Zombieland - So far I have deconstructed three film openings of their credits and if you look at those you can see that each genre has a different style of opening. For obvious reasons, 'Zombieland' has a lot of special effects due to the fact it's basically a zombie apocolypse, there has to be blood and explosions everywhere or else it would be boring and not fulfil the titles instant expectations, also because of the fact it is a thriller/spoof the audience expects there to be humour within the opening. Now 'Reservoir Dogs' is completely the opposite to that, there are no special effects, no need for a load of media make up or humour as it is just simply a bunch of men walking in suits, may not be as 'exciting' or 'fun filled' as Zombieland but it is a completely different type of film, it is still a form of a thriller but it is kept to a realistic, cool style. In comparison to these, well Juno just doesn't compare other in fact the only thing you could say is that it is completely and utterly the opposite to both of these films. It's not a thriller, however it is a form of a comedy so I guess I could contradict myself and say that it can relate to Zombieland, but that's be stupid as the opening doesn't convey any subtle forms of comedy and the plot is about a teenage pregnancy; unless the baby came out as a zombie and took over the world then we'd have something to compare it to: but it doesn't so the opening is different to both of the other films.
I plan on doing a thriller for my opening credits so I'm going to have a quick look at how the openings to some thrillers relate to their supposed genre...
One of the greatest thrillers, 'Pulp Fiction' starts in a similar way to 'Reservoir Dogs'. Characters are talking, this gives a setting, the audience a chance to get to know a bit about the characters; what they do, how they know each other, what their beliefs are etc but also informs the audience that there is a storyline and it's going to be a bloody good one due to the detail exposed and hidden.
Another great thriller, my all time favourite film 'Snatch' starring the likes of Brad Pitt, Jason Statham and Benicio Del Toro. The opening in this film is absolutely brilliant, it introduces the important characters by just having them on camera for a couple of seconds and saying there names, this is enough for the audience to work out that this isn't going to be a simple storyline, it's going to be a well thought out one. Now like Zombieland, this is a thriller which contains aspects of comedy, likewise in both of the opening credits the humour is displayed subtly.
A quick break down of the opening credits that I deconstructed...
Zombieland: The colours on screen contrast so that the credits are clear, it is filled with action to match the expectations of the title, each clip is only a few seconds long with each being a different scenario however each still keep to the storyline. All of the opening is in slow motion which allows the audience to take in all of the details contained from the opening which helps the audience to understand the storyline - no one can escape; even the rich. Each of the clips have a fading effect on them this helps the opening clip to flow, if it didn't have this the images would just jump from one to anothercausing confusion to the audiences eyes.
Reservoir Dogs: Simple opening credits. Background music to set the tone of the film; bad ass. The credits are just a plain orangey colour which contracts to the background so that the audience are still able to read them and see the footage in the background. There are a few reaction shots in it and a few angle changes but in all honesty there isn't a lot of stuff going on which is the great thing about the opening credits; it doesn't need a lot of action of special effects, you can see the plot of the film is going to be great without all the extras.
Juno: This was packed with special effects however it wasn't too much. The cartoony style effect over the footage was perfectly acceptable for the target audience and the genre of the film. The credits appear in the same style and imaginitive way which shows continuity. Although there are a lot of images in the opening they are all helpful for the audience to establish the scenery and work out bits about the characters life - not so wealthy.
Friday, 6 January 2012
Monday, 12 December 2011
Deconstructions #3 - Juno
Juno
The opening credits start off with a close up shot of the main character 'Juno' drinking a large bottle of sunny D, as she removes the bottle from her mouth the backing music begins to play - 'All I want is you' by Barry Louis Polisar. This is a very happy and 'bouncy' song which lets the audience know that this is going to be a happy, comedy film with certain aspects of love involved because of the lyrics. As the music begins, we see the character walkin from a 180 degree angle, this helps show the setting of the film and also the clothing of the character which the audience can the establish what sort of characteristics 'Juno' has. A group of high school runners then come running past from the other direction. As she walks behind a tree an effect has been put on which makes everything appear as though it has been turned into a cartoon drawing, this is where we see the first credit which says who is presenting this. Whilst the character is walking around we see extreme close ups of her feet and some of the credits appear beside letter by letter.
