GENERAL CONVENTIONS – TITLES, IDENTS, PRODUCTION CONTEXT

This post explores different aspects of film openings, including specific general movie analysis. This post is specifically looking at titles, idents and production context. This is the list of topics looked at in this post:

• Titles 
• Production context 
• Idents 
• Film analysis 
• Semiotics rap

TITLES

• Usually see around 10-20
• Total time can vary as some go up to 2 minutes but other can end at around 20 seconds
• When referring to a company, the text will usually say 'In association with' or 'presents'
• When the director is mentioned, it might say 'a film directed by'
• Actors will be referred to as 'introducing', 'starring' or 'featuring'
• If the director is an auteur, their name is likely to be either first for emphasis, or last
• The fonts change based on the genre 
• Usually serif fonts would be associated with horror/slasher/thriller style of genre
• When there is a bigger star, they will earn a bigger title as the aim of the production is to bring more people in with the star power
• if it is an auteur director, their name is likely to be larger and have a greater focus on it
• Upper case fonts usually bring a larger focus to them, so the important parts might have a large upper case font
• The upper case font also depends on the genre as it doesn't fit with genres like romance
• Colour also depends on the genre
• A horror might have a red or blue tint (intertextualising Halloween if blue)

PRODUCTION CONTEXT

UK Film council was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It is funded by the National Lottery. Films it has funded include '28 Days Later' and 'The King's Speech'.

BBFC is responsible for setting the age ratings for films in the UK

Production companies

Funding

Big 5 are the largest production companies (Paramount, Sony Columbia, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Warner Bros)

IDENTS

• Idents are placed towards the start of a movie
• They identify all companies mainly involved in the production of the movie
• Average length of around 6-7 seconds per ident
• Adds up to around 20-30 seconds in total
• The typical ident is a simple style
• The standard is to have 2-4 idents before the opening of the film
• This alters for indie movies as they can occasionally have none
• When the conglomerate is larger, they will have more screen time for their idents (Big 5)
• Big 5 don't usually use audio bridges either
• Idents can also be altered depending on the genre

Idents examples from LouisHodges3

VODCAST

IDENTS OF THE BIG 5

via GIPHY
via GIPHY
via GIPHY

PRETTY IN PINK IDENTS, TITLES AND FIRST SHOT

EVALUATION

•  Pretty in Pink only has one company ident (Paramount) - it is a good idea to have 3 as it shows the understanding of the industry
• We must look very carefully at titles. If the titles are poor, an A grade is very unlikely.

TITLES IN ORDER 

(if bold, it is a larger font size)

• PARAMOUNT PICTURES PRESENTS - sans serif, black and white connoting drama, almost a social realist serious style, polysemic title
• A JOHN HUGHES PRODUCTION - Auteur, uses production but would usually see film, would usually see the directors name twice
• ESTABLISHING SHOTS - clearly presents working class (rusty car, broken up road, irregular plants, 'wrong side of the tracks'

SHOTS

• Exposition shot - narrative enigma.  Some degree of context - a working class area (grass growing over pavement, rusty car, broken roads)
• Panning shot showing both sides of the track - Born/from the wrong side of the tracks - One side is a nice area than the other.

GRIMSBY IDENTS, TITLES AND PRODUCTION CONTEXT

Several idents because:

- One might be distributor 
- It is an unpredictable risky business therefore co-production spreads the risk


Low budget films often have BFI, TV channels idents.

Working title occasionally don't show their ident as they don't have control. This is because they are a subsidiary of one of the conglomerates in the Big 5. Working Title are considered the junior company.

Had to change the name of the movie as it did poorly in distribution, due to the lack of international understanding (continuous references for a UK audience) 

SEMIOTICS RAP

TASK

We had to make a semiotics rap. This is in order to help us remember these terms so we can use them regularly. It's a fun and easier way to remember these different terms.

My verses

Semiotics rap this is the way to go

Lots of different terms a bit like juxtapose

I’m guessing you want to know what that means

Well it’s something you see often on your tv screens

The places of two images on either side

Of an edit, creating a divide

This means there is an effect caused

That’s a pretty smart term, how bout you give me an applause

I think it’s about time we look at our next term

Connotation, that’s one to learn

The symbolic meaning of every factual detail

Knowing this, a levels are not something you will fail

Let’s look at the main man Roland Barthes

When it comes to effort, he worked the hardest

Born 1915 and died in Paris, France

Now give us a few seconds this is the semiotics dance

Emma's verses

Now that that’s done we can move on

We can research binary opposition 

a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite

That’s pretty cool, isn’t it

we look at a picture and we denote

but then you have to write some notes

these note are signifiers and connotes

idk what to say so eat some oats

many signifiers leads to an anchor

we needed that or it sank her

signifiers have many possible meanings 

polysemy can be good on screening

there is preferred reading 

negotiated reading

oppositional reading

don’t know what it means, do some reading

Our verses together

Spooky scary narrative enigma 

Gives the character a bad stigma

With intertextuality, everything links

Like episodes of the Simpsons, don't you think?

Narrative enigma gives some mystery

Making people wonder who is he?

The point is that we don't know

Because on screen we don't let it show

We keep it hidden till the very end

And then the connotations are what we send

The symbolic meaning of every factual detail

Connotations even found in Donald Trump's email

Proppian archetypes are a base

I'm about to spill my metaphorical briefcase

Each media text has its archetypes

For example the hero bringing the hype

Equilibrium is where it all starts 

Keeping it chill until it all falls apart 

Todorov is the owner of this theory 

Now we don’t have to query