Typography

Typography is the art of lettering based around the style, size, font and type being used. As a large amount of lettering is used in the credits of films, it is a significant area for us to investigate. The opening credits and the title board of a film give the audience an impression of the overall tone and genre of the film because of associations we have with certain styles of lettering. Writing is also sometimes used in film to display the place and time events are occurring. As typography establishes so much about the style of the film, I have looked at different uses of it in film.

Our aim is to create a film opening that comically combines the two contrasting genres of Westerns and horror. Both are very recognisable and stylised, meaning audiences will gather expectations for the film based on the association of the font used.

Westerns are one of the oldest film genres, as they were based on popular Western fiction in other media from the late 19^th century, the style of typography used in them has developed over time.

Posters such as these were used in the actually Old West and the typography used in them was developed into the lettering seen in Western films.

These are screenshots from Sergio Leone's 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'. It is a Spaghetti Western, a more arty and stylised type of Western made by Italian American directors. The typography mimics the aforementioned posters typography, giving the film and impression of authenticity. The manner in which the lettering appears on the screen is reminiscent of a splatter of blood, emphasised by the sound of gunshots. The font is large and consistent in the centre of the screen, signifying strength and certainty of the characters and theme of the film.    

A similar technique of transition is used in this horror film, 'Dawn of the Dead'. The typography more realistically changes into blood and disperses than in the Western. This could be due to the darker tone of the horror genre and more graphic nature of the violence in this film. The colour also connotes aggression and blood, relating to the death caused by the zombies and the infection of the disease. The font used is also in the centre of the screen, signifying the strength and relentlessness of the threat in the film. It is also less decorative than the Western font, showing that the film is more serious.

This is from David Fincher's 'Se7en', a crime horror film about murders based around the seven deadly sins. The typography used here is small and off centre as the lettering flickers, signifying fear and the fragmented nature of the characters and tone of the film. The font is simple and childlike, contrasting with the image on screen in an unsettling manner. White is used for the letters to emphasise the darkness of the rest of the image, making the words seems very distinct.

The colouring here also contrasts with the background, emphasising the significance of the typography. The lettering is slightly more rough and and less formal, relating to the cartoonish drawings in the title sequence. The Walking Dead television show was based on a comic book, meaning that the visual style of typography relates to this.

From looking at this examples of typography, it's clear that relation of the lettering to the visuals is especially important, as well as the positioning of title and credits on the screen.

To find a suitable font for our film opening, I used the website http://www.dafont.com/ which provides free downloads of a range of fonts in different styles.

This is a fairly simple font used for every word that reflects Western style of typography. However, while it is more comical and informal than some fonts, I think that the combination of genres is not obvious enough and could be represented better through the use of contrasting styles.



I used contrasting fonts in this example. First I used the more horror associated style with the word 'zombie' and Western style for 'cowboys'. However, to make the combination of genres more clear, I swapped this around, using the red, violence associated font for 'cowboys' and Old West style for 'zombie'. The positioning of the typography is uneven, signifying the damaged and fragmented nature of the zombie attack.

(Clara's stuff) 

Audience Research

The opening of a film is very significant as it establishes the overall theme and tone of the film and gives the audience an impression of what they will be watching. Characters, setting and narrative must be taken into account when making a film opening, as these must all be introduced if not in the opening, (in some cases the openings act as more of a prologue than an introduction) early in the film.  It should set up or foreshadow the narrative but also establish the atmosphere of the work. Filmmakers must know what will appeal to audiences and make them want to continue to watching. Different genres have different audiences, meaning that a combination of genres will attract a wider range of people; in our case aspects of horror, comedy and western themes will be used.

This is the top ten UK box office results from last week. It displays a wide range of genres, including horror, comedy, thriller, drama, romantic comedy and family films. The genre of horror is popular with audiences because it is enjoyable to be scared and they are easy to watch and highly entertaining, unlike some of these films which may be more complex and difficult. Horrors and comedies usually allow the audience to sit back and relax, to an extent, as there is not too much plot to take into consideration, so it is very easy to follow. 