In the second section the camera is angled straight infront so it looks as though Juno is walking to the camera. This is a long shot which emphasises that Juno is the main character as the audience have nothing else to look at other than her as she almost fills the screens height. To the right side of the image we see the title appear 'JUNO' which is written in a cartoon style, this keeps to the overall effect of the credits. The credit 'JUNO' also flashes different colours which draws the audiences eyes to focus on the title.
Moving on to the third section we see a medium shot angled at the main character as she continues with her day with the acrtesses name credited next to it, 'Ellen Page'. The shot then changes to a 180 degree rule and just shows the waist down of the character walking. The background is very light but yet has a lot of detail which is related back to in the film, for instance in this shot we can see a rocking chair and a guitar next to the credits 'Michael Cera' this could be implying to the audience that this is where character played by that actor is living and shows that one of his hobbies is playing the guitar. The camera then rises straight up so that the audience can see the other credit.
It is almost like a jump cut to get to the fourth section as the character is moving in the same way but the scenery has changed along with the angle. This draws attention to the editing which could make the audiences focus be slightly disorientated, however I personally think that it is a clever transition in which to show different angles and focus' on the screen. As Juno walks down the street the camera stays where it is, as Juno walks further down the path letters appear on the fence which create another credit. We still see Juno drinking a large amount of sunny D, due to the fact that it appears all the time in the credits it is most likely going to be an important part of the film.
In the fifth clip there is a medium close of middle section of the Juno's body, credits for who did the casting appears on the left hand side, however the focus is still on the Sunny D bottle. The camera then appears to swivel to the left which then all of a sudden is Juno's top half, this is should be quite disorientating however because the effect of the credits are like a cartoon drawing it is not.
This sixth clip is my favourite as it is a birds eye view as we see Juno looking directly up at the leaves falling down to where she is walking. As the leaves fall the camera zooms onto Juno which gives the effect that it too is falling like the leaves. As the camera is doing this the credits on the left hand side appear, however they do not bigger as the camera zooms like you would expect them to. The angle is then changed in a swift movement to a 180 degree rule again, this allows the audience to see a wider view of the scenery and to take notice of the credits before Juno begins to walk by and distract them again.
The runners from the last clip that were going in the opposite direction to juno then 'run onto' the next clip past her as she walks towards her. So far there is not much continuity going on with the shots but I think this is the great thing about these opening credits, they're not sticking to the normal 'Hollywood', this could be showing that the director does not want to have to adhere to the way things 'should' be done in order to succeed. Some more credits appear on the right hand side of her as the camera shot is focused from behind. Once the boys have started to run off of the screen the angle then becomes tilted towards the floor, this makes the audience think that this is the characters point of view however when the camera rises we then go back to seeing a shot from behind of Juno as more credits appear above her head. Unlike the earlier bits in the clips near the end of this section Juno's body is moving forward but the scenery is suggesting that she isn't going anywhere as that is not changing. This could be for the audience to take in who the executive producers are, this could imply that they feel that they are more important then everyone else on the credits as they have pretty much had to stop the footage in order for their credits to appear.
Moving onto the eighth clip, the camera has stayed in one spot and is filming juno walk towards it and past it, complared to a lot of the footage already looked at, this is a very smooth transition from one position to the next, as the camear is turning more credits appear. The camera then films all of Juno's body walking in sections starting from her feet ending up on her face.
Finally the last clip is the ending of the last but with the credits of the directors name 'Jason Reitman' appearing to the right hand side of the characters face. As Juno walks back into reality and the song decends there is digetic sound on screen as the cartoon effect on the credits fade off and go back to reality. This is a very good way of showing that film is now going to begin as has the same effects of the beginning of the credit and also one of the key focus' (the Sunny D bottle) has now been chucked away which signifies the start of something new for the audience to focus on.
