Saul Bass Title Opening Sequence Research

Saul Bass
May 8th 1920 - April 25th 1996

The video below shows the title opening sequence of the 1960's Ocean's Eleven which was created by a man who was well-known for his designs on animated motion picture title sequences.






The title opening sequence above shows the abilities of Saul Bass for what he is well-known for by creating an animated opening to this particular film with the appearing and dissapearing names and numbers. 


Plot


A band of soldier friends from the 82nd airborne regroup 15 years later to rob millions of dollars from five Las Vegas casinos. When one of the eleven's future step-father learns who pulled the job, the crew must find a way to smuggle the loot out of town before their payoff is cut in half.


Genre


The title opening sequence that I have shown on this blog suggests that this film is a Comical Crime based film which will therefore appear more interesting as a film to a broader audience. Such things as the mans coat right at the end of this video clip suggest elements of crime will occur throughout the entirety of the film. This is because this coat has familiarities to that of a Agent of the force such as Crime Investigative Agent.





Also you could link this title opening sequence to that of a Action film because by the usage of either Casino lights or bullet holes for the numbers at the start means that somewhere within the film there will be moments/elements of Action.

Casino Lights

Camerawork

Throughout this title sequence we as an audience aren't shown any characters who feature within the film until the end of this short clip when we are shown a long shot of a middle classed man walk into a shop through the front door. Therefore the camerawork of this title opening sequence isn't the main concentration around the title opening sequence due to the fact that the animated numbers and names take up most of the time period given for this particular title opening sequence. 

Mise-en-scene 

The tiltle opening sequence I have managed to show on my blog shows the same font throughout in order to count the numbers and to show the name of the actors/actresses until, they finally reach the number 11 when we finally have a different type of font for the actually wording used in order to show the people who are invovled within the film.

The start of the title sequence shows a dark background whilst having the bright numbers and text being disolved between each other through transactions. This has been done in order to make sure that the numbers and text stand out to the audience whilst they are watching this title opening sequence. Also these colour are used because the film is based around Las Vegas and this area is well-known for its bright lights through the city. 

At the start of this video link we as the audience are presented with the original soundtrack from the Warner Bros. Pictures company so that we can relate to who has managed to produce this film. After this we are then given a high pitch up beat piece of music which goes along with the quick moving title in order to keep the flow of this video going whilst suggesting moments of action because of this high paced music. Towards the end of this video we are then introduced to some jazz music once we finally reach the name of the film.

This particular title opening sequence has used a vast amount of editing in order to create the movements for the numbers and names of people invovled throughout. Such editing techniques as dissolve are used throughout the video transition in order to create the effect of somebody counting up from one to eleven.  Also these video transitions are used to make sure that this title opening seuqence flows smooth for the audience in order to add interest for the viewers.

(The images below show the video transition I have described above)

Original Synopsis

Our first scene begins in a girls handbag from the point of view of her clown keyring.she gets home and places the clown key ring on her computer. As she is typing the eyes of the clown move. She notices this and jumps and throws it off the computer and it falls on the floor. She think its her mind playing tricks on her and goes downstairs to have a little break from her work. She goes back upstairs to continue typing on her computer and sees it sitting on her computer once again. More agitated now she picks it off the computer desk and throws it into the bin. She goes to bed and a new day begins as she wakes up (long shot from the clowns point of view) ( over the shoulder shot of the clown). She raises her head up and is horrified to find the clown there again and begins to scream wildly.

Through out this opening sequence it is from the point of view of the clown.

Second Group Meeting

Below you can see what the planned agenda was for, for our second group meeting. The following people are present: Taylor, Sam, Moe and Farah. 

Agenda

·         Synopsis

·         Storyboard – Draw-up

·         Location/ props + target audience

·         Characters

·         Roles

03/11/10

15:46

As a group we are discussing the synopsis and what is going to happen throughout our title opening sequence. Moe then writes down the initial ideas for our synopsis containing all of the information that will be includes within our title opening sequence such as movements and actions.

Also whilst doing this we managed to discuss the editing techniques that we will use in order to move the eyes of the toy clown within the opening moments of the groups opening sequence. This is then followed by the main character starting to notice that the clown is coming to life by fixating its eyes upon her face whilst she is typing on the computer.  

16:19 - We then watched a title opening sequence from Carousel which shows the ability to use a clown to create a dramatic scene and also a scene that the audience will want to watch. Also this video showed us that we can use these clown characters either to create a happy/evil vibe.

