Analysis of 'Videodrome' title sequence

'Videodrome' is an 1983 Canadian postmodernist sci-fi body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg. It stars James Woods, Sonja Smits and Deborah Harry. It was produced by Canadian Film Development Company and distributed by Universal Pictures.

The title sequence starts with pulsing music that is played over the Universal Pictures logo; the use of this music immediately gives the audience the impression of a foreboding and unsettling atmosphere. This music continues as the beginning credits start to play until there is a crackling sound, like one you'd hear on a TV or radio, and the title starts to appear, firstly blurry and out of focus but it soon sharpens up. There is a loud static noise behind the titles which connotes a lack of clarity or possibly a hidden message. This causes the audience to ask themselves questions, thus increasing the tension by playing on the fear of the unknown. 

We then hear a tinkling piece of music and the words 'Civic TV' appear several times in different colours on the screen, before an advert for it comes up afterwords and we see that we are watching this on a TV screen. The fact that the Civic TV logo comes up immediately after the title suggests that it is of significance and will be important to the film's plot later on or is a key theme throughout. 

We then see a young woman appear on the screen and she starts talking to a man called Max; she begins to engage in a dialogue with him and at first the audience is unsure of whether or not this is a programme but as the title sequence progresses, it becomes clear that it is directly aimed at the owner of the TV set it is playing on. She later reveals herself to be Friday James and she emphasises that she is Max's daily wake up call for Wednesday 23rd. The emphasis she puts on the date is an effective use of narrative enigma as it makes the audience question the significance of this date, creating a sense of the foreboding unknown. 

She then starts reading out a message with a list of things Max has to do; this makes the audience assume that he is a character of significance in the reality he's living in as normal people don't usually have several meetings per day. Furthermore she refers to him as 'commander', suggesting he is the boss or the leader of whatever company she works for or with. This creates a sense of authority for this Max character before he even appears on screen.

The Civic TV logo plays once more, reinforcing the significance of it to the audience, before the camera pans around to a man waking up on a sofa; we can assume that this is Max. 

We then see him making himself a cup of coffee whilst eating out of a box of leftover pizza; this juxtaposes our ideas of characters with authority and power as we'd expect them to be eating full meals or being made meals by cooks, not eating leftovers. The fact that he doesn't make himself any new breakfast almost makes him appear slightly sleazy and a slob; this sleaziness is further emphasised as he picks up pictures of naked women and starts flicking through them. This establishes another difference between the character of Max and a normal middle-aged man, as we would expect a normal man to read the paper on the morning (maybe in this day and age, go on his iPhone) whereas Max is flicking through pornographic images. This creates a distinct impression that he is not like your 'run of the mill' guy and reinforces his authority and power. As he is viewing the pictures, he laughs which suggests that he has a poor attitude towards woman and finds it fun to exploit and mock them for his own amusement. This establishes that there is a power struggle between men and women that may become more significant later.

I think this film would be aimed at an audience in the 28-50 age range as it already hints at some more sophisticated ideas that would be too advanced for many in the younger age ranges. It also immediately shows adult images so it definitely wouldn't be suitable for children. 

Link to Pinterest Mood Board

http://uk.pinterest.com/09f8qurh/as-media-mood-board/

Mood Board

Despite having quite a clear idea in my head about what I want for my final piece, I wanted to create a mood board to try and capture and collect images from other films and pictures that truly encapsulate my idea before I put anything down on paper. I decided to make a Pinterest account; I used Pinterest for my GCSE Art Final Piece and I found it to be an efficient and effective way of sparking ideas and incorporating different elements into my own piece. I've created a pin board called 'AS Media Final Piece' and within it, I have 'pinned' pictures of other horror and thriller movie posters (such as The Shining, Taken, The Purge, Se7en etc), as well as typical 'horror' imagery that I found on the site. My idea at the moment is roughly about a girl who's missing and her best friend is trying to find her; this is where the thriller elements are based. Then in the first scene, we see the girl lying on the floor of what appears to be a garage, covered in blood and we discover that she's been kidnapped and that her kidnapper has cut her open - revealed by fresh wounds on her abdomen - for unknown purposes (graphic, I know!). This is where most of the horror elements come in. It's important for me to get the balance right and that's also why I created the mood board so I could balance images from each genre and place them next to each other, combine different aspects and elements and see what works. 