The opening credits start off with a close up shot of the main character 'Juno' drinking a large bottle of sunny D, as she removes the bottle from her mouth the backing music begins to play - 'All I want is you' by Barry Louis Polisar. This is a very happy and 'bouncy' song which lets the audience know that this is going to be a happy, comedy film with certain aspects of love involved because of the lyrics. As the music begins, we see the character walkin from a 180 degree angle, this helps show the setting of the film and also the clothing of the character which the audience can the establish what sort of characteristics 'Juno' has. A group of high school runners then come running past from the other direction. As she walks behind a tree an effect has been put on which makes everything appear as though it has been turned into a cartoon drawing, this is where we see the first credit which says who is presenting this. Whilst the character is walking around we see extreme close ups of her feet and some of the credits appear beside letter by letter.
In the second section the camera is angled straight infront so it looks as though Juno is walking to the camera. This is a long shot which emphasises that Juno is the main character as the audience have nothing else to look at other than her as she almost fills the screens height. To the right side of the image we see the title appear 'JUNO' which is written in a cartoon style, this keeps to the overall effect of the credits. The credit 'JUNO' also flashes different colours which draws the audiences eyes to focus on the title.
Moving on to the third section we see a medium shot angled at the main character as she continues with her day with the acrtesses name credited next to it, 'Ellen Page'. The shot then changes to a 180 degree rule and just shows the waist down of the character walking. The background is very light but yet has a lot of detail which is related back to in the film, for instance in this shot we can see a rocking chair and a guitar next to the credits 'Michael Cera' this could be implying to the audience that this is where character played by that actor is living and shows that one of his hobbies is playing the guitar. The camera then rises straight up so that the audience can see the other credit.
It is almost like a jump cut to get to the fourth section as the character is moving in the same way but the scenery has changed along with the angle. This draws attention to the editing which could make the audiences focus be slightly disorientated, however I personally think that it is a clever transition in which to show different angles and focus' on the screen. As Juno walks down the street the camera stays where it is, as Juno walks further down the path letters appear on the fence which create another credit. We still see Juno drinking a large amount of sunny D, due to the fact that it appears all the time in the credits it is most likely going to be an important part of the film.
In the fifth clip there is a medium close of middle section of the Juno's body, credits for who did the casting appears on the left hand side, however the focus is still on the Sunny D bottle. The camera then appears to swivel to the left which then all of a sudden is Juno's top half, this is should be quite disorientating however because the effect of the credits are like a cartoon drawing it is not.
This sixth clip is my favourite as it is a birds eye view as we see Juno looking directly up at the leaves falling down to where she is walking. As the leaves fall the camera zooms onto Juno which gives the effect that it too is falling like the leaves. As the camera is doing this the credits on the left hand side appear, however they do not bigger as the camera zooms like you would expect them to. The angle is then changed in a swift movement to a 180 degree rule again, this allows the audience to see a wider view of the scenery and to take notice of the credits before Juno begins to walk by and distract them again.
The runners from the last clip that were going in the opposite direction to juno then 'run onto' the next clip past her as she walks towards her. So far there is not much continuity going on with the shots but I think this is the great thing about these opening credits, they're not sticking to the normal 'Hollywood', this could be showing that the director does not want to have to adhere to the way things 'should' be done in order to succeed. Some more credits appear on the right hand side of her as the camera shot is focused from behind. Once the boys have started to run off of the screen the angle then becomes tilted towards the floor, this makes the audience think that this is the characters point of view however when the camera rises we then go back to seeing a shot from behind of Juno as more credits appear above her head. Unlike the earlier bits in the clips near the end of this section Juno's body is moving forward but the scenery is suggesting that she isn't going anywhere as that is not changing. This could be for the audience to take in who the executive producers are, this could imply that they feel that they are more important then everyone else on the credits as they have pretty much had to stop the footage in order for their credits to appear.
