AS MEDIALESSON 3 – OPENING TITLES

TASK 1•VISIT THE WEBSITE WWW.ARTOFTHETITLE.COM AND CHOOSE

AN OPENING TITLE SEQUENCE.•ON THE WEBSITE, LOOK UP SAUL BASS, THE CREATOR OF THE

TITLES FOR NORTH BY NORTHWEST (ALONG WITH MOST OF HITCHCOCK’S WORK), AND PRODUCE A SUMMARY OF HIS STYLE.

•DO SOME WIDER RESEARCH ON HIM – WHAT INFLUENCE HAS HE HAD ON THRILLER TITLES? WHAT OTHER TITLE SEQUENCES WERE INSPIRED BY HIM?

TASK 2 – NORTH BY NORTHWEST OPENINGWATCH THE OPENING TITLES 4 TIMES. IN SMALL GROUPS, MAKE NOTES ON THE FOLLOWING AREAS:•SEMANTIC CODES (TECHNICAL AND SYMBOLIC)•SYNTACTIC CODES (SUGGESTED BY THE SEMANTIC)•SOUND CODES• THE SIZE, COLOUR AND TIMING OF THE TITLE CARDS

DID YOU NOTICE? The lines running downwards – what does that suggest?

DID YOU NOTICE?As the names slide

up or down, a white block slides

in the opposite direction – why?

DID YOU NOTICE?

Notice how the use of iconography

gives us our location.

DID YOU NOTICE? The sign says ‘NO TURNS’ – is this an

accident? What does it suggest?

DID YOU NOTICE?

The positioning and size of the

director’s name is important. What’s the effect here?

TASK 3FIND AN OPENING TITLE SEQUENCE USING THE ART OF THE TITLE OR CHOOSE FROM KEY THRILLER TEXTS YOU IDENTIFIED IN PREVIOUS RESEARCH. BEGIN TO COMPOSE AN ANALYSIS OF THE TITLE SEQUENCE – FROM FILM LOGO AT THE START TO THE SHOT FOLLOWING THE ‘DIRECTED BY’ CREDIT. ANY CONVENTIONAL THRILLER SHOULD HAVE VISUALS WITH TITLES OVER THEM, NOT JUST TITLES ON A BLANK SCREEN.COVER ALL AREAS, AND DON’T FORGET TO:• APPLY GENRE AND NARRATIVE THEORY (STRETCH – COVER REPRESENTATION)• USE TERMINOLOGY• COMPARE TO ONE OF THE OTHER TITLE SEQUENCES (MAYBE ANOTHER SAUL BASS

ONE)

NARRATIVE BASICSTZVETAN TODOROV (1970) - THEORY OF NARRATIVE, IN WHICH STORIES HAVE THE FOLLOWING STEPS:1. EQUILIBRIUM – THE NORMAL STATE OF EXISTENCE FOR CHARACTERS2. DISEQUILIBRIUM – AN EVENT OCCURS WHICH DISRUPTS THAT EXISTENCE (OR MAKES IT

WORSE)3. RECOGNITION – IT DAWNS ON CHARACTERS THAT THE DISRUPTION HAS HAPPENED4. REPAIR – THEY ATTEMPT TO FIX THE DISRUPTION, MULTIPLE TIMES5. RISING ACTION – EVENTS START COMING TO A HEAD6. CLIMAX – THE PINNACLE OF THE ACTION7. NEW EQUILIBRIUM – CHARACTERS RETURN TO A ‘NORMAL’ STATE, CHANGED IN SOME WAY.

EXAMPLEA TODOROV BREAKDOWN OF MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

1. EQUILIBRIUM – MAX ROCKATANSKY WANDERS THE DESERT IN A POST-APOCALYPTIC AUSTRALIA.

2. DISRUPTION – HE IS CAPTURED BY THE WAR BOYS, THE ARMY OF IMMORTAN JOE.3. RECOGNITION – HE REALISES HE MUST GET AWAY AND ATTEMPTS AN ESCAPE

(FAILS).4. REPAIR – MAX MANAGES TO ESCAPE WHEN HE GETS CAUGHT IN THE ESCAPE PLANS

OF IMPERATOR FURIOSA, WHICH HE MANAGES TO TAKE CONTROL OF. THE WAR BOYS GIVE CHASE.

5. RISING ACTION – THEY FIGHT THEIR WAY THROUGH TO THEIR ‘PROMISED LAND’ BUT IT ISN’T THERE, SO THEY TURN BACK AT THE ENEMY.

6. CLIMAX - THE BATTLE IS FINALLY WON WITH THE KILLING OF IMMORTAN JOE.7. NEW EQUILIBRIUM – FURIOSA TAKES CONTROL OF THE CITADEL AND MAX RETURNS

TO HIS DESERT WANDERING.

EXAMPLEA TODOROV BREAKDOWN OF MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

1. EQUILIBRIUM – MAX ROCKATANSKY WANDERS THE DESERT IN A POST-APOCALYPTIC AUSTRALIA.

2. DISRUPTION – HE IS CAPTURED BY THE WAR BOYS, THE ARMY OF IMMORTAN JOE.3. RECOGNITION – HE REALISES HE MUST GET AWAY AND ATTEMPTS AN ESCAPE

(FAILS).4. REPAIR – MAX MANAGES TO ESCAPE WHEN HE GETS CAUGHT IN THE ESCAPE PLANS

OF IMPERATOR FURIOSA, WHICH HE MANAGES TO TAKE CONTROL OF. THE WAR BOYS GIVE CHASE.

