Upon reflection over our title sequence, we were required to consider how our media product used, developed and challenged the forms and conventions of real media products.
Based on my previous research into the common conventions of crime genre films, using websites such as http://www.filmsite.org/genres.html and other sources, it’s evident that our title sequence has numerous traditional elements. This is apparent due to the fact that our title sequence introduces the key characters with a mysterious non-diegetic audio track which generates an atmosphere, and a sense of limited time and dialogue, similarly to the title sequences of the films Pulp Fiction, The Dark Knight and Goodfellas.
However, the format in which our title sequence portrays these elements is quite direct, where as other crime genre films such as Pulp Fiction display a more discrete approach by separating the action, dialogue and introduction of the characters from the titles, and the mysterious audio track. We decided against this style due to the fact that we thought including the titles with the action could encourage the audience to maintain an interest and also make the text relevant. Although, we thought that the use of computer generated text created a surreal aspect and separated the physical appearance of the text from the action, similarly to Pulp Fiction.
In order to maintain this interest, we thought it would be beneficial to introduce the main characters during the title sequence, because this could set up the dynamics between those characters and immediately inform the audience about the relationship between these characters. But by limiting the amount of dialogue, we were also able to create a sense of mystery about the intentions of these characters - a common convention in the crime genre.
The structure of our sequence could be considered to be subversive due to the fact that the title of our film is displayed towards the end of the title sequence, where as the title for Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction is revealed in the middle of the sequence, and The Dark Knight’s title is shown at the beginning. The reasoning behind this decision was based on an original idea that the gunshot at the end would be followed by the title, which could delegate emphasis towards the title by creating a more dramatic effect. We also decided to order the sequence of events in a linear format, similarly to that of Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction and The Dark Knight, as we thought this would enable the audience to follow the sequence of events more clearly.
The presentation of these titles is parallel to other crime film opening sequences as both Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas use a smart and clear font for their titles, such as Times New Roman, which is similar to the font that our group used for our titles. The color of the font is white, which is the same color as the font in the Goodfella's title sequence. The reason we decided to conform to this style was because we thought that the contrast of white text against the black background was more visually effective. The fact that we used black backgrounds, however, is an element frequently used in crime genre films such as Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas and The Dark Knight. In reference to the style of text and the color used; our title sequence conforms to the common conventions of a crime genre film.
The presentation of these titles is parallel to other crime film opening sequences as both Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas use a smart and clear font for their titles, such as Times New Roman, which is similar to the font that our group used for our titles. The color of the font is white, which is the same color as the font in the Goodfella's title sequence. The reason we decided to conform to this style was because we thought that the contrast of white text against the black background was more visually effective. The fact that we used black backgrounds, however, is an element frequently used in crime genre films such as Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas and The Dark Knight. In reference to the style of text and the color used; our title sequence conforms to the common conventions of a crime genre film.
The main enigma of our opening sequence is the mystery of the intentions and actions of the main characters. We decided to limit the amount that we would reveal about the reasoning behind what is happening on screen, as this is a common feature in numerous other crime genre opening sequences. We also used music to create a dynamic scene in the hope that the audience would maintain an interest and desire to discover what happens in the following film. This method is also used constantly in our chosen genre based on our conventional research.
As a group, we thought it would be more visually appealing if our title sequence was in color, as opposed to black and white which is generally classed as the traditional presentation of a crime genre film. We also thought that the concepts and issues raised within the plot were quite current and the color format could reflect that. This idea was derived from the film ‘Trainspotting’, which tackles similar issues such as drug abuse, in a color format. We shot our title sequence in 4:3; however, this should have been 16:9. This was an error that we made during the filming process and we contemplated rectifying this problem by cropping the shots to appear letter-headed, but we felt this didn’t justify cutting out some of the action on screen.
Within our opening sequence we used a range of close ups shots of the character’s faces whilst they were running, to convey the frantic emotions that they were experiencing. We also focused on building the foundations for the film, by capturing a shot of one of our characters crying so the audience could begin to share empathy. We also concentrated on the legs by using close up shots of the characters running, to highlight the importance of the amount of motion taking place. We also decided to incorporate long shots to enable us to capture both characters at once, and illustrate the distance between these characters - all elements that are commonly associated with the crime genre.
To create our title sequence, we used a compilation of different camera angles, as we were impressed by the variety of shots depicted in the opening chase scene of TrainSpotting. We attempted to conform to the conventions of a crime genre by tracking the character’s while they were running, as seen in the title sequence of TrainSpotting. However, due to limited resources and the fact that we decided to improvise with a skateboard, this attempt wasn’t as successful as we thought it would have been..
We thought that our characters should be in smart attire, such as suits, similarly to the clothing worn in the film Reservoir Dogs, and should be wielding guns as their props due to the fact that this is a popular convention in crime films.
The film Trainspotting was quite influential, in reference to the editing and sound, due to the fact that our title sequence also consists of fast paced transitions, with an equally fast sound track to match the action displayed on screen, which could potentially create a tense and exciting atmosphere – the main objective of any crime genre film. We decided to conform to this convention as we thought that this could set the mood for the audience so that they can share the fear of the main characters and the tension between them. We also derived the idea of initiating the sound at the same moment that the main character’s foot made contact with the floor from Trainspotting, as we found that this was more effective method of introducing the audio track.
We decided against the use of any special effects as the majority of crime genre films that we studied seem to avoid this surreal element during their title sequences.
Over all, it is evident that our media product rarely challenges the conventions of a crime genre film, and opts for a more conformable approach which could offer our product a more successful future, if it contains elements of original media products that have been successful within such an industry.
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