Sweeney Todd title sequence

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 2007 horror musical film directed by Tim Burton. It is an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Tony Award-winning 1979 musical. It re-tells the Victorian melodramatic tale of Sweeney Todd, an English barber and serial killer who murders his customers with a straight razor and, with the help of his accomplice, Mrs Lovett, processes their corpses into meat pies.

The title sequence starts out with the 'Dream Works' title opening which hasn't been changed to fit the film, although it does not need to be changed to fit the genre of the film as the music fits it.
The opening music is a loud organ playing that sounds as if all the notes are being hit, this helps to grab the attention of the audience and tells them the film is starting, it then begins to play an actual song that sounds like it should be played at a funeral, this helps to express the genre of the film and builds tension for when the film starts.

When 'Dream works' titles finish, the organ finishes playing and a quite noise replaces the organ, a haunting noise that sounds like violins in the back ground, on top of that the next scene that comes up is of a dark raining sky and you can here thunder in the back ground, this helps to give the film a mysterious atmosphere as the audience try to work out where it is, you then start to see chimneys and smoke, this is when the titles of the people that were involved in the film begin to appear.
The text is in white so it stands out against the dark back ground, and is in an old fashioned victorian text, so it fits with the era of the film, the writing also looks like skeleton bones which fits in with the main part of the film which is death.

As the film carries on and the titles, objects appear that are going to be see through out the film such as a bolts and screws that are covered in blood and even a stream of blood, this makes the film look much more darker and gloomier, as the red contrasts with the dark back ground.

When the title of the film appear in bold red against the black back ground, the music increases and picks up its pace and the writing is the only thing on the screen, this makes it stand out and get the audience more excited for it as the title of the film builds the tension and excitement of the film, and makes it dramatic as if the title is the grand opening of the film.
After the name of the title is shown the objects shown become much faster and more intense such as meat being grinned through a machine and the meat falling out a and the screen switching to more blood.

The titles then finish with the director who is Tim Burton, this is because all his films are similar in that they are all dark and the cast members are usually Johnny Depp which helps to give away who the film was directed by anyways.

The shots

This is a list of the variety of shots I used through out the filming, I made sure I filmed with different shots to make sure the film looks interesting.

Scenes:
1. Panning shot - opening scene of forest
2. Zoom in - on steps
3. Long shot - people talking
4. Long shot then zoom in - people walking then zoom in when they here the scream
5. Mid shot - dead body
6. Mid shot zoom in - people shouting
7. Mid shot - phone the police (can focus on facial expression)
8. Long shot - running away
9. Long shot - running away
10. Mid shot - running around tree
11. Point of view shot - jumps from tree
12. Panning long shot - killer running away
13. Point of view shot\high angle - of killer looking at bodies
14. low angle\point of view - low angle of dead bodies looking up
15. Long shot\point of view - daughter finds killer, killer turns around
16. Mid shot to long shot - daughter running away, focus on facial expression and gasps

Final music

I have finished all the music on garage band now and made an overall five songs that I've included in the opening sequence, I've made more than five to make it more interesting and not repetitive and they appear in different scenes that suit them.
I've used a variety of instruments in the songs so that they are more catchy and in darker scenes they help to create an atmosphere and tension, and make the scene more intense such as when they find the body, I've made the music more quick paced to make it sound almost like a heart beat.

Editing

One of the editing techniques I used was 'fade in' this was because its a good technique to use for blending scenes together and does not make the scenes look as if they are jumping from one to another, this makes the opening film run smoothly and the audience can understand what is happening.

The only other editing I used was slowing down the pace of the first scene which shows the setting of where the opening sequence will be filmed. I did this so that the audience can get a good view of the scene and take in the snow in the forest, it also looks better slowed down when the first scene fades into the next scene which is a different shot of the forest.

Original story board

This is the first opening shot, in this shot is will simply just show the surrondings of where the film is set.
The shot will first start by focusing on the sky and then slowly come down and this is where 'Vertigo Productions' will appear in red, the shot will then fade into another scene of the environment and the title of the film will appear in a deaper red and in a defferent font.

The next scene will introduce the characters in the film who are parents with their daughter standing at the top of the stairs and their friends at the bottom of the stairs.
They then great eachother and move onswiftly afterwards.

 

The daughter runs on a head of the parents, but then she scream, the camera will zoom in on where the daughter was as the parents run after her.

The parents and the daughter find their friend dead on a wall, the camera will focus on the body, after the dad will ring the police asking for help as the daughter cries and the mum frantically tries to wake her friend up.

They then run off incase the killer comes after them as well, however the mum runs off in the oposite direction to her partner and daughter.

The camera will zoom in to where the women tries to hide behind the tree as she screams for help.

The next scene is of the women being killed and the killer running off.