 This graph from the UK Film Council shows the demand for different genres of films, based on a poll taken by 1978 people. As is also shown here, the genre of horror is fairly popular, though Western is much less so. This is because of the gradual loss of mainstream Western movies over time. They were very popular in the early to mid 20th century, as the whole genre of Western in other fiction had been prominent around that time. Since then Westerns have become far less popular and it is unusual to see them in the cinema. However, there has been a phase of modern Westerns becoming popular, such as the American television show Justified. Remakes such as '3:10 to Yuma' and 'True Grit' have been successful in the last few years, indicating that Westerns and genre films in general may be gaining popularity again. Our film also would aim to increase the popularity of western films by combining this genre with a currently popular one. It is an original concept that is likely to catch people's attention. 

This shows that both Westerns and horrors are more popular with men than women and generally younger people. This could be because of the exaggerated fast paced nature of them. Because of this we will aim to target young people, however we will try to appeal to both genders to an extent, although as generally horror, and therefore mostly violent films are more popular among a male audience our film probably will be more appealing to guys. 

Film Opening Music

The music we will use has to be western themed, but become intense fairly quickly to correspond with the zombies and their battle. Ideally the music would be fairly dark to give zombie-esque qualities, and should also have a pause for the establishing shot in which the 2 zombie begin to shuffle towards each other. (But that is very specific, so it is unlikely that I will find something exactly right, and will have to make do with whatever I can find.) 


I listened to many western film scores on you-tube, but I have narrowed my choices down to these two: 

The first video, "A Fistfull Of Dollars" is also by Ennio Morricone, and is much more traditionally western, however I think the second song would fit out film opening much better. 

I prefer the second one as not only does it sound much more zombie-esque, while still being originally western,  but it provides a good link to the modern themes that our opening includes. Zombie films are a fairly modern concept, so using this will blend the modern zombie aspects with the old western themes much more effectively. This song was originally composed by Ennio Morricone for the film, "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", however Metallica have done a cover of it and used it extensively in their concerts. There is also a suitable pause in this song before the heavier guitar comes in, which could be used to our advantage. 

Casting for my Film Opening: Zombie Cowboys.

Some initial ideas for casting are:
Use a wide, empty space to shoot it, it must have a lamp-post and be deserted. We could possibly use the school south-site car park one evening or week-end, as long as we make sure we don't get anything particularly colourful or nice-looking. 


For costumes we need: 
At least 3 cowboy hats, (1 for each person, unless we're missing one, in which cast the little guy would be missing one.) 
Everyone in faded blue jeans, 
Neutral coloured shirts for everyone, 
If cowboy boots are available we will use them, if not neutral coloured shoes, boots (even if not cowboy boots) if possible. 


Make-up:
Toilet paper and glue can be used to make saggy or tearing skin for zombies.
Everyone including the zombies will have dirty faces and look haggard, but extra grey make-up will be used on the zombies. 
I have watched a range of zombie make-up tutorials on you-tube, but this one (Shown in class) shows how to make realistic cut effects: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dW0A4rnnYk

For the stabbing of the zombie we will use ketchup or fake blood, and stick a knife through the shirt from the inside-out, and we will masking-tape it to the actor and his shirt. This will be effective enough, as the knife isn't shown going through the subject, so we can put it in, between shots. 


So far we have cast 2 people, the little guy will be played by Livy Hull, and Zombie 1 will be played by Alison Gamble, but we have some ideas for the other 2 cast-members, it's just a matter of convincing them to join us. 

Todorov's Narrative Theory

Equilibrium/Disruption
3 act structure is aligned with a timeline, visually presenting the equilibrium or disruption of the intensity of the film.
This always begins with equilibrium and becomes disrupted around act 2, but eventually returns to equilibrium after the climax, at the end of act 3.  


Example of a Todorov's theory kinda graph:

Super 8

3 act structure:
1. From the beginning to the train crash business.
This includes the opening, which was the mum's death sequence, it established the back-story and the characters. It also began the narrative arc of the boy letting go of his mother, and established the setting, film-making theme and the motif of the power surges related to the alien.


