RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE- Big Little Lies

Big Little Lies

When on Art of the Title website I decided to research the title sequence of Big Little Lies. The title sequence has a series of different visual codes that all portray a sense of mystery and secrets within the series.

The title sequence for Big Little Lies is extremely captivating and intriguing and makes the viewer want to watch the series. I can tell from the title sequence, that BLL will be a series with a lot of drama and mystery throughout (genre= mystery and drama)because of the sudden cut to the gun, the slow motion editing and from the placement of each shot. From this, BLL looks like a modern series with a lot of interesting plot twists and story lines. 

The title sequence begins with an establishing shotof the location that is presumably where they live. Close up shotsof the mains characters follow immediately. Reece Witherspoon is shown driving, followed by a close up of her children, highlighting that her and her family play a key role in the series. Similarly, this is the same for Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley.

This immediately suggests the three ladies importance in the series and that their children must somehow be involved in the drama.Tracking shotsof the roads they are driving on connotes they are all going the same place, possibly to escape something.Slow motion shots of waves crashing which fade into an intimate shot of two peoples silhouettes kissing makes the audience wonder where the fathers/ husbands are which draws us in hugely.A close up shot of the children playing dress up games and running towards the camera connotes how much fun they are having which contrasts the next shot of a mother looking extremely stressed out, making the audience wonder what has happened and why they are in the car possibly running away.When creating my openingscene, I would like to achieve successful editinglike this and position my clips in a very intriguing way. A focus pull clip of a gun pointing at something is shown after the calm video of waves crashing, this contrast connotes something serious has happened with the gun which could relate to the women, this is extremely intriguing for the viewers and is an extremely clever way of editing!

The characters wear normal, everyday clothes making it realisticand more gripping, as it does not seem untrue but as if it is a real story.The location shows us that the ocean and beach must have something to do with the drama and mystery. The children are playing in a school, which connotes a sense of real life and families clearly struggling with something going on in their lives. 

The actors names are placed in the center of the screen and then the next clip is the actor, making it very clear who is whothe most known, famous actors are placed first, so the audience know the show has well known sophisticated actors straight away which makes them want to actually begin watching the series.

The editing is extremely clever, they order the clips cleverly so that some questions are left unanswered and we can see what parts relate to each other, for example, we know the children followed by the character of Reece Witherspoon must her be children in it which makes the characters very clear to the viewers from just the title sequence. The editing of the title sequence begins to feel like a story in itself, it flows extremely well.There aren't many hard cuts, instead clips fade and dissolve into the next one, making the sequence continue very nicely. When editing my opening sequence, I would like to achieve such a high standard of editing too. Many of the clips are edited in slow motion, gripping the audience and making them more intrigued as to why the clip has been slowed down, it could possibly connote importance of that specific clip.

The non-diegetic musicadded is extremely captivating and fits in with the moving images seen. The music ties in with the videos and is synchronized, it compliments the title sequence even more, making audiences hooked and intrigued. This is really successful for captivating in the viewer and makes the sequence flow extremely well. 

RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE- The Terror

The Terror

When on the Art of the Title website I decided to research the title sequence of The Terror. The title sequence has a series of different visual codesthat all portray a ghostly, mysterious television series about one of the greatest mysteries of all time: the disappearance of the Franklin Expedition.

The title sequence is an inventive and extremely intriguing mix of different types of film work like still images that slowly dissolve away, to very cleverly filmed videos. The sequence begins with a black and white video of ships sailing on sheets of ice. In order to portray the mystery, the editingis extremely clever, forming the ice blocks in the ocean in a short amount of time, showing how tragic the disappearance was. The continuity and fast pace editingof the sequence insures the audience’s eyes travel quickly along, following the sequence easily, making them more intrigued about the story line. The unclear images of what seem like sailors sinking underwater being shown immediately after the clip of the boats, immediately suggests that the boat has capsized or something is wrong. This shows how cleverly ordered the title sequence is, as although the clips are very different, they are very clearly linked to one another. 

Certain shots such as the low angle shot of one of the sailors face under water is extremely effective for showing what has happened to the sailors on the boat. The very cunning transition from the mans face that turns into his skeleton, signals this case is very mysterious and unclear, captivating the audience immensely. The effect of these low angle shots of floating sailors, suggests a sense of danger and uncertainty as it makes them look very small and overwhelmed. The effect of this is to create an immersive qualityfor the audience, one that slowly pulls apart what happened to the people on the Franklin Expedition. Therefore, the style of this opening sequence does an impeccable job at drawing the audience into the action and gaining their curiosity, which is a prime function of an opening sequence.

 The editing shows a sense of uncertainty as the images do not end on hard cuts, but they dissolveout, often creating a ghostly presence. This visual treatmentmimics the mysterious programme very well, as it shows things must be unravelled to find the answer, rather than given away immediately. 

As the title sequenceunfolds, even more tension is created. The audience almost seems to be living the terror that occurred, due to the clever positioning and editing of each section. Following the first clip of the sailing boats, many images are revealed throughout, showing either the people on the boats or what could have caused the disappearance of the boat and the people. Images of such sailors are shown after, suggesting they could be involved as well as extremely rough water in the ocean, surrounded by ice mountains which connotes the ship could have been trapped.

The title sequence follows all the genre conventionslike the names of the actors featured, producers, executive producers, directors and all the creative people responsible for bringing the film together. The soundtrackis very compelling and drives the mysteriousness forward. The high-pitchedsounds once again portray mystery and a sense of urgency, which is exactly what I want to create in my film opening. Finally, the white sky at the end that is immediately followed by ‘The Terror’, which is written, on a black background is very effective as the huge contrast makes the audience captivated by the title of the film. The title is almost shown as being underwater, with slight smudging’s on the letters and water droplets on the word, tying in with the whole sequence.

RESEARCH: TOP LINE & BIG QUESTION

I learned from Frank Ark, creative consultant with the BBC Academy, about what he calls 'digital storytelling': how to connect an audience by creating a relevant story and how to leave them with a sense of anticipation and suspense.

When I start to plan my own Foundation Production, I will be devising a top line (one 'elegant sentence' that sums up the film opening treatment) and deciding on the big question (what happens next?)

Frank Ash has given me guidelines to plan my film opening. I turned what I learned into a comic using ComicLife (above)