Moving onto the eighth clip, the camera has stayed in one spot and is filming juno walk towards it and past it, complared to a lot of the footage already looked at, this is a very smooth transition from one position to the next, as the camear is turning more credits appear. The camera then films all of Juno's body walking in sections starting from her feet ending up on her face.
Finally the last clip is the ending of the last but with the credits of the directors name 'Jason Reitman' appearing to the right hand side of the characters face. As Juno walks back into reality and the song decends there is digetic sound on screen as the cartoon effect on the credits fade off and go back to reality. This is a very good way of showing that film is now going to begin as has the same effects of the beginning of the credit and also one of the key focus' (the Sunny D bottle) has now been chucked away which signifies the start of something new for the audience to focus on.
Sunday, 11 December 2011
Deconstructions #2 - Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs
In opening shot for the credits the camera is at an over the shoulder shot angle so that it is easier for the audience to focus on the person speaking and leaving the room. As they get up and leave the backing track 'Little Green Bag' - George Baker Selection plays, this is a song that has elements of 'coolness' to it from the jazzy bass intro and the way that the bass line is played twice follwed by a drum groove, this is what gives a bouncy feel to the track which suits nicely for the rest of the opening credits. There is 4 seconds of a black screen whilst the lyrics are spoken on the soundtrack of the credits before the first credit is displayed; 'A film by Quentin Tarantino', it's in a bright orange toned yellowcolour which succesfully stands out from the black background, resulting in the audience to be able to read this clearly.
Following on from the first section, the men appear on screen gradually, all walking in a group. We view this from a 180 degree shot. The background contrasts with their black and white suits so that they stand out, also the scenery is very simple, just a brick wall with a pale blue truck parked in front. Although the scenery is simple, it's effective as it allows the audience to focus on the characters walking; ergo they are able to establish the groups behaviour and form.
The director changes the 180 degree angle to a portrait close up of the actor Harvey Keitel. Yet again the credit is the same colour, this shows continuity. When the camera is close up on the actors face it becomes more apparant that the footage has been slowed down slightly which gives an extra essence of 'coolness' to it, in fact most men who I have spoken to regarding this film think that they look cool wearing a suit because of this film. The clothes the actors are wearing are almost like a statement to say that they are the 'top dogs'. The fact that this character was credited first suggests to the audience that he is the alpha male in this group of men.
Simirlarly, the next shot is a close up but of another actor by the name of Michael Madsen. This shot only lasts around 4 seconds but informs the audience that he is one of the leaders as he is in the front of the pack. Also it may be an obvious thing to point out, but the character is smoking, now this could be shown in such a blatent manner as something may relate to it later on in the film.
In the fifth shot, the credits are focussing on Chris Penn. We could see him in the background of the fourth shot and in all honesty, I don't think the transition from him being in the background to being the main focus was all that smooth. I think that if I was going to do a change of focus on the characters I'd have to take a lot of care into making sure that the transition between the shots are as smooth as possible.
The sixth, seventh and eighth clips are much the same so is hard to talk about something different. However the difference in the eighth shot is that the credits say 'and Tim Roth, this implies that he is the last 'important' character that needs mentioning.
Finally the last clip lasts longer than the rest and is also like the beginning but at a different angle. It is a wider shot, angled from behind but the audience can see that they are all walking together in the same formation. The credit 'are' appears on the screen then dissappears to be followed by 'RESERVOIR DOGS' scrolling from the bottom of the screen up to the top and pausing for roughly 5 seconds. All of the credits so far seem to have been a build up for the main credit being the title of the film. This makes the title sound all the more powerful making the audience want to watch the rest of the film. In the rest of the clip the screen is black with more credits listed on the left hand side in the same colour then more appearing down the central, this goes on as the backing track plays and fades out, once fadeded out we then hear the beginning of the scene commencing.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Deconstructions #1 - Zombieland
Zombieland
In the above image, you can see that this is a group shot from the opening of the film 'Zombieland' which was directed by Ruben Fleischer and written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese. It was released in 2009. Zombieland is basically an American comedy about zombies starring Jesse Eisenburg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson and Abihail Brelin as the human survivors trying to fight off the zombie annihilation.