Analysis of 'The Shining' title sequence

'The Shining' is a 1980 British-American psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers. The film is based on Steven King's novel of the same name. It was produced by The Producer Circle, Company, Peregrine Productions and Hawk Films and it was distributed by Warner Bros.

The sequence starts with the Warner Bros. logo which, like the other films I've analysed, sticks to the conventions of title sequences. We then see a establishing shot moving over a clear lake to an isolated piece of land in the middle; the theme music for The Shining also starts here. The music paired with the establishing shots of the landscape immediately signify to the audience that the atmosphere is foreboding and omnious and that, despite the peaceful exterior, the environment they're in holds sinister undertones. Furthermore the shot of the lone piece of land in the middle of a clear unmoving lake emphasises how isolated this area actually is; the lake is completely still and there are no people, houses or cars in sight in this shot. This makes the audience feel tense and unnerved as the camera slowly pans across the completely abandoned landscape.
We then see a single yellow car driving along a road surrounded by trees; this is the first sign of life the audience sees and that suggests that the protagonists are within the car. It is revealed later in the title sequence that they are driving up to the hotel however in this shot, they appear to just be driving. This use of narrative enigma further heightens the sense of isolation and tension as it forces the audience to ask questions and think 'why is this happening? Where are they going?'.
In the next few shots, the camera is following the same yellow car - this further emphasises that either the car itself or the characters in the car are of some significance - and the deep, slow, droning music continues in the background. The credits themselves start within these shots; the bright blue font matches the simplicity of the landscape the yellow car is driving through. The lack of fancy effects and intricate camera shots or font actually increases the tension as the audience is sat waiting for something to happen and they are presented with many questions that don't get answered immediately.
At one point in the title sequence, we see another car driving away from wherever the yellow car is heading; this makes the audience wonder what they're driving away from and adds to the ominous atmosphere that the camera-work and music already creates.
The landscape gradually changes to show that the car is driving up some form of hilly, mountain area and then suddenly in one of the penultimate shots, the landscape is shown to have snow on it. This suggests that they are very high up as further down, there was no snow - this just adds to how isolated the destination of this yellow car is. We later find out that the isolated nature of the hotel is one of the main factors that adds to the horror in the film.
We then see an establishing shot that pans over a large, ominous looking building - this suggests that this is the place the yellow car is heading to - whilst the music continues to play.



The audience for this film would probably be 25-45 years old as I believe the simplistic yet sophisticated nature of the title sequence would appeal mostly to that age group rather than a very young or very old demographic.

Analysis of 'Psycho' title sequence

'Psycho' is a 1960 American psychological thriller-horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It stars Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Janet Leigh. It is widely considered one of the most revolutionary films of all time and contains one of the most infamous scenes ever filmed. It was produced by Shamely Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

The sequence starts initially with a black and white image of the Paramount logo, establishing the distribution company and sticking to the conventions of a normal title sequence. Then the infamous 'Psycho' theme music starts playing; the sharp screeching notes of the violins immediately creates significant tension for the audience and establishes the sinister atmosphere immediatly. We then see shots of long vertical lines going across the screen and then retracting to reveal Alfred Hitchcock's name - this technique is used to reveal all members of the cast and crew. The simplistic nature of the shots in the title sequence itself paired with the intricate music in the background balances out perfectly to create a very tense and foreboding atmosphere with the sense that something could jump out at you at any moment (although that wasn't really Hitchcock's style).
The title is then pieced together for us however the title jerks suddenly so it becomes slightly distorted and not in line; this could connote a sense of mental instability. The word 'psycho' is short for 'psychopath' or 'psychopathic' which means somebody who has an inability to function normally regarding social skills or somebody with an inability to love so the fact that the titles are contorted could be a physical representation of a psychopath's mind. This also happens at the end of the sequence when they show Alfred Hitchcock's name again.
The music increases in volume and crescendos several times throughout the title sequence whilst the title sequence shots themselves remain reasonably similar and follow the same concept of the vertical lines revealing cast and crew member's names throughout the entire sequence.
The vertical lines contrast against the name of the film itself as they are all arranged neatly and orderly whereas a psychopath is generally considered to be messed up and their minds don't function in the way that they should; their reality is contorted in comparison to ours.
Furthermore the lines are revealing the names of the cast and crew, this could link to the films main character as initially he seems relatively normal but then it is revealed later in the film that he is actually mentally unwell and developed a split personality between himself and his mother. The lines revealing the names could represent how Norman Bates' true colours are revealed at the end of the film.


