“The Talented Mr Ripley” Title Sequence

This specific title sequence, although it is around 8 minutes long and our final productions have to be two minutes maximum, reveals a lot of information through editing, mis-en-scene, camera angles and sound.

Information is portrayed about the character in several formats. Editing is used in the form of transitions; streaks appear one by one by sliding of appearing on the screen revealing the face of Mr Ripley. This informs us that the eponymous character is multi-faceted. The streaks give the appearance of broken glass that could mimic his broken personality hinting that although he may seem normal there are more sides to him that are of deeper emotion and meaning. The streaks don’t appear in an orderly fashion therefore it may resemble his unstructured life too. Editing is also used to present the film title, the adjective of “talented” is played with, and we see many other adjectives before “talented is chosen, which informs us there are many great aspects to describe him; he is a complex and versatile, again he is multifaceted which makes him unpredictable. This intrigues the audience. A tracking shot following Mr Greenleaf and Mr Ripley as they walk and talk shows the continual and effortless lies which Ripley tells, he is an opportunist and a liar. We see a medium shot of Ripley in his poor apartment polishing expensive looking shoes.  This tells us the character has aspirations to live a better life and he is through in playing the role of a wealthy man. A long shot of him playing a piano on stage with the lights dimmed on his own show that when possible, he strives and is willing to achieve more. Similarly, a long is used of Mr Ripley exiting out of his apartment where mis-en-scene is used portraying he lives in the meat packing district, conveying he is a poor man. Match on action is used in shots of Ripley in a rich and wealthy environment, explaining the smooth flow of events he can create even though he may not be from that lifestyle, he can move back and forth from the two differing lifestyles effortlessly. Showing that he is “talented,” editing strongly informs us of character.

The plot line will be that Mr Ripley will travel to Italy to find Mr Greenleaf’s son who he doesn’t know. We hear diagetic sound of Ripley listening to jazz music even though he doesn’t like it, as Mr Greenleaf’s son is a fan of the music genre. A canted shot of Mr Ripley and his falling ceiling portrays his interrupted lifestyle because he is poor, as well as his unstructed lifestyle that could explain how he will plan to find Mr Greenleaf’s son. In the opening scene, a close up of his face shows a traumatised expression which suggests he is reflecting on past experiences that he regrets. We think he is either traumatised or deeply guilty, anyhow we can tell he is deep in thought.

Furthermore, sound informs the audience about the film. We assume that the character Dickey will be binary opposites of Mr Ripley as diagetic dialogue from Mr Greenleaf explains how “all he is good for is wasting his allowance.” From what we are told through technique detail, Mr Ripley has many great assets (editing), he has high aspirations to be wealthy, dissimilarly to Dickey who abuses his wealth. Therefore they’re binary opposites which may drive the plot forward. Various types of classical music are played throughout the opening. We first hear diagetic sound of Mr Ripley playing the piano which we assume he is of a high class background (as he is able to play so well). However, after realising that our assumptions were not accurate, further classical music is used where Mr Ripley is learning from them, showing that he is through in what he does and reliable because he is trying to fake a personality by listening to jazz even though he dislikes it. 

The time period is established through mis-en-scene, there is a medium shot of the type of car that the characters of a richer lifestyle own, portraying the film is set in the early 60’s. Jazz music was very popular at this time also. Whereas location is established through sound; all the characters have American accents. The long shot of the a ship shows the time period also as it was extremely expensive to fly, even for wealthy people. So this was a main form of transportation in the 1960’s.

The genre is mystery as the voiceover informs us that he regrets going to Italy, but most importantly he regrets putting on the Harvard jacket from the beginning, setting the expectation of deceitful characters. Although, it may be seen as a thriller because the non diagetic music which introduces the film is a woman singing a slow tempo song however she continues to hold a note when the music stop which makes the audience feel uneasy. The sound is delicate and soft yet airy and disturbing. This sets the expectations of strong emotional engagement which takes that audience

Many enigmas are created in this title sequence. We wonder ‘why would a “talented” man want to erase himself?’ as his voiceover in a solemn tone explains how “I wish I could erase myself.” Another enigma we ask is “will he get found out?” his change of costume was the first way we observe him able to change identity, however now the situation  has become more complex we are curious to find out what happens.

