On the right I've embedded a collage my group member Beth has created on the website Polyvore to denote what the main character Amy, in my groups final project will wear.
This outfit is meant to make the main character Amy look like a conventional teenager. For example she is wearing leggings, which is a very popular piece of clothing for all teenage girls. Also she's wearing a hooded body warmer, this item of clothing is similar to a hoodie. It can be noted that hoodies are stereotypically associated with teenagers and so, like a hoodie, the body warmer is a piece of iconography related to teenagers.
The all black outfit also helps create an eerie/tense mood for audiences. Our overall opening is going to have a dark colour scheme to connote danger, mystery and a scary story line. The chosen colour scheme also connotes that dark/bad things are going to occur in the next few scenes of the film.
Above I've embedded a flip book created on FlipSnack in the style of a photo album. The pictures in the flip book are filming locations my group would like to work from at Bentley Priory.
Most of the pictures I've embedded denote an empty forest. My group has chosen to use the forest to film our opening titles scene as it's a conventional location in horror films. We'd ideally like to film in an isolated section of the forest/woodlands at Bentley Priory as it would help create a tense,eerie mood in our final project. Also, forests are common in horror films;for example, The Cabin in the Woods had sections of the film shot in a deserted cabin in the woods.
Here are the initial storyboards created for the two idents my group wanted in our final titles. We decided to draw out storyboards of our idents first, because they gave us a chance to consider how our ideas would appear onscreen as one sequence. Creating story boards for our idents was important because it helped my group plan how we would make our idents. Also the storyboards gave us the opportunity to realise if our idea's could realistically be created like professional looking idents.
Final Idents
Below I've embedded from my YouTube two idents I've created for my groups final project using Final Cut Pro. My group decided that it would be more conventional to have two idents in our film opening, because when researching openings we found that it was very common for films to have two production company's.
We also decided that it would be conventional to have one ident representing a larger generic film production company and have another ident specifically for a film company that only produces horror films.
Ident 1
This ident it meant to represent a large film production company. We've chosen to use a cloudscape in this ident as it's quite conventional in large production companies idents and logos. For example Lionsgate, DreamWorks, Paramount, TriStar and Columbia all have cloudscapes and skies within their idents. Using cloudscapes connote that our production company is well rounded, and creates a variety of films. Furthermore, a cloudscape implies that the production company creates imaginative films and it's quite prestigious.
All though this ident is meant to represent a large film company we've also tried to make this ident alternative, to link to the horror genre film we are creating. To make the ident alternative we added a red tint onto the cloud scapes to connote that the film has bloodshed and danger within it's narrative. This ident was inspired by Lionsgate's alternative horror themed ident that they use in their horror films.
Ident 2
It's quite conventional for films to have two production companies so my group decided to create two opening idents for our final project. Our second ident represents a small production company that only creates horror films. To relate to the horror genre this ident has a black and red colour scheme which connotes that this company is creates thrilling and gruesome films. A red mist of blood sprays on screen in slow motion and then fades out into a black background in the ident. The title 'Eerie Entertainment' appears centered on screen and fades in and out of the ident alongside the red mist of blood that reverses off screen. A thrilling sound track was added to the ident to make it seem more scary and intriguing for viewers. The sound track was taken from the copyright free sound effects website Sound Crate.
This ident was inspired by similar horror production companies like 'Dimension Films' who produced the 'Scream' series.
Like Dimension films ident we've kept to a simple black background and text that flies into the center of the screen.
In today's lesson I learnt that an ident allows production companies to identify that they have helped create a film or TV show. Alternative idents can also help reinforce the genre of a film and also give viewers an insight into the story line of the film. Additionally, idents can somewhat start a film early and catch audiences attentions at the start of a movie; a 20 second ident can set a films mood and tone before a film has fully begun. Here is a link to a website I've used to research idents
Lionsgate
Below are two Lionsgate ident's used in the opening scenes of the films they produce. I've chosen to look at Lionsgate because the company is a leading horror film company. Considering that they are a large horror film company looking at their ident may help me gain ideas when creating my own horror ident for my final project.
Design
The video above is Lionsgate's most recent film ident and it lasts 22 seconds long. At the start of the ident clogs and gears are denoted and they are the main focus of the shot. The camera pans around the gears denoting the gears all moving together and then the camera zooms out. The camera appears to move further away from the gears and continues to zoom out. The clogs are then shown moving through a key hole in a door, the camera continues to reverse zoom and then two majestic doors are thrown open. A flash of light shines through the doors and then the doors fully open denoting the word 'LIONSGATE' above clouds. The word 'LIONSGATE' is in the center of the screen denoted floating above clouds in emboldened capitalized sans serif font. Intention
The gears and clogs in the ident could connote that Lionsgate ceates films which are complex. The metallic colours used in the gears and the door connote that Lionsgate is prestige company. The use of the gears within a key hole and then the doors opening could be a connotation of 'opening' up viewers imaginations. The clouds-cape could be a connotation of the heavens; heaven is unknown to people and so this suggests that Lionsgate like to imagine and discover the unknown in their films. More so, the light colours clouds could be a symbol of hope and beauty.