I believe that the audience for this film would be 25-45 year old males as it is a very sophisticated horror/thriller; I don't believe the topic of mental health would be well-received or understood by the younger generation.
Admittedly I found this particular title sequence quite hard to analyse as there wasn't any physical camera shots and there was no change of direction style-wise.

Analysis of 'The Purge' title sequence

'The Purge' is a 2013 American sci-fi action thriller horror film which was written and directed by James DeMonacco. It stars Ethan Hawke, Lena Heady, Max Burkholder and Adelaide Kane; it was produced by Blumhouse Productions, Platinum Dunes and Why Not Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures.

The sequence starts with the name of the distribution company being shown against a black screen with gentle music playing in the background; this gives the audience the impression that all is good and the music lulls them into a false sense of security. This is quickly shattered when a shot of a man in a blue hoodie, who was just standing on his phone texting, gets brutally shot by a random passer-by. This immediatly snaps the audience out of the sense of security they were immediately in and reveals the film's true nature. The fact that the boy was wearing a hoodie could possibly connote youth; the man who shot him didn't wait, he brazenly strode over and shot him several times. It is also clear that the young man in the hoodie didn't expect this as he was weaponless and also wasn't doing anything wrong; the other man just shot him because he could. This suggests that during The Purge, no matter who you are - young or old - or what you've done, you're at risk: no one is safe. This immediately sets up a tense and ominous atmosphere for the audience and quickly establishes the horror/thriller elements of the film. The whole set up almost seems satirical or scathing of how humans would react if The Purge actually occured; all sense of morality would go out of the window and the fact that the man with the gun just spontaneously kills the man in the hoodie suggests that if we were given the power to kill with no consequence, we would.
There is then a blurry shot of a group of men attacking another man, jumping on him and beating him up. The shots are stylized as being shot by a security camera (like a denomination of the 'found footage' trend) and in the corner, there is a small caption that reads "Purge Feed". This presents the audience with a clever juxtaposition and another scathing look into this version of reality. 'Security cameras' were meant to keep people safe and watch out for criminals however now they are actually used to air people killing and attacking each other for somebody else's enjoyment; this presentation of reality shocks the audience and makes them think, which adds another element to the film and changes it from being 'just another horror'.
The cast member's names flash up on the screen whilst images of violence are played behind them (the gentle music is continuing to play throughout).
Some of the acts of murder and violence happen in dark alleys or behind buildings; there is one shot of a man who appears to be cutting someone's head off with a large weapon and he's alone in a dark alleyway. This suggests that he wants to commit these deeds away from other people and despite the fact he is murdering somebody else, he isn't proud of it and he's chosen to do so in the shadows. However, as a juxtaposition, there are other shots of acts of violence that happen right in the middle of the street. This suggests that some were just so brazen and sadistically excited by the events that they're almost proud of what they're doing - they wear it like a badge.
We then see an image of a bloodied woman who looks like she's been attacked climbing to her feet. This could suggest a sense of gender inequality as all of those committing crimes up to know have been men and the only shot of a woman in the entire trailer is one that has been attacked; this suggests that if the purge were ever to happen, men would be largely invested in the violence and be the ones to take part whereas women would be at the receiving end of it. This paints an image of innocence for the women in the purge and paints the men as violence and sadistic, however later in the film we see one of the main antagonists is a woman which turns this idea on its head.
Throughout the title sequence, there are many people using guns and going around sporadically shooting whoever they can see; the fact that there is such an abundance of guns in this title sequence could be a critisism of the gun laws in America and how easily available they are in society already.
We then see a shot of dead bodies lined up in a line on a flat plain of concrete. It's significant that they are lined up as it suggests that somebody, possibly the murdered themselves or another passer-by, took the time to line them up neatly. It could suggest that the murderer wanted to relish in what he'd done and line up the people he'd killed like a tally or that a passer-by could've tried to line them up as a sign of respect like they would be in a graveyard, giving them each their own space.
We are then shown a  shot of a beaten and bloodied man crawling along the ground; this causes the audience to feel shocked at seeing what is possibly an innocent man in such a state. It is purposefully meant to shock the audience and make them think about the consequence of what could happen if this reality was real.
We then see a medium long shot of a car on fire which connotes how society and everything that appears in a normal everyday lifestyle gets destroyed and how unnecessarily destructive human beings can be.
There is then a long shot of a man trying to escape by climbing over an iron fence but is violently pulled down by two men and beaten; all of these shots are meant to shock and disturb the audience and when they are contrasted against the gentle, soothing background music, it gives the whole title sequence an even more sinister atmosphere as the music connotes that in this reality, The Purge is a completely normal thing.
The sequence ends with a shot of several people aimlessly wandering around in an open street, surrounded by fires, debris and dead bodies. This could signify what happens after The Purge as the individuals are not attacking each other and the fact that they are just wandering around gives the audience the impression that they almost don't know what to do with themselves and now that they aren't able to murder or attack, they're confused as to what to do. This again reinforces the idea that The Purge is totally normal and also considered a good thing - possibly a holiday - to people in this reality.