The first screen shot the director has decided to angle the camera from below so that the audience can get a better view of the man jumping down from the balcony in slow motion, this helps the audience identify the sheer terror on the mans face as he leaps down for his life and at the same time see the zombie in the background more clearly. Also in this section there is a close up of one of the zombies faces which appears to be throwing up blood, by the director having this close up it shows off the detail gone into creating the make up for the zombie.
Continuing to the second clip, the same slow motion effect is continued (and throughout the rest of the opening) this shows continuity in the filming. We see a woman trying to run away from one of the zombies whilst spilling her milkshake everywhere, this helps the audience identify the fact that people were not fully aware of the zombie devestation that was occuring. This clip of the woman running away fades out as the next image of the man about to be attacked by two zombies gradually appears on screen at the same time. This is a nice effect to change to a different situations that these 'innocent people' are involved in.
The third section begins with a car on fire, this is possibly special effects as it does look as though it could be potentially very dangerous for the actors surrounding it. Also, I thought it was more noticeable in this particular clip that the credits become jumbled and out of place when a character 'touches' the writing, however it does do this in all of the clips.
When the third section fades into the fourth the transition from the smoky background to the muggy background in the fourth is a lot smoother. This smooth transition helps the audience keep focus on the events happening rather than confusing their eyes causing them to miss bits of the opening. In this sections the camera is fairly close up to the police and zombies faces, resulting in the audience being able to see how real the blood and stage make up looks. Following on in this section the brightness all of a sudden contrasts from the gloomy lighting to a bright 'happy ceremony' which in a certain sense ironic as it is no longer a bright and happy day.
There is not too much going on in the fifth section which is what is brilliant about it. The director still kept with devestation in the background, but by having a character smash a panel of glass with a crow bar draws attention to the centre of the screen, which displays the title of the film in larger writing than the rest of the credits.
Obviously Zombieland is also a comedy, this is displayed in a subtle manner in the sixth section where we see a zombie 'stripper' running after business men. It is not just the image of a zombie stripper running down the streets with just a pair of small knickers and nipple tassles on that is humourous, it is also the fact that these business men probably have very respected jobs and quite clearly a lot of money and instead of trying to do all they can to save their lives they are still holding their wads of cash, jackets and even their drinks. This could be showing the directors view on how the majority of people with the means of production are self absorbed and their main priority in life is to have money and be the best.
Section 7 in the opening of the film carries on with the humour emphasised in the clip before, the effects are also the same so there isn't really too much to talk about in this clip so I will swiftly move on to section 8.
Now in section 8 we can see a zombie chasing a fireman while another fireman is oblivioius to all this and putting out a fire. The fire being put out seems extremely bright in constrast to the dark and dull surroundings, it is possible that certain effects may have been used to accentuate the hell like flames to not only represent how the world is being destroyed but also to give the audience an insight to the realistic effects that could be used in the film.
Finally the last section (shot 9) reflects back to the same camera angle as the first shot as yet again it is filming from below. The end of the clip fades out into black just like how the credits open from a black screen. At the end of the shot when the man.zombie crashes through the car window as the glass shatters the end of the backing music is clear as a bell is sounded. The fact that this backing music started at the beginning of the credits and ends at the end (obviously) it prepares the audience for the film itself.
Continuing to the second clip, the same slow motion effect is continued (and throughout the rest of the opening) this shows continuity in the filming. We see a woman trying to run away from one of the zombies whilst spilling her milkshake everywhere, this helps the audience identify the fact that people were not fully aware of the zombie devestation that was occuring. This clip of the woman running away fades out as the next image of the man about to be attacked by two zombies gradually appears on screen at the same time. This is a nice effect to change to a different situations that these 'innocent people' are involved in.