16:32 - Whilst discussing our ideas for the synopsis, we then added and also took away ideas from the actual story due to the new ideas being implanted into the story in order to make the film more dramatic for the audience.

16:42 - We then decided to film most of the title opening sequence from the perspective of the clown itself in order to capture more of the emotion of the main women character within our title opening sequence.

Thriller Title Opening Sequences

The information below shows a number of thriller title opening sequences which link to the genre of our groups final title sequence.





Catch Me If You Can - Title Opening Sequence


This title opening sequence shows the brief things which are both expected but also neccesary for a film in order to allow the audience to have an idea of who is starring in the film and who has made an input towards the making of the final film itself.

Also this title opening sequence shows a miniture story within itself of how the eventual film will pan out.

                                                This is a screenshot of this title opening sequence which shows who is the production company behind the creation of this entire film. 



Sin City - Title Opening Sequence

The short video link below shows the title opening sequence to the 2005 film Sin City which is a film that explores the dark and miserable town, Basin City, and tells the story of three different people, all caught up in violent corruption.



This opening sequence shows all of the actors/actresses who appear throughout the film and who also have an importance to the story told throughout the film.

The screenshot above shows the opening of this films title opening sequence which possibly gives off the image that there will be blood shed within this film because everything else is in black and white apart from the title "Sin City". Also the way in which this title is filled up with colour in and after this image looks as though blood is dripping into the text in order to give it colour in order to stand out to its audience.


Saw - Title Opening Sequence

The video below shows the tile opening sequence of the film Saw and this sequence gives the audience an idea of who will be starring within the film, which people have had an input towards the making of the film such as director etc.



This title opening sequence also has a linked relavacne to that of our own opening title sequence because both films start with the image of a clock giving the audience an idea that throughout the film people who will feature have limited time.  

Thriller Moodslide

The moodslide above shows images of which either helps to create a good thriller film or thriller films such as Psycho which are well-known thriller films that have changed the face of the thriller genre.

Title Opening Sequence Research

A title sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound. It usually follows but should not be confused with the opening credits, which are generally nothing more than a series of superimposed text.

History
Many films have used unusual and fairly elaborate title sequences since the 1930s. In the 1936 Show Boat little cut-out figures on a revolving turnable carried overhead banners on which were displayed the opening credits This opening sequence was designed by John Harkrider, who created the costumes for the original 1927 Broadway production of the musical.

In several films, the opening credits have appeared against a background of (sometimes moving) clouds. These include The Wizard of Oz (1939), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), the David Lean Oliver Twist (1948), and the 1961 King of Kings.
In the 1947 Technicolor film Sinbad the Sailor, the letters of the opening credits seem to form from colored water gushing into a fountain.

In the 1959 Ben-Hur, the opening credits were seen against the background of the "Creation of Man" in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling. As the credits progressed, the camera slowly zoomed in on the Hand of God outstretched toward Adam.


Example

These screenshots show the title opening sequence for the film The Fall. By doing this, this enables the audience to see by each scene what is exactly going on throughout the title opening sequence. 

This sequence shows the characters within the film, people who are staring or who are appart of the main film itself. Also this has helped the audience to build up an idea of what the film is going to contain/be about.

First Production Meeting

The First Official Discussion of Our Title Sequence

1/11/10
3 Initial Ideas
10:31

1) A clown based thriller in which children who are trapped in a school are each individually killed by the clown. This idea originated from the clown thriller which is IT the Clown. This film is based around a Clown who manages to be in the right place at the right time.

2) A love triangle based thriller which involves three friends who have known each other from a young age and two of them have suddenly developed a more in-depth relationship between them. This ends up with these two presenting their feelings for one another to their final friend who we then find out has had secret feelings for one of these characters as well therefore creating a dramatic twist.

3) The final idea we had was based around a Cyber Death which involves a young women who through depression, meets a young male online which towards the end of the storyline, leads to her down fall.

10:42- Discussions then lead to the idea of enhancing our clown based thriller to life by creating ideas such as the opening scene of one character being introduced to the clown suddenly whilst they’re interrupted by the clown.

10:50- Plans then to make sure that we as both individuals and as a group are on the same page as each other by agreeing that we are all both focused and ready to further develop these ideas in order to get to the next stage of our audio/visual production. We’ve also decided that we will have to finish on a specific date in order to then make sure that we all can be free to film our final audio/visual product. 10:34am- The names of the participants present at this meeting: Farah, Sam, Taylor, Moe.

Within this meeting we had to discuss the ideas we had for the audio/visual product of the group. Moe who has missed the previous discussion we had is now being updated by Sam.