The audience for this film is most likely 16-30 year olds, probably male and working to middle class as in the film, they focus on a middle/upper class family and there are certain satirical aspects to the depiction of them so I think that would appeal to people outside of that class - an 'outside looking in'-esque appeal. Furthermore the violence would stereotypically appeal to males more so than females and the majority of the characters in the film - namely the antagonists - are young males and females so I think that they were aiming for a younger demographic.

Analysis of 'Se7en' title sequence

'Se7en' is a 1995 American psychological crime horror/thriller that stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow and was directed by David Fincher. It was distributed by New Line Cinema and grossed over $300 million worldwide at the box office.]

 The sequence starts with a very close up shot of an unknown person turning the blank pages of a book. Books generally connote intelligence and those associated with books are often seen as academics however since the pages are blank, it could suggest that the character turning the pages of the book may appear intelligent or academic but in reality there is nothing of substance there. The ominously dark lighting suggests that the character is the antagonist in the film and since he is pouring over this book full of empty pages, it signifies a possible obsession. The blank pages could also signify the beginning of something; we later find out that the book is the diary of John Doe that he used to plan his murders however the audience does not know this at this point. It's the use of the pulsing foreboding music and the dim lighting however that suggests that this character is certainly dangerous or dark-minded. The rest of the title sequence backs up this idea.
The next shot shows the beginning of the title sequence and the contrasting use of font is a key feature in this title sequence. The names of the cast and crew are written in a scruffy hand-written style font which matches the images of the unknown character writing and creating his book; it could almost be used to suggest that it's the unknown character that is writing these names or that the font is in the style of his handwriting. This style of font also establishes a horror atmosphere. Furthermore throughout the title sequence, the text glitches and moves in a jumpy fashion; this could suggest a sense of mental instability, possibly that of the unknown character.
    The next shot is of a pair of disfigured hands stuck neatly on a page. There is a definite juxtaposition between the contorted hands and the meticulously neat presentation of them in the book (this is seen throughout the entire title sequence) and this connotes how meticulous and specific John Doe was with his planning and with carrying out his murders, even to the last detail.
The next shots are extremely quick extreme close ups of different metal utensils such as a razor being taken out of its case. A razor can be iconographic of pain and could possibly be linked as a murder weapon however if it was as simple as that, there could've just been shots of guns and knives. The use of the razor is emphasizing how Doe uses very specific elements and focuses on the littlest of details and pieces them together.
We then see Brad Pitt's name flash up in the hand-written font up against a blank screen; this establishes that he is one of the main actors in the film.
The next shot is of John Doe slicing skin off the ends of his fingertips which quickly solidifies the fact that the film is a horror/thriller. It also suggests that Doe is not mentally stable and possibly psychotic; furthermore it reiterates the idea that Doe is meticulous to the last detail as well as being very obsessive (especially if he's willing to slice the skin off his fingers!).