Considering factors:

Characters:

• 10 year old boy
• Dad
• Mum
• Killer
• Victim/stranger

Props:

• Fake blood
• Black bag
• Bottle of alcohol
• Canned beer
• Rope
• Chair
• Picture of mother.

Costume:

• 10 year old boy- causal clothes
• Dad – jeans, dirty top, scruffy
• Mum- causal clothes
• Killer- tracksuit, dirty top (similar to dad)
• Victim/stranger- casual, coat, jeans

Group Decided Title Sequence- First Idea.

An alcoholic husband knocks on the door to his house. The wife opens the door and tells him she has taken out a restraining order of him. The drunken husband enters and shouts at wife, she tries to stop him but he slaps her. They go upstairs and argue about his drinking problem. He begins to hit her, he grabs a hair dryer wire and strangles her to death. She lies on the floor, silence. A child emerges from a cupboard in the room they were fighting in and he approaches her. It then cuts to an alley way, a drunk man is sitting on the floor drinking a bottle of whisky. He looks at a picture of the mum who died. A woman walks down the alley way. He pulls a black bag over her after she walks past. It then cuts to a garage where she has been tied to a chair. He is watching her with a bottle of whisky in his hand. The unconscious stranger wakes up. Fade and the titles appear. Similar to “124 Hours” the action takes place in one setting. Also, there are only two main characters like in “Hard Candy” Contrastingly, it’s unique because you don’t usually see why a killer has become the way they are (bad experiences has ruined him psychologically).

Enigmas created: what is he going to do to this stranger? Who is this woman?

Own film concept.

My own original film concept had a psychological-thriller genre. The whole plot would be based around time, where there is a master manipulating time of normal civilians for his own amusement; the increased time would cause confusion between reality and the civilians unconscious. Specifically, in the title sequence you would see normal activity (for example a work setting), the sequence would then speed up. Also, there would be cross cutting to a close up of eyes (similar to Donny Brasco) and a smiling mouth showing that this manipulator is evil. The music would increase tempo as the speed increases and would be loudest when we see close ups of this mysterious manipulator. It would then fade to darkness and the titles would appear. One film which shares similarities is “Inception” where the characters play between their subconscious and reality. Whereas the unique selling points of this is the change of pace which normal characters can’t control, they are helpless to what happens throughout the film.

Genres to Consider.

Family- “The Goonies”

Sci-fi-  “Star Trek”

Action- “Iron Man”

Adventure- “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”

Comedy- “Grown ups”

Crime- “Max Payne”

Thriller- “Donny Brasco”

Horror- “Saw 4”

Romance- “The Notebook”

Drama- “Invictus”

Psychological Thriller- “Black Swan”

Action/ adventure- “Indiana Jones”

Comedy/ horror- “Shawn of the Dead”

Action/ comedy- “Hot Fuzz”

Romantic/ comedy- “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”

Western/ sci-fi- “Back to the Future”

“Jackie Brown” Title Sequence.

The title sequence to “Jackie Brown” differed from other typical openings because it simply showed a continuous medium shot of a woman (we assume to be Jackie Brown), with non diagetic music. Although this could be seen as a minimalistic title sequence we gain much insight in to the film due to the textual detail. The location is America because the singer in the music has a strong American accent. Also, the film title appears in a sixties style font denoting the film will be set in the sixties. Through the medium shot, the woman starts walking however ends up running to her destination suggesting there will be an inspiration theme which Jackie Brown has to work for. We can tell the character is intelligent because she speaks more then one language, greeting Spanish passengers in their native tongue. She is independent as she walks by herself. The music hints that she could be deceiving as it has an upbeat tempo however the lyrics are about living a hard life on the street informing us of her lifestyle.

What I like about this title sequence is that the music is a strong factor in conveying the inspirational genre, it also establishes the era. I feel mis-en-sene was used very effectively as we are informed she works at the airport through costume and setting. The constant medium shot made it was easy and simple to follow, it is clear to see her role at the airport and that she is the main character. Contrastingly, what I didn’t like about the continuous shot was that it was too long and nothing happened apart from her walking. The tracking shot doesn’t propose many enigma’s about the plotline. Similarities this title sequence shares with other films is the tracking shot shown in “I Am Legend” explaining there is no one else there apart from the character. Another similarity is no dialogue is used for most of the opening alike “Alien” so we have to listen to the backing track to gain information. This differed to a title sequence such as “Donny Brasco” which included many shots of cross cutting, close ups, group shots etc.

“Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale” Film Concept.

This film has the concept of a villain planning to catch Santa Clause and hold him for ransom however the Santa Clause seems evil and twisted- he is portrayed as a villain. Familiar aspects include “The Grinch” where something goes wrong at Christmas time. Similarly, in “The Village” there is a mystery in the woods which affects the rest of the town. The film “Santa Clause” has someone finding out who Santa is alike “Rare Exports.” However, there are many unique selling points which make this film different to others. The character of Santa has been changed from good, loving and a grandfather figure to evil, sinister and villainous. Christmas is a time to be happy and so most of the films released around the festive time with the Christmas theme usually revolves around a happy plotline. “Rare Exports” has a genre of a fairytale/ horror which subverts typical film type.

Film concepts

Successful films find a balance between familiar and unique areas of the production. Usual familiar elements include technology used to create the films, actor age (adults) and their ethnicity with the role they play (a character from America will usually play the lead hero in a film by an American producer). However, typical unique aspects are using new actors for lead roles, experimentation with the narrative structure and a surprising plot line- e.g. killing the good character.

“Avatar” holds both elements. The concept is of a man travelling to a new planet (Pandora) in search of a very valuable material but becomes involved in the Avatars life. Familiar aspects include actors; Sigourney Weaver plays a managerial role. Similarly the plot line is also common with the theme of success, fail, success. Also, the main character is a white, American male in his twenties. The plot of humans against a different species is similar to “I, Robot.” Contrastingly, the animated film is targeted for an adult audience unlike other animated films such as “The Incredibles” or “Toy Story.” Unlike “Alien vs Predator,” “Avatar” is based in a whole new world rather then the entire action taking place on Earth. The whole life on the planet will die if the characters don’t succeed instead of only one or two characters.

Vogler's 12 Steps Hero Journey

1. THE ORDINARY WORLD: The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma.  The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history.  Some kind of division in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress. In “Children of Men,” we meet Theo in a coffee shop, the world’s youngest citizen has died and he doesn’t seem bothered about it unlike others who are emotional towards it. A friend asks to take these “fugees” across the boarder for money.

2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE: Something causes stress in the situation, from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within. The hero must now face the beginnings of change. Julian meets with Theo and persuades him to do the task, Theo accepts.

3. REFUSAL OF THE CALL. The hero feels the fear of the unknown and briefly tries to turn away from the adventure.  Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead. Julian dies so Theo feels depressed and alone.

4. MEETING WITH THE MENTOR.  The hero comes across an experienced traveller of the worlds who gives them training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey.  Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and wisdom. Luke gets shelter and food for them from friends outside of London. Theo finds out Kee is pregnant.

5. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD. At the end of Act One, the hero commits to leaving the “Ordinary World” and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values. Theo overhears the others plan to use the baby and kill himself, Kee and Miriam after. They leave the others.

6. TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES. The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the Special World. Theo gets Kee and Miriam shelter and food at Jaspers house.

7. APPROACH. The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Special world. Jasper provides them with plans and acquaintances to help the three get to their destination. They set out to go to the Human Project.

8. THE ORDEAL.  The hero enters a central space in the Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear.  Out of the moment of death comes a new life. They loose Miriam and travel across the boarder. The baby is born.

9. THE REWARD. The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death.  There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again. Luke takes the baby away from Theo.

10. THE ROAD BACK.  The hero is driven to complete the adventure; leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure is brought home.  Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission. They try to receive the baby back through fighting. Theo, Kee and the baby get on a boat.

11. THE RESURRECTION. At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home.  They are purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level.  By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved. Theo dies in the water.

12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR. The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed. A boat appears, mother and baby are left alone in the boat.

“Children of Men” Film Concept.

From watching the opening of “Children of Men,” we can tell the state of the world is very bad. There are 100% infertility rates, the government is corrupted and there is an immigration problem. The environment is also corrupted; there is a lot of pollution and graffiti. The genre is a futuristic, action drama. The dark, futuristic factor is similar to “Blade Runner” films include. As the plot revolves around on character helping another it is similar to “I, Robot.” whereas the film is unique in many ways. It’s a dystopian society set in 2027 that is unnatural to us. The film also portrays characters already adapted to the lifestyle even though it’s dramatically different. The opening sets expectations of more enigmas and a complex, in-depth story.

