Credit Sequences

Credit sequences can be a big part of setting the tone within your film. Finding the right credit sequences, font, and background stills/clips plays a big role because these are the first things the audience will see.  

Starting off strong, the psychological thriller Se7en uses a very accurate credit sequence in relation to the genre of the film. A messy font was strategically used to convey an uneasy, fearful tone. The glitchy, mysterious vibe of the credit sequence immediately illustrates chaos and suspense. The distorted images of broken hands and mysterious journal entries emphasize the uneasy, tense feeling being evoked. The random placement of the credits enhance that chaotic horror vibe. This credit sequence is perfect for this type of thriller.

Se7en (1995)

The thriller movie, Alien, is actually known for having one of the "best thriller movie credit sequences". This film uses a haunting, mysterious score and imagery of a dark planet to convey a feeling of uncertainty. The credits are slowly rolled out and fragmented which begins to create suspense. The text is displayed on a backdrop of a dark planet, creating a sense of danger.

Alien (1979)

The coming-of-age film Juno has an extremely creative and fun credit sequence. It begins by showing the main character walking while drinking Sunny-D, with upbeat background music including a harmonica. The music used creates a whimsical, folksy feel to the opening. The character's world turns into a drawing as she's walking and the credits begin to roll. Stop-motion animation and hand-drawn images in the credit sequence give the film a quirky, indie vibe. The font used for the credits looks hand-drawn, which was likely used to reflect Juno's young age and creative personality. The bold, cartoon-like outlines make Juno's world seem bright and youthful, reflecting on her personality. This credit sequence's unique qualities all combine to create a very well-put-together sequence.

Juno (2007)

Portfolio Project Schedule

So that we can complete this project effectively and not leave out any steps, I've created a schedule so we can stay on track. Creating this schedule also helps the success of the project by staying more organized. 

The first 4-5 weeks are mainly focused on the planning portion of the film. Within these weeks there are blog postings, group discussions, a lot of research and planning. During weeks 5-6 we will continue to post 4 blogs a week and begin filming. By week 7 we will reshoot any necessary clips and begin the editing process. Finally week 8 will mainly just include touch-ups. During this final week, we will post blogs, finish editing, and go over the film and touch up anything needed.

Film Opening Options

Since we've been given this project, my group and I have begun brainstorming and researching. We've watched and analyzed film openings for the genres were using so we get a better idea of the characteristics our genres include.

A film opening I saw while researching thriller films was the movie Driver, starring Ryan Gosling. This film opening included several characteristics of a thriller. By using dim lighting the film conveys an eerie, tense feeling. There is a low, almost beating type sound in the background which creates suspense. This opening is very engaging which is common among thrillers. The use of the diegetic sound of the car creates a sense of chaos. Overall, this film opening is very engaging, and for a thriller it has a lot of good qualities. I might refer to some scenes of this opening to get a better idea of what my film opening needs. 

Drive (2011)

Another thriller film opening I liked was the opening scene for Scream. This film's opening uses the repeated ringing of the phone to create an ominous atmosphere. The opening also has eerie background music that creates suspense and engages the audience. The phone calls from a mysterious man continuously calling paired with semi-dim lighting all tie in to create one of the best opening thriller scenes.

Scream (1996)

One coming-of-age opening scene that I especially like is Clueless. The opening scene is a montage of the main character's picture-perfect teenage life. The upbeat 90's background music conveys a fun and light tone. After the montage, the main character begins to voiceover/narrate the scene; this is a common technique in coming-of-age films. The following clips are of the main character, Cher, getting ready for school. From these clips, you can get a gist of her personality, lifestyle, and the stereotypes she follows. All of the scenes include bright colors and lighting, this keeps the tone simple and light. Overall, for a coming-of-age film the film opening is well put together and includes all of the major characteristics of coming-of-age films.

Clueless (1995)

Portfolio Project Genre

When my group and I began brainstorming for this project, we decided to go with an action or coming-of-age film. With research we have conducted and notes we have taken throughout the year, it will be easier to know what our film will need to capture that action/coming-of-age film vibe.

Action films typically include immersive, fast-moving scenes. This is captured through a rousing, loud song during the preview and action-packed portions of production. Specific actors are often cast in these productions and highlighted in marketing since most plots are similar. Action films usually include easily recognizable locations, fast-paced editing, and many special effects and/or stunts.

James Bond: No Time To Die (2021)

The other genre we are looking at is coming-of-age films. Coming-of-age films typically have similar themes such as a young main character transitioning into adulthood. These films often explore themes of self-discovery, personal growth, or conflicts with family or friends. They also convey either a humorous or sad tone within the film. Good actors are usually used so that the theme is effectively conveyed. The mise-en-scene would reflect the character's development, environment, and personality.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Transition To The Cambridge Portfolio Project

 In class, we've recently begun learning about film openings and what goes into creating a good film opening. As soon as my teacher said we would be filming a film opening, my face lit up and ideas flooded my mind. We've been doing blog postings on certain media topics since the beginning of the year, so that will definitely help when planning for the project. Using the notes we've taken on film openings and the approaches we could take this project is going to be a lot of fun!

One approach that we have learned in class that I would like to focus on is engaging the audience. The genre of the film opening that my group and I have decided on is an action mixed with a coming-of-age film. Action films often contain fast-paced, exhilarating events, so I feel like taking an approach where you focus on engaging the audience would prepare them for the rest of the film. Events that typically occur in action films are very engaging, therefore focusing on engaging the audience would be a perfect demonstration of the genre of our film. Ways we could accomplish this is through up-tempo music and a lot of strategic shots to create a chaotic and thrilling opening.

Another approach I would definitely focus on is establishing the tone. This goes hand in hand with engaging the audience and action films. Since I've already mentioned how action films are very engaging, you could see how by establishing an intense, urgent, or possibly suspenseful tone could help engage the audience. The tone in our opening could be establishing through mise-en-scene elements, up-tempo music, and color schemes. 

Stay updated on my blog to see the final product!!!

Documentation of Music Marketing Project

Below is a video of the development of our band's music video. It includes bloopers and behind-the-scenes footage. 

 

Music Marketing #1

   For the Music Marketing project we were assigned 4 songs and had to choose one, we chose Mountain at my Gates. We had to create a marketing campaign for a new music artist/group. We were directed to build the brand from the bottom up and use a marketing campaign to introduce our musician(s) to the public. We first made a schedule since it's a very important project.

   For this project, my partners and I began by listening to our song (Mountain at my Gates) several times and reading the lyrics. We then discussed the song's meaning and what our music video should be about, we planned the music video by making a storyboard. After discussing our plans for the music video, we began researching ways to market our band and how to build our band's identity. We used the links attached to the directions to help us understand how to start putting our band together. 

Next, we began discussing our distribution plan. Once we had that set, we researched other rock bands to get ideas for ours and to help capture the culture of rock. This helped us find our target audience, our band name, our band essence, etc.