The next shots are very mundane in comparison to the graphic images shown elsewhere in the sequence - it shows Doe slowly dunking a teabag into some water. This could connote how even psychopaths and those with mental instabilities do things that 'normal' people do and they can blend in so easily with the mundane routine of everyday life; this almost makes the idea of this particularly antagonist even more sinister as he could be anybody.
The next shot is of the title against a black background; this once again (like within the main actors) commands the audience's attention and emphasises that this piece of information is important.
We then see John Doe writing in another notebook, neatly and meticulously, and there is a ghosting-like effect used on his hand. This reiterates the idea of mental illness and somebody being jumpy or flighty; we then see several images of words and pages full of writing flash up on the screen. This symbolises just how much work Doe has put into these notebooks, emphasising to what degree his obsession is at.
Next, Doe is cutting up pieces of films and photographs to stick them into his notebooks, placing them neatly and in a very exact fashion into them. The fact that within another context, these are all perfectly normal activities, but when paired with the scratchy, pulsing music and the gloomy and foreboding lighting it can become extremely ominous makes the antagonist even more sinister. Like with the teabags, the antagonist isn't a knife-wielding maniac or a monster or anything like that, he appears to be as mundanely normal as you or I. However his mind and thoughts are extremely dark, which is represented in the music and lighting as well as some of the other images.
We then see a shot of a shadow of his hand turning the page of his notebook and the pages are covered in writing, emphasising how much time he has spent doing this, further suggestive the extent of his obsession.
The 'obsessive' nature of this character is also shown when he draws one single black line over the eyes of a picture of what appears to be a boy and then in the next shot, he has covered the entire picture with thick black lines. This connotes that this character's obsession drives him so much that he cannot be content with just doing something once; he feels he has to do things 100% or make a huge statement, like he does with his murders. Simplicity isn't common with him and this is evident in the meticulous research and presentation of his notebooks as well as the deeply complicated and strategically planned murders he commits.
More and more pages get filled and we see more shots of him writing in his notebook, possibly representing time passing. Then we are shown several gruesome images which represents the darkness of his thoughts and ideas amongst the polished and planned appearance of his schemes.
The title sequence is ended with the close up shot of him cutting out the word 'God' from an article and pulling it out with a pair of tweezers; we learn later that John Doe has based his murders off the seven deadly sins and the fact that he removed it - probably to stick into his notebooks - hints at this and hints that there are religious undertones to what he's doing. This could be seen as a clever use of encoded signifying.



I believe that this film is aimed at 18-25 year olds due to the graphic nature of some of the images and also because horror/thriller movies are extremely popular to this age group. I don't think there is a particular social group that the film aims to cater to but there is the stereotypical idea that the film could be trying to cater more to the male population as crime and thriller films are, stereotypically, more popular with that gender.

Changes to chosen analysis films

I've had to make a few changes to the films I've chosen to analyse as many of the more modern films don't actually have obvious title sequences. Many just show the title of the film, the production and the distribution companies and then leave the rest of the credits to the end of the film. The Conjuring and 28 Weeks Later didn't have title sequences so I will probably replace them with Fight Club and another thriller or horror. 

Plan for Christmas!