Binary Opposites drive the plot forward; this is two opposing ideas put together. For example good- evil, brave- cowardly, honourable- corrupt. Binary opposites are used throughout the “Children of Men” in differing ways. Jasper’s house is calm, quiet and clean, with only three people and lots of pictures. This greatly contrasts with the rest of London which is rioted, noisy, dirty and polluted. Theo goes to Jaspers house to escape from the “outside.” Similarly, Julian and Theo are binary opposites. Julian is a successful activist who cares for immigrants and society, she is generally optimistic. Conflictingly, Theo is a failed activist who only cares for himself with a pessimistic outlook on life. This difference in opinions is interesting because it allows Theo to change his lifestyle unexpectedly whilst gaining faith, we see him enjoying life with Julian.

Alfonso Cuaron

Alfonso Cuaron, Director of “Children of Men”

The director was born in Mexico on 18^th November 1961. He always knew he wanted to be a director and when finally receiving a camera at the age of 12, he began filming everything. Cuaron studied the cinema throughout his education to university where he met friends who would help his career later in life. The director has created many successful pieces of moving image including an adaptation of the book “Great Expectations” as well as directing “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”

Alfonso Cuaron, the director of “Children of Men” interestingly didn’t read the book (P.D James) before creating the film because he was drawn to the theme of fertility. He thought this could act as a metaphor for the fading sense of hope. It “could be a point of departure for an exploration of the state of things that we’re living in now, the things that are shaping this vary first part of the 21^st century.” He decided to kill off certain characters early on in the film to convey the insecurity of life, it took away the preconception that the journey the audience will go on while watching the film will be ok and the main character is the hero. Another major theme in this film is democracy- the way in which civilians and immigrants are treated is due to the public, not a specific person, subverting the usual causes for mass dysfunction in society.

A GUIDE TO CREATING TENSION

In films and TV programmes, directors use a range of ways to emotionally engage the audience. This is mainly through camera, sound, mise-en-scene and editing. In Mulholland Drive (Dir. David Lynch 2001), Lynch provides a range of emotions including tension (even though the atmosphere is calm, something is not right) and curiosity (at the man that the dreamer is describing). In addition other emotions include shock at the speedy appearance of this monster, sympathy and concern for the dreamer with suspense and anticipation for what’s going to happen next.

CAMERA

The camera shots contribute to engaging the viewer. Lynch uses an establishing shot of the Winky’s sign, it seems innocent and so doesn’t prepare us for the emotional attachment. However when the dreamer begins to inform his psychiatrist about his dream the camera, unsteadily, draws closer to his face moving left to right. The audience feel uneasy by this and are immersed in the action. Throughout the explanation it moves round the diner when relevant to the story, for example when the psychiatrist was placed in the dream, the camera pans to the spot and then pans back again to the characters. This makes the audience feel like they’re there as the characters simultaneously look at the same spot also. A close up shot is used constantly when he is telling the story; from this we see that he is terrified of the story. Therefore we believe it whilst feeling sympathetic and concerned for him. When facing the dream in reality, the camera very slowly follows the characters as they’re also at that speed, emphasising how scared he is, making the audience cautious about what is to come. Another shot type used was a point of view shot of him moving in to the yard, we see his footsteps moving down the stairs. Again, this makes the audience feel disturbed and uneasy because it feels like we are there.

SOUND

The diagetic sound including police sirens and forks scratching plates with the buzz of cars outside, all contributes to building up the scene to create verisimilitude to suspend our disbelief. The audience think they’re actually in a diner. When the character begins to talk, the background noise died out and is replaced with a slow, low tone. It intensifies as the dreamer is becoming more scared, emotionally engaging the reader making them slowly feel uneasy. When the dreamer approaches the wall in yard, the low hum turns in to a high pitch synthesiser sound and is instantly deep once the beast appears, preparing us for something scary then shocking the audience.

MISE EN SCENE AND EDITING

The make up on the dreamer’s face is extensive, portraying that he is scared by this monster, in addition with his tired eyes also making us feel sympathy for him. Editing is used through a shot-reverse-shot, showing the relationship between them. As the audience we see that they’re both involved in the conversation and so we are interested in what they say.