Lionsgate Alternative Ident
Design
The is an alternative Lionsgate ident I've found online that is commonly used in Lionsgates horror films. The ident starts off the same as the original Lionsgate ident denoting gears moving on screen with panning and the a reverse zoom with the camera moving backwards. However, the colour shceme in this ident differs from the original unlike the original dark red hue colours are used. The clogs are broze and rusty looking instead of looking metallic and clean like the original.The background colours are also much darker in this ident with orange, brown and red hues. The doors in this opening are also very dark and they don't have the prestigious lavish look which is denoted in the original ident. Unlike the original ident the clouds-cape is coloured red and dark brown and the text in the center of the screen is a dark grey. At the end of this ident the clouds-cape's dark red colours glow to a bright red with the text remaining in the center of the screen. Intention
The dominant red colour scheme connotes danger, violence and is very eyecatching. More so, the red colour scheme suggests that Lionsgate is creating a film with bloodshed, and so the colours used in this ident reflect the genre of the film. The camera denoting rusty,dark coloured gears also connotes that Lionsgate is creating a dark and mysterious film. Furthermore, the gates opening to a red clouded sky connotes idea's of hell and darkness, which again implies that a film using this ident has an eerie dark story line.
DreamWorks
The second set of idents I've chosen to look at are by DreamWorks entertainment, I've chosen to look at this company as I feel that they are well known for creating alternative idents to relate to story lines and themes explored for each film they create. I could draw inspiration from this and create a unique alternative ident which clearly denotes the themes that my final project will include. I'm looking at two of DreamWorks idents because DreamWorks is a company that creates various alternative indents for each of their films in relation to their story lines. For example the Shrek movies have their own alternative idents under DreamWorks. I think an ident should relate to a films narrative and therefore it could be interesting to look at some of DreamWorks idents, as they can inspire and influence how I create my own ident for my final project.
Design
This ident is DreamWorks Home Entertainment most popular opening ident and it lasts 28 seconds long. The ident denotes a young boy sitting on the moon fishing from the sky. DreamWorks ident starts off with the camera tracking upwards from a reflection of the boys fishing rod in the water to clouds in the sky and then a boy sitting on the moon. The letters in 'DreamWorks' pan onscreen from right to left and then the title 'DreamWorks' appears centered on screen with a reverse zoom. 'DreamWorks' is denoted floating in the clouds. Intention
The notion of 'DreamWorks' up amongst the clouds could connote that DreamWorks is a company that makes imaginative films making the impossible seem possible. Also, the little boy on the moon could connote that DreamWorks creates films with children in mind, as their target audience, or that their movies aim to remind viewers of their childhood. The blue and white colour scheme relates to the sky and the clouds which again connotes imagination.
The Ring Altervative Ident
(click on the image to view the video)
The second ident I've chosen to look at is DreamWorks alternative ident for the horror film 'The Ring'. I've chose to look at this specific ident and DreamWorks doesn't usually make horror films and looking at a horror films ident will be relevant to my final project as I'm working under the horror genre. Design
Like the previous ident, the camera tracks upwards towards the sky and focuses in onto the young boy sitting on the moon fishing. However, instead of the simplistic calm blue and white colour scheme a black sky, grey gloomy clouds and a metallic glowing blue/white moon. The colours are much darker and gloomy than the original. The ident denotes a glitch/white noise in parts of the clip and then the moon is shown with another crescent half, which creates a mysterious full glowing circle on screen. Also, the sound of dripping water in a well is also used in this ident. Intention
The water sound effect, creates a tense eerie mood and the noise also foreshadows a dark storyline; sound effects are important in an ident as it makes a film impactful and engaging to viewers from the very start. The white noise in the ident connotes a dark storyline and also implies that the narrative in 'The Ring' could relate to an old movie or cassette. Also the white noise randomly appears onto screen and this could make viewers jump or grab their attention from the start of the film. The overall dark colourscheme connotes that 'The Ring' is a horror film with a dark narrative. From looking at this ident it's clear that editing and sound help reinforce a films genre and so, when creating my ident I should try and make the horror genre clear.
Researching film idents in todays lesson has been a good activity as it's made it clear to my group what the idents in our opening sequence should look like. Also the information found in this research can influence the design of my groups idents. It's important to look at examples of conventional idents like the ones above as it shows my group what we should aim to recreate in our project.
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