Planning: Initial Ideas To 60 Second Pitch

We began to plan for our main task. We had a few ideas for what our film would be about and went with one that we though we could have the most fun with and be the most effective for a teenage audience.

We then developed our idea for the film, what the plot is, when the characters will introduced, how they will be introduced, the character's details, etc.

To get an idea of how to pitch, we watched YouTube video's on how we should get our idea across to someone. Each member choose a part to explain in the pitch and practised together to see how long it equates to as a group. Our Pitch is below; 1:37.

Research : The Importance Of Opening Titles

In this session we looked at the importance of opening titles of films. We watched a video which explained how opening titles of film have developed and changed with the advancement of technological abilities.


We were then told to got to a website called The Art of Titles, which shown various opening titles to films and programmes. We were told to focus on the opening titles of SE7EN.


Our first task was to list each title that appeared, the time it appeared and in the same case as it appeared. (Name- sentence case. Company- Uppercase)

Time:	Title:
0:03	NEW LINE CINEMA PRESENTS
0:06	AN Arnold Kopelson PRODUCTION
0:10	A FILM BY David Fincher
0:14	Brad Pitt
0:19	Morgan Freeman
0:24	SE7EN
0:29	Gwyneth Paltrow
0:33	Richard Roundtree
0:38	R. Lee Ermey
0:42	John C. McGinley
0:46	Julie Araskog  Mark Boone Junior
0:53	John Cassini  Reginald E. Cathey  Peter Crombie
0:59	Hawthorn James  Michael Masse  Leland Orser
1:04	Richard Portnow  Richard Schiff  Pamala Tyson
1:10	CASTING BY Billy Hopkins, Suzanne Smith  Kerry Borden
1:17	MUSIC BY Howard Shore
1:21	COSTUME DESIGNED BY Michael Kaplan
1:24	EDITED BY Richard Francis- Bruce
1:36	DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Darius Khondji
1:40	CO-PRODUCERS Stephen Brown  Nana Greenwald  Sanford Panitch
1:44	CO- EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Lynn Harris Richard Saperstein
1:51	EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Gianni Nunnari  Dan Kolsrud  Anne Kopelson
1:53	WRITTEN BY Andrew Kevin Walker
1:58	PRODUCED BY Arnold Kopelson  Phyllis Carlyle
2:05	DIRECTED BY David Fincher

Our second task was to list all of the visuals that we were seeing, so all of the images that appeared in a shot, whether it had any detail to it.

Time:	Visual:
0:03	Flipping through a book
0:08	Drawing of hands
0:12	Something metal
0:16	Someone holding a razor blade
0:20	Paper being flipped through
0:28	Note book being opened
0:32	Someone writing notes- shifts/double-vision
0:40	Cutting picture
0:43	Sellow tape being torn, picture places at the top of a piece of paper
0:49	Something being opened
0:52	Pages being turned
1:00	Text being blacked out with marker
1:02	Book being opened
1:07	Picture of a face blacked out
1:10	Eyes then entire face
1:13	Writing notes on paper
1:15	Film being moved up on paper
1:19	Very small rack being placed on a table delicately
1:26	Pages being turned
1:31	Photos
1:35	Book
1:36	Hands holding a needle and thread
1:37	Needle being wiped between fingers
1:38	Pages being turned
1:42	Threading paper
1:43	Stitching paper
1:54	Files
1:55	Scissors moving thin wires/hair into a pouch in a book
1:57	Turning pages in a book
1:58	Pulling cotton/thread tube
2:01	Close up on words “In God” from a green piece of paper
2:02	Books

The next task was to list the typography of the writing. So how it appeared, the colour of the writing, the position on the screen, etc.

 

Time:	Typography:
0:04	White, bold, capitalised, small, right bottom side
0:07	Shadowed, white, some bold/capitalised, names in sentence case
0:11	White, some bold/cap, name in sentence case, shadowed.
0:14	White, spaced apart, sentence case
0:16	White, bold
0:18	Dim, largely shadowed, white
0:19	Sentence case, dim
0:20	Bold, sentence case
0:24	Blurred, small, right top corner
0:25	Double vision, big
0:26	Small, double-vision, big
0:27	Blurred, small, right top side
0:30	White, tilted, right top side, sentence case
0:34	White, right bottom side, sentence case
0:39	White, right top corner, sentence case
0:42	White, sentence case
0:47	White, bold, shadowed, sentence case
0:48	White, double-vision, sentence case
0:54	White, bold, centre bottom
0:56	White, dim, centre bottom
0:57	Bold, large writing across screen, overlapping sentence case - right top
0:59	Bold ,white, right top side
1:04	White, centre bottom, sentence case
1:11	White, centre bottom, some bold/cap, name-  sentence case
1:12	Moved diagonally
1:13	Double-vision
1:14	Top writing shadowed cap, bottom- sentence case
1:15	Large, white, double- vision, whole screen
1:22	Shadowed, bold, name- sentence case
1:24	Double-vision
1:25	Some bold/cap name sentence case
1:26	Smokey appearance, white, bold
1:27	Some bold/cap, shadowed, name in sentence case
1:34	Double-vision, sentence case for name, top centre
1:35	Triple-vision, sentence case for name, bottom centre
1:39	Bold, shadowed, slanted name, sentence case
1:43	Double-vision, some bold/ capitalised, name in sentence case
1:50	Scattered names, in sentence case, title bold/cap
1:53	White, bold, shadowed, sentence case
1:58	White, some bold/cap, name in sentence case
2:00	Blurred- effect like its burning
2:04	Double-vision, name in sentence case

This was another task which meant that we were to list every sound that we heard, what it sounded like and think of the possible effect that it makes to the opening titles of the film. 

Time:	Sounds:
0:01	Crashing-large drum, electronic high hat
0:10	Typewriter
0:11	Distorted sounds
0:16	Muffled sound of a passing train
0:17	Reversed/backward sped up scream
0:22	Typewriter
0:25	Sustained note of a piano
0:27	Typewriter
0:33	Radio interference
0:37	Muffled sound of passing train
0:39	Reversed/backward sped up scream
0:42	Radio interference
0:49	Muffled scrapping of metal
0:51	Tinny sound- wind blowing
1:07	Sustained note of a piano
1:10	Distorted quiet electric guitar
1:11	Heavy electrical whirling
1:14	Metal being hit heavily
1:15	Build-up of electrical buzzing
1:34	Metallic drum beat, car engine
1:36	Guitar distortion
1:43	Reversed/backward sped up scream
1:50	Typewriter
2:01	“You got me closer to god” is sang

Each one of these tables shows how the atmosphere is created at the very start of the film. How it is set up.