This scene is where the daughter finds the dead bodies and the killer standing over them, shes gasps and runs off and the scene fades out.

Batman 1989

Batman is a 1989 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, the film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, and Jack Palance. The film, in which Batman deals with the rise of a costumed criminal known as "The Joker" (Nicholson), was the first instalment of Warner Bros.' initial Batman film series.

The scene begins with the 'Warner Bros.' production opening, then switches to a dark scene where the only writing is of Warner Bros. once again but this time just in simple text in yellow, already we can link this with Batman as it is the Batman's logo colours, black and yellow, on top of this the music that is being played is dark and mysterious changing from higher note to lower note regularly and keeping a medium pace up, but when the words 'Batman' is shown the music begin to fasten up and becomes louder and more quick paced, helping to build up tension and excitement for the arrival of Batman, although he is not shown in the opening sequence.

As the titles continue to appear in the back ground the camera pans around objects that are not familiar and you cannot recognisea any of them, but the texture looks as if it is made of rock, this creates suspense as we wait for the object to become clearer.
As the camera begins to zoom out we realise that the object that the camera had been panning, turns out to be the Batman logo made of rock, just before we see the whole image the music becomes quieter and slower, but when the logo is finally fully shown and the camera stops zooming out, the music gets louder again as we finally focus on the logo, this builds up tension as we find out what the image is.
The scene then ends with the camera zooming back in as the scene fades out.

Zombieland

Zombieland is a 2009 American zombie comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer from a screenplay written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The film stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as survivors of a zombie apocalypse. Together, they take an extended road trip across South-western United States in an attempt to find a sanctuary free from zombies.

The opening sequence begins with the scene focusing on an American flag with smoke in the back ground, as this is happening the American national anthem is being played but in a rock version which suits the genre of action and science fiction.
On top of this a narrator starts to talk over, which later on we find out is the main character of the film, he then begins to explain what has happened to the world and how the zombies have taken over, and instead of the scene carrying on focusing on the flag the camera turns up side down and we are introduced to the first zombie of the film, which kills the man filming the flag and the music turns darker.

The titles do not appear till after he has given out the instruction on how to survive, whilst he is saying this there are examples being shown on the screen of people getting killed in the streets because they did not follow to rules he explained, such as how the 'fat' people die first because they cannot run fast enough, this gives the film a more humorous side rather than it being a dark horror story, the audience realise that this is in fact a comedy as well.
The scene then fades to dark and more quick paced metal music beings to play and instead of the scenes being quick paced and people running, the scenes are slowed down incredibly and we can focus on explosions happening in the back ground and see people running that are not zombies and who is, this helps us to see how scared the humans are by their facial expressions and how dangerous and murderous the zombies are.
Whilst the scenes are slowed down and the music increases over the back ground noise in the scene, the titles eventually appear explaining who is in the film, the producers, director and creator.
One the slowed down scenes in the title sequence is of a father and son doing a race with their ankles tied to each other, with 4 other fathers and sons doing the race together as well but they are zombies instead which shows that the humans did not take the zombie invasion seriously enough and the four main characters that are introduced later on did, so this helps to build up the story line.

The Avengers

The Avengers is a 2012 movie that has been adapted from the comic books and produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the sixth instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The importance of the opening sequence is to catch the audience’s attention and to express the theme of the film and who will be in it; the avengers sequence has managed to do all of these.
It begins with a loud noise almost the same noise as the sound of metal being hit with another metal object, this is used to catch the audience’s attention and to inform them that the film is beginning, after that a violin begins to play which is played quickly and with short notes to create a quick paced melody that fits in with the quick scenes that are shown briefly, after the first part of the song a triangle and trumpet are introduced, this makes the music sound more powerful and makes it sound as if it is a national anthem for a country, this fits in with the film as the theme of the film is action and trying to save the world.

There are no characters introduced throughout the opening titles; however we are still aware of who will be in the film, as instead of them being shown in person we see their costumes, their superhero outfit, and their weapons.
This means that not a lot of who will be in it is given away just the right amount that the audience gets excited as they see their favourite characters outfit or weapon and this helps to build tension and excitement as they wait for the arrival later on in the film of their favourite character.
Also as the scenes of their clothing and weapons are being shown the actors, actresses, musicians, producers, executive producer, director and creator of the comic book are being shown.
The text used looks like it’s made of steel which makes it look bold and powerful and stands out against the dark back ground, it also matches the colour of the steal used on some of the weapons that the cast use, which links to the genre of the film, which is action.

The camera angles used are mainly panning shots, this is so the camera can focus and zoom in on every part of the props used in the sequence, it helps to makes the audience feel as if they are there in the film with them, and this is a good technique as it makes the audience feel acquainted with the film.