2. From the train crash to the army bus crash.
Thus basically built the intensity and urgency. Also began the decent of the town into chaos. 


3. Bus crash to the end.
Closure was reached as the alien was freed, the son and dad come together (pay off was in the hug) and the son was finally able to let go of his mother. 


Letting go of his mother's necklace was a good pay off and also an end to the aforementioned narrative arc; he lets go of his mother and is no longer dependant on her and can finally accept her death.


The father and son are moving in different narrative arcs in the same direction, trying to work out the motives and conspiracies behind the air force's train crash. Their arcs meet in act 3.


The production value was INSANELY high. There were a lot of special effects and pyrotechnics. Also a public place was used, not a studio. 

Film Opening Storyboard

This is the storyboard I made for me and Clara's film opening: 

A Well-Edited Clip.

This is a clip from the film, Up In The Air. (Sorry about the poor video and sound quality, I couldn't find this particular clip anywhere, so had to film my TV) 
I really like the combination of diegetic sound with the motif of the bongo music for the suitcase packing. (I'm pretty sure it happens every time he packs a suitcase) Also the way the music breaks for him to say, "Christ." works well. It gives a kind of curious humor to the clip. Although I like sound bridges, the lack of one here works really well to distinguish between the suitcase packing and the previous and postvious scenes, it almost categories elements of traveling. 
The scene changes just as the ball would hit the floor, so it's almost as if the scene rebounds instead. 
The shots change in quick succession so the audience registers what is happening and recognises that George Cloony likes it to happen fast. (He speaks about how he likes moving fast throughout the film, and this clip parallels that message rather nicely.) However the moment when he forgets to put his cardboard cutout in and has to work out how to fit it is effective at not only forming a bridge between the fast-paced packing and the walking in the airport, but also showing how things may not always run smoothly, but compromises must be made, and this is a big theme in the film. I like the POV shots of George Cloony, from the suitcase's POV, his expression and the way it's at such a low angle, gives the impression that he's created something strange. (This is also humorously curious.) 
Very good use of match-on-action, and nice POV shot of the cut-out trying to be fitted into the case. This puts the audience in Cloony's position, which is one most people can relate to. 
Also the tilt/tracking shot of the suitcase with the cutout sticking out of the top is a nice way to start the next scene as it completes the anecdote of the last scene. Also it's lighthearted and generally aesthetically pleasing. 

Assigned roles for making a Film Opening.

The roles to be assigned are: 


1. Typography 
This includes creating title-boards, font, sizing, spacing and positioning must be considered. Also relating to credits during the film opening. 


2. Story Narrative
This is basically deciding on the story-line of the film. A narrative time-line should be made, listing the various sequences in a 3 act structure. There must be narrative closure, or pay-off to ensure the audience feels gratified by the ending of the film, and feels that there is some meaning to it. There should also be narrative arcs. (Basically a visual representation of the high and low points of the plot and it's dramatic developments, including key turning points, or moments of particular importance.)


3. Audience research
This is basically looking into the types of people that may want to watch the film, and finding out how to appeal to them. Decide what age group it is suitable for, and who may find it entertaining for whatever reason.


4. Visual planning
This includes story-boarding, and generally planning the film opening using narrative time-lines and/or maps.


5. Music
A score must be chosen that is suitable for the film, and must be applied to the film opening accordingly. If applicable a motif of sorts may be established. (Though it is a very early stage in the film, so that may not be a realistic option.) Ambient sound may be used, and also dialogue or possibly a voice-over. 


6. Casting. 
Locations must be established, and also a schedule for when things are to be shot. Also actors must be chosen to play the characters. If there are particular features needed in the world of the film, the casting director should probably arrange that.  


Relating to my project:
Me and Clara have assigned the roles of Visual Planning and Music to me, and Audience Research and Typography to her. We are communally working on the Story Narrative and Casting. 
 We have already finished most of our work on Story Narrative, however we intend to decide on all the casting business in class, or in our various meetings. 


