RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.2

Guardians of the Galaxy is a 2017 sequel American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics produced by Marvel Studios. In the movie, Peter Quill and his fellow Guardians are hired by a powerful alien race to protect their precious batteries from invaders. When it is discovered that Rocket has stolen from them, they dispatch their armada to search for vengeance. As the Guardians try to escape, the mystery of Peter's parentage is revealed. 

I chose to study this film opening because I enjoyed its colour and sound aspects and I wanted to research a variety of genres before I made my decision as to what style I was going to give my own film opening. 

The creators have successfully created a comedic opening that highlights the genre and style of the piece. This is achieved through several techniques, for example, the use of shot types. Throughout the opening, the creators use an all-in-one shot in which the camera follows Groot around the scene. This is effective because we are able to see Groot in the foreground but behind him are the Guardians fighting against an enormous octopus-like alien with sharp teeth and long tentacles. The audience are able to laugh as Groot is oblivious to the scene surrounding him despite being right in the middle of it but they also understand the superhero themes of the movie through the action happening in the background. As well as this, the focal point of the sequence is Groot and his dance moves which not only reiterates a cheery and humorous emotion for the reader as he is so unaware of everything going on around him and the danger he is in but also is effective in character development. The audience can understand Groot's role within the Guardians as well as the other characters qualities such as Gamora, Rocket and Peter Quill who look out for him showing their bond with each other. 

The audio codes are what directs the sequence and has the most effect on the audience. Numerous sound techniques are used the most important being the non diegetic sound. Baby Groot initiates the start of the music when he plugs in a speaker, which is followed by the track 'Mr Blue Sky' by Electric Light Orchestra. This track is very upbeat and dance-like and does not match the scenario going on in the background - making it contrapuntal sound. This is effective as it reinforces the light-hearted style of the movie and makes the audience feel joyful and want to dance along with Groot despite the violent action going on simultaneously. Furthermore, the creators also make the audience feel as if they are in the scene because they use diegetic and synchronous sound. We can hear the sound effects of the battle such as explosions as well as the noises coming from the guns, the roar of the monster and the dialogue from the characters. Because the audience can hear both diegetic and non diegetic sound, they can fully immerse themselves into the movie. 

Mise en scene is effective in presenting the location and style of the movie because instantly, from the start of the film, we can tell it is not set on earth. This is hinted through the extreme colour palette for example, the ray of colours that come out of the monster's mouth and the actual monster itself is not the kind of concept we would see if this were set on Earth. Equally, the set on screen consists of gold structures with revolving lights and shiny, metallic platforms which hints at a very futuristic theme set in space and adds to the atmosphere of the scene. This theme is further developed through the font and style of the credits on screen. The producer and cast names appear in a cyan blue which looks lit up like a light. This visual element adds to the space-like atmosphere as it creates a pop of colour whilst adding to the ultramodern style.  

RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE - SHERLOCK

Sherlock is a British crime TV series created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat that is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories. The series follows the story of detective Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his assistant John Watson (Martin Freeman).

I chose to analyse this title sequence because of the power of its visual style which helps to enhance it's genre of a contemporary Victorian TV show. I also took interest to its different shot types and visual codes that I want to emulate and use in my own work. 

The first thing we see is a birds-eye view shot of the streets and sights of London which instantly tells the viewer that the series is primarily set in the city. The scenes of London are sped up much like a time lapse which is effective in making the audience feel excited as the pace of the sequence is increased. As well as this, because there is no diegetic sound, the fast-tempo action acts as a substitution in order to show the hustle of London life. 

The style of the piece is developed and further explored through the simple colour palette. The murky dark tones of grey and brown infer realism onto the audience which emphasises the style and genre. This is because it makes the scene of  London look very bleak and full of crime highlighting Sherlock and John's relevance in this city and their importance within the show. 

Furthermore, throughout the title sequence, the creators use a low opacity to allow the fast movement of images and clips to overlap each other and fade in and out, giving the title sequence a mysterious effect because the blur of images makes it is hard to focus on one thing and analyse it. Equally, it also creates a manic and busy feel as everything is happening at once, making the audience feel frantic and overwhelmed. I also found this technique effective because it is almost symbolic of the main character 'Sherlock Holmes'. This is because in the second shot, we are shown is a close-up shot of his eyes which is followed by the overlapping images. Therefore, it is as if the audience are entering Sherlock's brain and seeing the world from his point of view and all the images are various thoughts and visions in his head. This gives us an insight into his character and we can appreciate his remarkable intellect as he can deal with all these overwhelming thoughts and pieces of information, store it and then use irrelevant and small details to solve crimes. 