So we've come to the christmas holidays (yay!) and I think it would be beneficial to make a list of things to do. Elleah bought me a list book so this now can be done (yay x2 !)!
Here are the things I need to complete over Christmas:

You need to make sure you have:

• Finish powerpoints about title sequences
• Outline of the plot for your film
• Posts about genre, representation, audience and institution as relating to your film
• Script/ scenario for your opening sequence
• Breakdown of titles
• Music
• Storyboards/ sketches
• Location scouting/ photos/ videos
• Production schedule
• Shot lists
• Call sheets
• Test/ preliminary footage
• Animatics
• Mood boards
• Props lists

Films I have chosen to analyse

Since I have chosen horror as the main genre I am going to look at for my final piece, I have decided to make a list of films that I will analyse so I can build up my research and knowledge before I start planning. It is really important to get as much research as possible so I can so I understand all of the conventions of my chosen genres and also add in any elements that I find particularly useful or I think would fit well in my final piece. Here are the films I have chosen to analyse:

• Se7en
• Videodrome
• The Shining
• The Purge
• Pyscho

Conventions of Title Sequences

Here is my powerpoint on the conventions of title sequences.

And so the research begins...

I have started researching into different genres and their opening sequences. Firstly I had to decide on which genre I would pick and what genre I would research and stick to for my final piece; with horror being my favourite genre and something I know quite a significant amount about, I devised that this would be the most logical choice for what I wanted to do. Furthermore, there are many sub-genres in horror and also a lt of overlap with thriller which would allow me to explore a lot of ideas with very little barriers. 

After I chose my genre, i started researching into 5-10 different opening title sequences. The first title sequence I'm choosing is Se7en as it's not only one of my all time favourite films but it also has an amazing opening sequence that has a lot of potential for analysis. 

Day One: 3/12/14

Today I've been mulling over what genre I'd like to do for my final piece. I think I'm pretty set on a horror/thriller because not only are those my favourite types of film, there are so many different directions I can take that so I won't be limited! Plus I think I have the perfect actors in mind for a horror too so. I'm gonna do some more mind-mapping of ideas tomorrow afternoon but yeah, I think I'm pretty set on what I want.

:-)

Final Piece (dun...dun...DUUUUH)

So Mr Earl briefed us today on what we will be doing for the rest of the AS Media course: our final pieces. I have been so excited to find out what we're going to be doing and the time scale for everything and we found out all the information today. We have to create a 2-3 minute opening title scene of a movie, genre is up to us, and we have to make it look as slick, realistic and as bloody good as possible! We have around 5 months from today until the final final point and we have A LOT to do during that space of time. Firstly we have to plan and research; that involves choosing a genre, researching films for that genre, researching distributors and producing companies that would present the film - like Universal -, researching the general order of titles for that genre, research who would be appropriate to credit for that genre and more! 

Once we've chosen our genre and done loads of research into it, the planning process begins! This involves writing a script, storyboarding, mind-mapping, finding locations, booking places, finding and booking actors, book transport to said places for said actors, getting casting schedules ready, alongside call day sheets, shot logging sheets, special effects requirements and a props and costumes list....PHEW! It's a lot of work but it's really exciting to think about! After we've planned, we have a massive 3 week shooting window in which we must book our cameras and tripods and start filming our pieces. They must be shot professionally with a wide variety of shots, so no faffing about! After that, the long arduous editing process begins, as rough cuts get rolled out and watched and redone and recut until finally you have your final edit done and dusted. 

    I'm very excited to get started as I already have a lot of ideas floating around who I want, what I want, where I want it, how I'm going to get it and why I need it! I'm in a drama group too which helps with costumes, props and actors. I'm also very excited to do the evaluation using a variety of media, my aim is to do at least one blog every day, one video blog every week recapping what has been done (as well as 'in the moment' little vlogs!) and for my evaluation I'm planning on doing a lot of 'Making Of' and director's commentary style videos as well as a full written evaluation.  

Let's get started! :D  

Evaluation of Haematemesis

Evaluation of Haematemesis from Rhiann Quinn on Vimeo.