I will make a full narrative time-line diagram and storyboard to be uploaded, and research western and also zombie sound motifs, as well as researching the conventions of western film scores. (Probably staring with The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.) 

How Film Openings Establish Narrative

Most film openings do not relate directly to the plot, but they lead into events that do. They are a way to set contexts for the film, such as where it is set, what year or era, who some of the characters are, or what they may be like. 


Film openings are sometimes a kind of prologue, in which case usually the characters and era of the film are not established, however the general themes could be. For instance if a film is set in space on a nice planet that is soon going to be invaded by nasty aliens, the opening could be some kind of conference held by the nasty aliens, deciding the fate of the nice planet. This would not relate directly to the plot, however it does establish the sci-fi themes in the film, and also the general tone. 


Sometimes film openings almost appear somewhat like anecdotes not entirely relating to the plot, but introducing the main themes and/or characters. For example, the opening to "My Girl" is Veda sitting at the kitchen table while her father makes a sandwich, explaining to the audience how she has so many afflictions and illnesses. She turns to her father and states her concern about one of many illnesses, and her father asks her to "pass me the mayonnaise out of the fridge." This allows the audience to recognise the relationship Veda has with her father, and it also indicates that she is a hypochondriac, thus giving the audience enough information about the main characters and themes of the film, to allow them to make connections and understand the context of the rest of the film. 


In general film openings are a way to quickly introduce the audience to the various aspects of the film. Alot of information has to be coded in a film opening for the audience to recognise and understand. 

Film Opening Plans!

Initial ideas for subject matters: 

> Zombies

>Supermarket shoot-out 

>Trivial showdown. (Fight scene over something trivial E.G. last cookie in cookie jar.) 

> ZOMBIE COWBOYS! :D 

In the end we chose to set our film (which will be comedic) in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, and include western themes. We will use western music and extreme close-ups of eyes conventional of western films. 

Characters:

Hero: 

> Archetype of a hero

> Stereotypical Texan (Cowboy) 

> He has a horse.

> On a journey to find salvation because all of his family are dead. 

> He takes the little guy on as a "partner" because he misses the company and he secretly sees  

   a little of himself in him. (Although he doesn't show this and is quite standoffish) 

> He always wears a hat, and makes a point of not losing it despite their situation.

> He used to smoke, and is saving his last cigarette for in case he is in a situation he cannot 

   escape. 

Little guy:

> Stereotypical nerd (Obsessive over Warhammer and worked in Games Workshop)  

> Didn't have much of a life, he lost contact with his family, so there is still hope, but not much.

> He's been hiding out in Games Workshop with his nerdy Warhammer friends ever since the 

   apocalypse started. All of his workmates tried to barricade the shop, they held out for a while, 

   but in the end they too fell to the power of the zombies, only the little guy escaped.

> He is particularly good at strategy because of his years of playing Warhammer. 

> He is needy and weak despite his intellect. 

> He has a slight obsession with hygiene and therefore feels the need to wash all wounds with 

   surgical spirit or antiseptic of some sort. 

Story: (In 3 act structure.)

ACT 1: 

1. Opening: Intro to zombie apocalypse, hero saves little guy from zombies, they become 

     friends.

2. The little guy follows the hero to his hide-out, and they establish a fairly mutual partnership 

    where they can work together fairly well.

ACT 2: 

3. The little guy is injured, so begins cleaning out his wound with some surgical spirit. Although 

    they don't know this yet, the surgical spirit is what attracts the zombies to their hide-out, thus 

    there is a zombie invasion. 

4. After battling and escaping, the hero and the little guy run to the nearest hospital to find more 

   provisions.

ACT 3:

5. They search for surgical spirit, among other things, but all of the bottles are smashed and/or 

    empty. While searching they walk in on a room full of zombies smelling and ingesting surgical 

    spirit. 

6. The zombies chase them, and as they are running they talk about what they have just seen, 

    they realise, however ridiculous it may seem, the zombies are attracted to surgical spirit. 

    Eventually they are surrounded so they run into a cupboard which is the only option, it is full of 

    surgical spirit. 