Film concepts

All concepts of films have familiar aspects to them and unique qualities to them; we can see this through trailers of the movie. For example, in seeing the trailer for “Hard Candy” it holds the concept of a man and a teenage girl meeting over the internet. As a mentally disturbed character he leads her to his house, however we find that he has done this before with other girls of a similar age and we assume that he has killed them because of evidence that he’s kept in a room in his house. Therefore, we feel danger for her because the information shown conveys he is a paedophile. There are similarities with “Hard Candy” and “Leon,” a film where a male assassin manipulates a young girl due to her vulnerability because her family died. She is seeking a comforting relationship, whereas he attempts to murder her. Another similarity is “Taken,” a film where two teenage girls meet a man a few years older then him who charms them to come to a party, instead he kidnaps the two. Contrastingly, there are unique qualities to this film. There are only two characters and most of the film takes place at one location which expresses a claustrophobic tone. Also, there is role reversal in the concept- a young girl is surprisingly powerful in comparison to an older, perverted man. We know this as she takes control of the situation and fights against him.

Title Sequences

Title Sequences

Through our research we have looked at what makes an effective title sequence for a film. We found the most important were:

• Highlighting clues of the plot through symbolism to portray main themes,
• Establish enigma’s for intellectual engagement,
• Enable a back story which affect the characters, this could also establish enigma’s
• Appropriate music to expose the atmosphere and genre of the film, a romance film will have quick tempo and upbeat music, whereas a horror film may include a low pitched, disturbing sound making the audience instantly unsteady. This sets up expectations.
• Establish behaviour/use of character through the use of camera shot e.g., a close up would show they’re emotions are very important, although a long shot tells us that the environment the character is in is essential to understand.
• Opening credits and the name of the film,
• Information about the time and place to help the audience understand the context of the film.

EXAMPLE 1

The film “Donny Brasco” (director Mike Newell 1997), uses these elements in its title sequence effectively so as the audience we gain an informed insight to the story. In the first scenes, there is cross cutting between Donny Brasco and another male character telling us there is a close relationship between the two. They’re presented separately showing that even if they do not like each other, the characters are somehow linked to one another. This exposes part of the back story, suggesting that there may be conflict between the two characters. Through a close up of a photograph we see a gang of men; Brasco has circled one member of the group, so we focus on that character, implying the plot will revolve around Brasco attempting to harm this man. Mise en scene shows a gang of men dressed as gangsters, we assume they’re criminals therefore this hints that the film will revolve around a crime genre. There is also a close up of the character with light to dark lighting going across his forehead conveying he is looking out from the inside, establishing an enigma where the audience could ask why does this character have to hide from the others? We know that the film is set in 1920’s New York because there are shots of lights in the style of a Broadway setting, as well as shots showing the cars the men drive.

EXAMPLE 2

Similarly, “Alien” (Dir. Ridely Scott 1979) also uses certain elements to convey the film in the title sequence. It highlights clues of the plot through symbolism to portray main themes. The way in which the title appears on screen is unusual as it starts as lines then forms letters which shows that the film will contain aspects of a different nature to normal life. Airy, high pitched music is added in the background to exposing the inhumane atmosphere and increasing tension which establishes the behaviour of the film and the sci-fi genre also. Dark and dim shades of the background promote a tense atmosphere setting the expectation of a darker view of space exploration.

Tolorov's film stucture

Many films follow Tolorov’s narrative structure through their story. The first stage is equilibrium which is the normal life of the characters. The second is disruption (to normal life), the third is recognition (of disruption and planning to resolve it). The next step is repair where action is taken to resolve the disruption. The final step is return to the equilibrium or establishing new normality.

An example of “Finding Nemo.”

• Equilibrium- Nemo’s father is very anxious about his son being independent.

• Disruption- Nemo is lost and caught by humans.

• Recognition- Dad realises, panics, then decides to search for his son. Nemo
realises he is captive and plans to escape.

• Repair- Dad finds Nemo.

• Return- Nemo and his father are reunited, they return to the fish community.
his dad is now less anxious.


An example of “Mean Girls”
• Equilibrium- everyone is set is clique’s at Northshore high school. New girl Cady goes to high school for the first time in her life after being home schooled. She being to socialise with friends.

• Disruption- Cady is accepted by a group called “The Plastics,” and is treated badly by Regina (the head of the group).

• Recognition- Cady and her friends plan to ruin Regina’s social life and make her unpopular.

• Repair- Everyone is told the truth about what they think of each other, not only Cady and Regina but all girls at the high school.

• Return- All the fighting stopped and all the girls got along with each other.