The audio codes in this title sequence consists of non-diegetic sound and it is effective in creating a sense of adventure which is achieved through the upbeat tune and quick rhythm of the music because the pulse matches the pace of the various images throughout the sequence so the whole piece feels faster and exciting. Also, the melody of the music is very mysterious as the instruments play lots of sharps and flats, giving the tune a sense of uncertainty as you aren't sure where it is going to go which compliments the crime-drama genre of the series. As well as this, the theme song is a full orchestral piece and is therefore loud in volume, making the title sequence bold and powerful unlike the kind of quiet and suspenseful music you hear in horror films.

Press here for audio codes of Sherlock Title Sequence

RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE - MINDHUNTER

I used the website Art of the Title to explore how various companies present their movies/series to their audiences. Mindhuter is an American crime thriller web television series created by Joe Penhall. It is based on a true-crime book written by Jon E.Douglas and Mark Olshaker that explores how the Serial Crime Unit attempted to catch criminals through the science of profiling serial killers.

 I chose to analyse Mindhunter because I took interest to its success in creating a dramatic build up of tension and I aim to follow similar steps when I work with my group to devise my own film opening. 

Throughout the title sequence for Mindhunter, there are clear visual codes that indicate the style and genre of the series and influence the audience to feel a certain way. A build of tension is successfully created through the cross-cutting of clips from the recording devices to dead bodies. The momentary flickers are effective because they show distressing images that may shock the audience but the cuts are so quick that the audience does not have time to analyse the pictures and get a full understanding of what they are viewing. As well as this, the close-up shots of the bodies eradicate any feelings of comfort the audience may be feeling because the image is very distressing and you cannot see the whole picture. This adds to the mystery and this lack of context, leaves the audience full of questions and confused.

The recording device and the man setting it up is a focal point in the title sequence which infers that he has a large significance within the series. When this is followed by the broken-up glimpses of bodies, it questions whether this man and the bodies are linked - perhaps they are flashbacks from his memory?  This  results in the audience feeling intrigued about the story and role of this man in the show. Furthermore, the man seems very calm when putting the device together despite the flashes of gory images. This contrast from calm and monotone movement to sharp and violent pictures develops the audience's questions about the plot and relevance between the two clips. 

In addition, the title sequence presents achieves an eerie and sinister tone through relatively plain and simple elements.  For example, at the start, a sense of tension is instantly presented through the dull and cold colour schemes. The lack of warm colour gives the audience the indication that this series is going to follow a darker and intense theme and makes the viewer feel on-edge and slightly cautious. Also, this realism adds to the ominous feelings that the shots of the corpse have implemented into the viewer expanding on their distress and puts them on edge. 

The simple audio codes in this series opening plays a big part in producing this physiological-thriller and adds to the tension dramatically. This is achieved through the repeating motif played by the piano which is based on the F minor chord. This minor tonality emphasises further the sense of unease depicted in the sequence. The non-diegetic sound includes music played by the piano and the violin giving it a very thin texture. This helps add to the eeriness as it makes the viewer focus more on the action of the recording device which solidifies its importance. Digetic sound includes the sfx of the recorder starting up which is very effective because it increases the atmosphere and tension, reinforcing the psychological-thriller genre. 

FILM SOUND TECHNIQUES AND THEORY

I studied the different terminology used to identify sound in films through the presentation Film Sound Techniques and Theory I learnt that you can use various techniques to influence the audience to interpret a scene in a certain way. 

Rhythm

-  a beat, pulse, pace or tempo

- used in music where the pace matches the action to create a specific effect e.g. tension

- used in speech to encapsulate the audience's attention e.g. speeches

- used in sound effects to change expectations

Fidelity

- when a sound fits the source it came from 

- expectation linking what we see to what we hear e.g. if we see a gunshot we expect the sound of it firing

- you can have a lack of fidelity which is where there is a disparity between the image and the sound which can make the audience feel disorientated. 

Parallel Sound

- when the music matches the image on screen

- used in horror films e.g. suspenseful music 

Contrapuntal Sound

- when the sound doesn't match the image on screen

- sound you wouldn't associate with the scene 

Synchronous Sound

- when you hear the sound at the same time the sound is produced

- used when characters talk and their lips match the sound we hear

Asynchronous Sound

- sound that is not produced from the narrative space e.g. when someone screams but the sound you hear is a train (The 39 Steps)

- used in flashback scenes

Diegetic Sound 

- sound that we expect to hear from a certain place e.g. background noise

- used to create atmosphere and reinforce the location

Non-Diegetic Sound

- sound that comes from outside the narrative space e.g. music 

- used to show action from a various point of view e.g. if someone is listening to music with headphones, only that character can hear it

Volume

- how loud or quiet the sound/music is

- it is mainly the alterations of volume that create the effect e.g. crescendos or sforzando 

- can make a scene more intense if there is a dramatic contrast between volumes throughout