Pre-Production: Title Sequence planning and testing ideas
A good title sequence can bring brand identity and instant recognition. It will set the tone for the rest
of the piece. "I think a well-crafted title sequence can introduce the audience to the mood and theme of the film and filmmaker’s intentions and set up the expectations of those watching. It’s really an ART of Visual Design. Creative Studio work only on that, close to the director."(https://independentrevolution.net/2014/02/11/the-art-of-title-the-importance-of-the-opening-title-sequence-in-film/)
Ideas for the Journey?
I found the best way to brainstorm ideas for the title sequence was to use the inspiration from my mood-board and to mind-map the ideas.
For me filming the journey. Maybe clocks moving to show time, justice scales, writing pencil, law books, interrogation desk, fingerprints on paper, computer screen copying data, text messages, pressing the tape record button.
The idea from this is to film parts like its a journey (based on the documentaries journey) and then have cuts to relevant cinematic shots jump between in a stylistic, Netflix- like way. This is an idea very much inspired by many different sequences I have seen including 'Making a Murderer', 'The Walking Dead' and 'The Kalief Browder Story'.
I needed to work out how long the title sequence needs to actually be and what is a typical length for this sort of documentary.
For a short documentary it is usually anything under 30seconds otherwise I would risk losing the audience before the documentary has even started. Something that has become increasingly popular with shows (i.e. Black Mirror) is the 10 second title cards; they tend to allow more air time and bring the branding in efficiently and effectively. This is something I am now seeing a lot, especially with shows that are popular.
Justice scales aren't very original, find a more original route.
There are two production companies who make title sequences that stand out to me and the way they style them is somehting very distinct in style:
of the piece. "I think a well-crafted title sequence can introduce the audience to the mood and theme of the film and filmmaker’s intentions and set up the expectations of those watching. It’s really an ART of Visual Design. Creative Studio work only on that, close to the director."(https://independentrevolution.net/2014/02/11/the-art-of-title-the-importance-of-the-opening-title-sequence-in-film/)
Ideas for the Journey?
I found the best way to brainstorm ideas for the title sequence was to use the inspiration from my mood-board and to mind-map the ideas.
For me filming the journey. Maybe clocks moving to show time, justice scales, writing pencil, law books, interrogation desk, fingerprints on paper, computer screen copying data, text messages, pressing the tape record button.
I needed to work out how long the title sequence needs to actually be and what is a typical length for this sort of documentary.
For a short documentary it is usually anything under 30seconds otherwise I would risk losing the audience before the documentary has even started. Something that has become increasingly popular with shows (i.e. Black Mirror) is the 10 second title cards; they tend to allow more air time and bring the branding in efficiently and effectively. This is something I am now seeing a lot, especially with shows that are popular.
Justice scales aren't very original, find a more original route.
There are two production companies who make title sequences that stand out to me and the way they style them is somehting very distinct in style:
Imaginary Forces are a key inspirateion for me in the title sequences they make. They have made Title Sequences for Mad Men, Stranger Things, Mission Impossible and 21 Jump Street. They even made the trailer for my inspired title sequence 'The Walking Dead'. The list goes on and they have a design-based production studio which specialise in main titles, marketing, branding, design, commercial advertising and interactive design.
The title sequenWhen watching television I came across an advert which really caught my attention. This was with the way its graphics were done and I feel had a bigger impact than the language used. The link is below:
Every mind Matters NHS Advert is symbolic of mental health
I think this is something achievable with my editing skills and would be really effective for the title sequence and fit with the researched looks of other inspired documentary title sequence, but match the context of ours. It is an interesting concept and really reflects mental health. As a title sequence or trailer, it could really work; I would just need to put my own twist on it
However, I wanted to take inspiration from Netflix as that's the brand I am selling. However, I also wanted to allow room for my own creative input. Something I've noticed that's very distinct with Netflix documentaries is the layering of titles. So images and video will apply layer transitions. This is something I tried to incorporate with my nicely shot footage and below is the first edit of my title sequence. Although this is only the first draft, I have realized that this is something I actually don't like and am not best pleased with. Visually, I just don't believe it puts across the right message of what my documentary is about. After asking the opinions of my friends and peers, I discovered this isn't what I would like. I feel I should really consider developing this title sequence further into one I am pleased with.
Whilst I am pleased with the cinematic shots here, and could maybe incorporate into the documentary somehow i.e. with the title card, I still don't feel as satisfied or as though it really gets very exciting as a build up. It seems a bit too generic and after speaking to Jack he also felt the same way. It was a shame as we had both spent the day shooting this title sequence, but that's just a part of the learning and development process.
References
Independencerevolution.net, (https://independentrevolution.net/2014/02/11/the-art-of-title-the-importance-of-the-opening-title-sequence-in-film/)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4ZyzmEyuqQ
Every mind Matters NHS Advert is symbolic of mental health
I think this is something achievable with my editing skills and would be really effective for the title sequence and fit with the researched looks of other inspired documentary title sequence, but match the context of ours. It is an interesting concept and really reflects mental health. As a title sequence or trailer, it could really work; I would just need to put my own twist on it
However, I wanted to take inspiration from Netflix as that's the brand I am selling. However, I also wanted to allow room for my own creative input. Something I've noticed that's very distinct with Netflix documentaries is the layering of titles. So images and video will apply layer transitions. This is something I tried to incorporate with my nicely shot footage and below is the first edit of my title sequence. Although this is only the first draft, I have realized that this is something I actually don't like and am not best pleased with. Visually, I just don't believe it puts across the right message of what my documentary is about. After asking the opinions of my friends and peers, I discovered this isn't what I would like. I feel I should really consider developing this title sequence further into one I am pleased with.
Whilst I am pleased with the cinematic shots here, and could maybe incorporate into the documentary somehow i.e. with the title card, I still don't feel as satisfied or as though it really gets very exciting as a build up. It seems a bit too generic and after speaking to Jack he also felt the same way. It was a shame as we had both spent the day shooting this title sequence, but that's just a part of the learning and development process.
References
Independencerevolution.net, (https://independentrevolution.net/2014/02/11/the-art-of-title-the-importance-of-the-opening-title-sequence-in-film/)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4ZyzmEyuqQ
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