Title Sequence: Napoleon Dynamite

A title sequence is the first thing an audience will see when watching a film, it is essential that the title sequence gives a good impression to the audience so they will continue to watch the film. 

Mise En Scene
The lighting throughout the sequence is very natural which suggests that the film is very realistic and conveys to the audience that the film is realistic and very natural, and could also suggest a comedic element.The sequence is set in a house (or so the audience assume), as the background shows fabrics and carpets and floor tiles usually found within the home; this portrays an idea of familiarity to the audience and makes the film seem natural and realistic as the audience would live in homes like these due to the era of which the film is set in. The background of each shot is usually very plain and simple, perhaps suggesting the character is this way too allowing the audience to relate to the character. The use of this plain background makes the titles more striking to the audience and to pay attention to each little detail. All of the objects used within the sequence are ones that the audience can familiarise themselves with and use within day-to-day life, this makes the audiences feel more relaxed and allows them to relate to the character and the film more. Most of the shots show strange food combinations which makes the audience stereotype the character to a teenage boy, as the audience typically associate weird food combinations with teenage boys. The food combinations could also suggest to the audience that the character himself is weird. There are a few shots of Alien related objects such as the UFO Abduction Insurance card and the books show that the character could be stereotyped as a 'geek', as 'geeks' are stereotyped to be liking UFO and space related things. UFO sightings and expereinces typically happen in rural areas, so this could portray the idea of the character living in a rural area. The UFO related items could also suggest that the film is a spoof of a sci-fi film. The school stationary shot and the student card shot, tells the audience that the character is a a student at a school which allows the audience to relate to the character as audience memebers will have been to a school. The character seems to be organised as the character's hands and fingernails are clean, his wallet is organised, the toy cars are labelled, the character uses chapstick and could possibly be concious of his health as fruit and vegetables are shown within the food shots and the lemon sweet packet says fat free on the box; each of these parts combined stereotypically represent a nerdy teenage boy, which allows the audience to guess what the character's personality is like.

Cinematography
The use of close ups within the whole sequence show the detail of each shot and make it easy to read. This shot is very straightforward and shows the audience that whatever you see within the title sequence there will be no hidden meaning and portrays to the audience that the character is very down to earth and what you see is what you get. The use of these close ups could perhaps create intimacy between the character and audience as it shows that the character trusts the audience and hasn't really ever showed anyone what he really likes, what he eats and his drawings. There is no camera movement in the title sequence whihc could perhaps represent that the character's life is stable and also not really going anywhere. The title sequence is from a slight high angle, this could represent the social hierarchy within schools and that the audience members are higher than him and look down on the character.


Editing
The jump cuts are used to show that there is no routine within the character's life. The pace of the shots and the title sequence is very slow, which could show that there isn't a lot going on in the character's life and everything drags within his digesis.


Sound
At the start of the sequence the audience hear diegetic bird tweets which could suggest again that the character lives in a rural area as there are no sirens or traffic. The soundtrack is non-diegetic and is empathetic sound. The music has lyrics relating to school re-enforcing the idea of the character being a student. Each time a plate is put down, the sound is either emphasised or echoes which portrays the idea of the character being alone and isolated, which could suggest that his parents aren't around, the character has minimal friends and lives in a rural area.

Title Sequence: Codes and Conventions

The opening credits for a film establishes the characters, setting, genre and mood or atmosphere.

Typically an opening sequence will contain:

• Details of cast and crew
• The films title
• Introduction to character or character type
• Indicate place
• Indicate historical period
• Information regarding mood and tone
• Introduction to signature theme tune
• Information about genre
• Sets up enigmas
• Patterns and types of editing that will be echoed for remainder of film
• Mise en scene & cinematography that will be echoed or elaborated upon later in the film

Common Credits in a Film Opening: 

• Name of production companies 
• Producer
• Name of title
• Director
• Other Key Crew
• Executive Producer 
• Top Billing Actors

Title Sequences: Throughout History

I found this article while researching for title sequences throughout history, which can be found here. 

I think it's very.. weird. As an audience in this era pretty much all the information needed was needed on one or two screens, nowadays, we have minimum of 30 names on a 2 minute video. I also think that's it's strange imagining sitting in an audience having to guess the genre on the film based on the typography of the title.

 On the other hand, I think it was very clever. Those making these films had to think about what was the easiest font to read and how big the text should be, the average reading time for an audience so they could determine how long each shot should be on screen for. I wonder if any of those audiences imagined that film would be like it is today. 

I think it is amazing how much title sequences have changed, they're now seen as an art form and are so more creative than they were in early film. I remember seeing this film as a child, and instantly (if you can't tell from the title of the film), you were able to get a real feel of the film and what it would be about - almost like a blurb but for a film. Title sequences became more entertaining, you would actually pay more attention to the names on the screen which would mean that those involved with the film would actually be remembered for it (I know there are credits right at the end of a film, but no one ever stays to watch them all through unless there are bloopers on the end like with Toy Story).

(To Kill a Mockingbird:) I really liked and enjoyed this title sequence. From watching the title sequence you see it presented as if you're a child (which really is the whole story, we're seeing it from the child's perspective with her older voice narrating her thoughts at the time), it also intrigues you as it completely contrasts with the idea from the title of killing a mockingbird as the themes and youth and death are rarely put together. I feel, if it wasn't for this contrast I wouldn't have been so encouraged to watch the film. In addition, I felt like most of the films I had seen up to this point had had title sequences that were more narrative and introducing the story to me, whereas this threw me off a little as it wasn't something I had really seen before.

This is, personally, one of my favourite title sequences ever to date. I love that you get all these little snippets of information at the title sequence and then spend the whole film on the edge of your seat ready to find out how they all link together (which, they do. In case you haven't seen the film, he cuts off his fingerprints which makes him so hard to track down). I also didn't realise until this lesson that the film and title sequence were made by two different people. I think it's amazing that Kyle Cooper (title sequence maker) followed the directors style for this title sequence, you literally can't tell. Which, I think is beneficial to film, you don't want two different styles clashing, as it disrupts the audience too much.

Overall, title sequences have changed for the better. Now title sequences are entertaining, they get more credits in and due to the entertainment of what is happening on screen and how the name will unfold in front of you, gets the name a lot more attention than in earlier films. I believe that title sequences have definitely taken on this form of art which allows the audience to appreciate it more and the time put in to making it. I think it also gives a taste to the audience on what the genre is to the audience and what the film will be like and is about.

Jury Service: Sycamore Row Review

I initially bought this book as I had seen the film A Time To Kill (it's prequel) and studied it for a year, comparing it to To Kill a Mockingbird during my Film Alevel. I enjoyed the film and wanted to see how the story and the character's life continued.

Although I knew what had happened in the book very early on in the book and the disequilibrium and resolution in the last two chapters. I loved this book, I think that it is easy to be absorbed in the character's life and diegesis of the films, I still catch myself thinking about if the Brigance's moved into their new home. Most of the book contains the 'behind the scenes' of the court proceedings and how the protagonist attempted to do certain things to the trial, which (while being on jury service) was really interesting to see the similarities and differences between British and American court systems.

Jury Service: Evaluation

Xmas Project

Jury Service: Gone Girl Review