7. The hero and the little guy run out of the cupboard poring surgical spirit over every zombie in  

     sight and over the whole hospital, when they have sufficiently covered it the hero lights a 

     cigarette, takes a drag and then throws it into the flammable chemicals. The hospital 

     explodes just as the pair leap out James Bond-esquely. (Note the use of the last-chance 

     cigarette, foreshadows his death! :D) 

8. When outside, the hero, who has never given the little guy his full respect, declares his 

     acceptance of him, and gives him his hat in a last gesture of approval before an unexpected  

     flaming zombie mauls him. From here-on the little guy takes on the roll of hero and fights off 

     the remaining zombies present, saving an even littler guy in the process. Thus allowing the 

     film to come full-circle, ending in the same way as the start. 

(Alternatively the Hero stays in the hospital, smokes and explodes the hospital with him inside it, in order to save the little guy. In this instance he gives the hat to the little guy, thus passing on his role as hero. The little guy does a solitary James Bond-jump. Outside he saves the littler guy from a flaming zombie, still allowing the film to come full circle.)

There is a narrative arc from the little guy being rescued to the little guy rescuing the littler guy.

The Opening:

1. The little guy is running through the zombie wasteland of a city. (Pay extra attention to zombie 

    warning posters and blood splatters in the scenery.) 

2. The little guy looks behind him just in time to run straight into a lamp-post and knock himself

    out. (Bird's eye view [or maybe reverse zoom?] shot)

3. 2 zombies step into the scene. (Crab shot, 1 zombie visible in the background, 1 steps into 

    the foreground, conventional of western films) 

4. Very high tension, loud escalating western music, lots of close-ups (eyes narrowing, hands 

     flexing [if applicable] etc.) 

5. Intense music and tension build up, breaks into only dietetic sound and zombie amble 

    towards each other in that charming way only a zombie can. 

6. Establishing shot to add humor. (Zombies ambling towards each other, little guy lying in the  

    middle for zombies to fight over.) 

7. Medium shot of 1 zombie, he stops, eyes widen, "Uuuuughhhh!" and collapses dead. He falls 

    to reveal the hero standing behind him, having stabbed him.

8. Pan and tilt upwards simultaneously into a low-angle shot of the hero, silhouetted slightly by 

    the sun. 

9. Hero takes off his hat, rubs his head, replaces the hat and says a very cool zombie-related 

    pun. (We're still working on the pun.) 

Analysis of a sound clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpiPEWDwK_Q
In this clip non-diegetic sound is only used in the chase at the beginning. This not only makes the violence more light-hearted and assists in making the sequence more action packed, but it is used to foreshadow the outcome of the struggle. 


The diegetic running and struggling sounds combined with the music gives an impression of a highly action-packed chase. The audience cannot see what is happening behind the wall and therefore the diegetic sounds are slightly confusing, but obviously violent. While this struggle is taking place the music, linking this drama to the 1980s, escalates to climax on Gene Hunt's line, "Would somebody like to gimme a hand dragging this bastard back over?" His way of speaking and tone both match the violent way that the police are represented. Alex Drake, the woman's reply is significant as it poses a question immediately answered by the next scene. 


It is clear that the setting has changed as there is no non-diegetic sound or music to lend atmosphere; this setting is much more realistic and mundane. The police station is much more quiet and as the news broadcast comes on there is an audible change in sound quality, signifying that the reports are being broadcasted and viewed on a television. Where the police station's diegetic sounds are much more realistic than the chase scene, the television sounds are more far-off sounding, and therefore also less realistic. This may not only be to show the use of a television, but also to draw a firm distinction between the action being faced by the police, and the normality of work in the office environment. 


The aforementioned music (No More Heroes - Stranglers) is playing over the chase scene to punctuate the apparently unjust nature of the police. In Alex's opinion the police force is not professional, and this is reinforced by the upbeat music, making the chase and police in general seem less serious. This almost makes a mockery of the police force. Also Gene Hunt's accent and tone are stereotypically associated with rough people or possibly those of lower classes. This denotes that the police are as bad as those they live to prosecute, especially seeing as the audience is aware that the police were the vandals mentioned on the television. 