The third section begins with a car on fire, this is possibly special effects as it does look as though it could be potentially very dangerous for the actors surrounding it. Also, I thought it was more noticeable in this particular clip that the credits become jumbled and out of place when a character 'touches' the writing, however it does do this in all of the clips.
When the third section fades into the fourth the transition from the smoky background to the muggy background in the fourth is a lot smoother. This smooth transition helps the audience keep focus on the events happening rather than confusing their eyes causing them to miss bits of the opening. In this sections the camera is fairly close up to the police and zombies faces, resulting in the audience being able to see how real the blood and stage make up looks. Following on in this section the brightness all of a sudden contrasts from the gloomy lighting to a bright 'happy ceremony' which in a certain sense ironic as it is no longer a bright and happy day.
There is not too much going on in the fifth section which is what is brilliant about it. The director still kept with devestation in the background, but by having a character smash a panel of glass with a crow bar draws attention to the centre of the screen, which displays the title of the film in larger writing than the rest of the credits.
Obviously Zombieland is also a comedy, this is displayed in a subtle manner in the sixth section where we see a zombie 'stripper' running after business men. It is not just the image of a zombie stripper running down the streets with just a pair of small knickers and nipple tassles on that is humourous, it is also the fact that these business men probably have very respected jobs and quite clearly a lot of money and instead of trying to do all they can to save their lives they are still holding their wads of cash, jackets and even their drinks. This could be showing the directors view on how the majority of people with the means of production are self absorbed and their main priority in life is to have money and be the best.
Section 7 in the opening of the film carries on with the humour emphasised in the clip before, the effects are also the same so there isn't really too much to talk about in this clip so I will swiftly move on to section 8.
Now in section 8 we can see a zombie chasing a fireman while another fireman is oblivioius to all this and putting out a fire. The fire being put out seems extremely bright in constrast to the dark and dull surroundings, it is possible that certain effects may have been used to accentuate the hell like flames to not only represent how the world is being destroyed but also to give the audience an insight to the realistic effects that could be used in the film.
Finally the last section (shot 9) reflects back to the same camera angle as the first shot as yet again it is filming from below. The end of the clip fades out into black just like how the credits open from a black screen. At the end of the shot when the man.zombie crashes through the car window as the glass shatters the end of the backing music is clear as a bell is sounded. The fact that this backing music started at the beginning of the credits and ends at the end (obviously) it prepares the audience for the film itself.
Continuing on from the questionnaire.
A couple of the questions asked were open answers, some people (ahem reece) didn't take those sections too seriously so I can't take a true reflection from them in total, however some of the results have been useful. From looking at the results I can see that this survey was done by men and women of the age ranging from 15-40, so this would be my audience I am targeting. Virtually half of the audience said that they would not continue to watch a film if the opening credits wasn't good even if they knew there was a good story plot.
So basically in a nutshell, the people questioned overall would like the film to be believable, intelligent story line, filled with suspense in the right times, not a lot of gore and no nudity.
They want the opening credits to last between 2-3 minutes and for those few minutes to be worth while.
So basically in a nutshell, the people questioned overall would like the film to be believable, intelligent story line, filled with suspense in the right times, not a lot of gore and no nudity.
They want the opening credits to last between 2-3 minutes and for those few minutes to be worth while.
:D
I'm going to be participating in the filming for Bret, Fay and Reece's project so I've spoken to our teacher and as long as I can get caught up with them by Monday then I may be able to be part of their group again, however my research stuff will still be slightly separate as we are currently at different stages.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Some results from the questionnaire
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| If you didn't like the opening to a film would you still watch the rest of it if it appeared to have a good plot |
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| Age . |
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| Do you like it when a thriller has certain aspect of comedy |
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| Do you think that background music is essential to set the tone for a thriller |
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| Gender |
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| How long would you expect the opening credits to be |
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| What makes a good thriller |
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