Most of them served a specific purpose either for the characters or just for the film's story.

Setting: There were multiple settings for this film that all played an important role. They all were part of building the story that the characters go through before the end. The movie started at a fair, then in different towns, libraries, offices, dark caves, and scary houses. They all played a specific part in giving the characters a specific location that matched the story of the movie