It is also relevant that at the end, the female voices her pity for the fish, and Gene Hunt, the male figure of authority, dismisses this remark without a though. This mediates men as much more violent and destructive than women. 

Initial ideas for my film opening!

Me and Clara have talked briefly about our film-opening, and together we have formed an idea of a western-themed supermarket extravaganza. 
To elaborate there would be 2 people in a supermarket. (Possibly a mother and son, possibly 2 friends) The child, or 1 of the 2 people would be miming shooting people and possibly lassoing things. There would be western music and non-diegetic lasso and/or gun sounds. The wannabe-cowboy would be so very entranced by their own imaginations that their cowboy antics would be contrasted strongly with their friend/mother grabbing their attention by talking to them. At this point the music would stop and all sound would be replaced with mundane diegetic sound. To begin with, the audience would not know that the rouge wannabe-cowboy was with anyone, however the second character would be introduced naturally when they find their friend/child. Our opening would end with the 2 people meeting. 

Analysing Film Openings: Local Hero

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsbD97MnJMg
Like Brokeback Mountain, this film has the institutes involved in production, shown at the beginning, only as this film is older it has most of the other members involved, credited as well.
This film probably has very high production values as many crane-shots and such are used even at this very early stage in the film.
This opening establishes that the film is lighthearted immediately. The sound gives the audience an idea of the setting and tone. The sound is diagetic as it is the radio station that the man in the car is listening to. The enthusiastic radio-voice is contrasted with the man in the car looking very bored, this juxtaposition is comedic. A tracking shot of a white car, and a close-up of the man in it, are followed by a tilt shot of a very tall building, possibly to reveal some more aspects or themes of the plot. From here non-diegetic sound, such as a voice-over and some upbeat music is used over a montage of some oil pipes. This denotes some kind of revolutionary idea, also building a greater picture of what the film may continue to involve. It is then revealed that the oil-pipes series is actually a video playing in some kind of conference. (This is shown by a close-up of a man watching the video, with the screen reflected in his glasses) At this conference people are asleep, this adds a comedic quality to this film. There is also a contrast between the upbeat oil video and the businessmen. The exaggeration used in this opening also signifies that this film is comedic.
Although it is not completely clear who Local Hero represents at this stage, I would imagine it was businessmen, such as the man in the white car. The class is probably average, as there is no particular reference to class in this opening, however the region is obviously Texas, as it is mentioned on the radio, and is shown in the oil video. Disability, ethnicity, gender and age do not appear to be referenced particularly, however the man in the white car appears to have no visible disability, he is probably American and I would estimate that he is in his early 30s.

Analysing Film Openings: Brokeback Mountain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_BbzzqsYrA
All of the institutions who took part in the production of this film are credited at the beginning, before the film actually starts. (Focus Features and River Road Entertainment) It is clear that this film has a high production value, as even this early on in the film, a public place is used. (The road) 
Gentle music is used to open this film, this sets the tone for the entire film, however when this music ends only diagetic sounds are used. This makes the silence between Ennis and Jack much more momentous and meaningful. Although no definite themes are shown yet, the tension between the 2 men denotes themes of homosexuality. Also although you cannot tell this from the opening alone, gay people are mediated in this film. They are represented as normal people who are discriminated against. This film is set in the 1960s (as shown in a subtitle to set a time-context) and it is a known fact that gay people were discriminated against in those years. 
The setting is also made obvious by the denim, the hats and the boots conventional of Texas. The hats are worn low over the men's faces, showing that they are trying to avoid eye-contact. It also lends mystery to both of them. The shot/reverse shots used show that they are watching each other and already formulating opinions about one another, this is reinforced by the close-up of the car-wing mirror where Jack is watching Ennis' reflection. It is clear that there is some sexual tension between them even at this early a stage in the film. 


Brokeback Mountain is a very subtle film and is therefore aimed at a mature and perceptive audience.