5. RISING ACTION – THEY FIGHT THEIR WAY THROUGH TO THEIR ‘PROMISED LAND’ BUT IT ISN’T THERE, SO THEY TURN BACK AT THE ENEMY.

6. CLIMAX - THE BATTLE IS FINALLY WON WITH THE KILLING OF IMMORTAN JOE.7. NEW EQUILIBRIUM – FURIOSA TAKES CONTROL OF THE CITADEL AND MAX RETURNS

TO HIS DESERT WANDERING.

This happens within the

opening scene – is that typical in thrillers?

FURTHER EXAMPLES•THE CONVERSATION (1974)•SICARIO (2015)•SHALLOW GRAVE (1994)MAKE NOTES IN THE COMPARISON GRID TO EXPLORE THE DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES.

SCHEDULE FOR THE 3 OPENING SCENE ANALYSIS PIECES• AS WITH THE POSTER ANALYSIS, I AM NOT EXPECTING MORE THAN 200-

300 WORDS OR 60-90 MINUTES WORK ON EACH ONE. BE REALISTIC ABOUT YOUR WORKLOAD AND WHAT THE MARK WEIGHTING FOR EACH ONE WILL BE (NOT MUCH)

• ALL THREE NEED TO BE COMPLETED BY MONDAY 17TH OCTOBER• THAT WILL BE 2/3 OF THE INDIVIDUAL PART OF THE RESEARCH DONE

ALREADY• USE THIS TASK TO REALLY START TO DEVELOP YOUR IDEAS• START EXPERIMENTING WITH DIFFERENT WAYS OF DISPLAYING THEM ON

YOUR BLOG – POWERPOINT, PREZI, ANNOTATED POSTERS• YOU COULD EVEN PRESENT ONE AS A TIMELINE ANALYSIS (SEE EXAMPLE).

REVISED SCHEDULE – TAKE A PHOTO

INTERIM DEADLINES:• FRIDAY 14TH OCTOBER – POSTER ANALYSIS 2 AND 3• MONDAY 17TH OCTOBER – OPENING SCENE ANALYSIS 1• MONDAY 31ST OCTOBER – OPENING SCENE ANALYSIS 2 AND 3• FRIDAY 4TH NOVEMBER – SCENE ANALYSIS 1• MONDAY 7TH NOVEMBER – AUDIENCE SURVEY RESULTS• FRIDAY 18TH NOVEMBER – SCENE ANALYSIS 2 AND 3SURVEY RESULTS ANALYSIS AND THRILLER PLANNING WILL BE DONE IN LESSONS.

The priority is to create the pieces. Any problems

posting to blogs can be sorted out later. You can

always email me documents, PowerPoints, Prezi links and whatever.

REPRESENTATION

• BY NOW YOU KNOW ABOUT PROPP’S CHARACTER TYPES AND A LITTLE ABOUT REPRESENTATION.

• TODAY WE WILL LOOK AT A COUPLE OF OPENING SCENES THROUGH THIS KEY CONCEPT AND SEE WHAT WE FIND.

• FIRST, A RECAP. . .

REPRESENTATION OF WOMENTwo key theorists:

Laura Mulvey (1975)Male Gaze – audiences forced by

camera and editing to see women from the viewpoint of a

heterosexual male.This relates to both appearance

and activity.Thus, women are seen as

objects, possessions, prizes and helpers.

Angela McRobbie (1974)Feminine conformity – audiences

read female characters as ‘conforming’ to society

expectations.Thus, women are housewives,

mothers, emotional, subservient to men and concerned with

‘family’ above all other concerns.

FEMINIST ICON?People (especially GCSE Media teachers) often use Ripley from the Alien film series as a character that challenges these theories. However. . .

• In Alien (1979) she was subservient to a male ship’s captain. His decision to ignore her advice led to the deaths of his entire crew.

• In Aliens (1986) her character arc focuses on motherhood. Her own child has grown old and died while she has travelled through space and so she ‘adopts’ a little girl whom she rescues.

Battle of the mothers?The climactic scene from

Aliens (1986)

THRILLER OPENING•The Box (R. Kelly, 2009)

Task

How do the camera, editing, sound (including dialogue) and mise-en-scene represent Cameron Diaz’s character in the opening scene?

Bonus

How does this conform to/challenge Mulvey and McRobbie

(remember – Mulvey isn’t just about looking sexy: how does the male character’s view of her impact the audience?)

REPRESENTATION OF AGE

Young peopleStereotyped as. . .

• Yobbish• Having a gang culture• Disrespectful• Into drink and drugs• Teen pregnancies• Silly/not serious

Old peopleStereotyped as. . .

• Fussy• Senile• Infirm (ill/weak)• Interfering• Victims• Inflexible

THRILLER OPENING

•Gran Torino (C. Eastwood, 2008)

Task

How do the camera, editing, sound (including dialogue) and mise-en-scene represent both the young, middle aged and old characters?

Bonus

Compare to the slight hint of age representation we saw in The Box.

OVER TO YOUOver the next two weeks, we will look into our scene analysis pieces.

You now need to create your opening scene analysis pieces following the deadlines given. Don’t forget to comment on the placement of titles in the scene (or the lack of titles) and remember to try and cover genre features, presentation of narrative and representation within the word count/timing advised.

Remember the theory as well!

Please apply feedback given to the first piece to the second and third.