Risk Assessment

Risks

• Possible risks that could occur whilst filming are little, however the possible risk of filming in the snow could include becoming ill or injuring one self due to the weather conditions as we are not yet aware if the snow could possibly turn into a blizzard, or even slipping on patches of ice on the frosted over sections in the forest.
• The lighting is also difficult to see in some areas of the woods as some of the trees are so close together it might block out the natural day light, which might make it difficult to see in.

Ways of dealing with these issues

• Bring warm and protective clothes such as wellingtons and thermals underneath and an umbrella to protect the camera in curtain snowy scenes.
  The forest is also next to one of cast members houses, so if the conditions become to difficult to film in then we can always go to their house and wait it out.
• We can go during the middle of the day when its lightest and also position the camera so it is not under any trees, so that we can use the natural light.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010)

Scott Pilgrim vs the World is a 2010 film directed by Edgar Wright, it is based on the original comic book and also been adapted into a video game. It is a sic-fi film

The opening sequence shows the production company, which in Universal studios, however instead of the original Universal studios credits, they have changed it to appear like a video game, so instead of the world spinning around it has been changed to look pixelated like an old fashioned video game, and instead of it slowly smoothly spinning around it stops occasionally as if its loading, just like a video game, this is effective as because it was a comic book and video game before, the original target audience will want to see the film as well.

Secondly, the music has been changed to fit the genre of the film too, the music has been changed to an 8-bit, this means it been changed to sound like a computer and sound more electronic, this is effective as it fits in with the Universal studios opening footage.

The next scene switches to the title sequence, it begins with 'not so long ago in a mysterious land in Toronto, Canada' and the narrator reads this out as well, this helps to set the scene so that the audience are aware of where the film will be set, the titles then say 'Scott Pilgrim was dating a high schooler', this helps the audience to become more personal with the characters. 

It then goes on to introduce the characters and give information on them in the form of a text next to them, such as their age and full name.

There are also other effects the film includes to give it the appearance of being a comic book, as when the door bell rings, the words 'Ding Dong' appear next to the door, just like it would in a comic book,

also when they begin to play their instruments in the next scene the world appear when the play next to them, and lightening stripes come of their instruments, to emphasise the loudness and impact of their music.

The next scene is different to other titles I have viewed, when the camera begins to zoom out the camera keeps going and as the floor stretches out the rest of the titles begin to appear, this is also when the title of the film appear in bold white text thats the same shape of lightening stripes, when the title appears the light in the room where the characters are brightens to emphasise the title.

Script

This is the final script I used when I was filming, the cast followed the majority of it, but there are little changes they made such as the screaming scenes.
I used no voice overs through out it as the opening does not need a narrator and there is not much talking through out the film anyway.

Opening scene begins with camera focusing on the environment the film is set in and this is when the titles also begin.

Dom (happy voice) "Oh my God you alright"

Maddy "Yes you alright"

Dom "long time no see whats happening"

Maddy "Not much"

Dom "It's a nice day isn't it, really picturesque you know"

Cameron speaking to Dom and daughter Natalia "Lets go then"

Dom speaking to her daughter "Come on honey lets go"

Natalia "Ok mummy"

Next scene changes

Natalia screams when she reaches the body, Dom and Cameron run over then scream as well.

Dom shakes body of Maddy "wake up, wake up, help HELP"!

Cameron gets out phone "Police please, police"!

Next scene everyone runs off, except Dom who runs the other way to Cameron and Natalia

Scene changes

Dom looks around frantically, starts rushing around a tree in panic

Dom "Screams"! when she finds someone

Next scene

Murderer walks out from bushes after hiding the body

Next scene

Heavy breathing as the camera is at the killers point of view (Looks at feet then slowly looks up to find bodies)

Next shot is point of view from the dead bodies, this is when the murderers face is revealed

Next scene

Is from the daughter Natalia's point of view as she finds the murderer

Natalia "Gasp"!

Natalia runs off in the opposite direction

End scene

This is a screen shot of when they find the body, this is the final footage I will be using

Edward Scissorhands title sequence

The title sequence for 'Edward Scissorhands' starts out with its production company, which is 20th century fox, which are the same producers for numerous other films Tim Burton has done, however they have changed it to fit the theme of the film, instead of the '20th century fox' being in gold and the lights flashing around it, instead it has a dark background and the text is in white with dark blue around the edges and ice surrounding the title to make it look like its been frosted over, also instead of the lights flashing around the text, snow is falling instead which links to the rest of the film, which is set mostly as Christmas and in the snow.

Next in the sequence are the titles, which begin to appear after the production company, the titles are all in the same white font, the writing is in a similar style to that of a skeleton almost like its finger, its long and thin, which stands out against the pitch black back ground.
The text uses a zoom in affect, it slowly gets bigger and looks like its coming out from the back ground, this makes it look slightly more scary as you think its going to come right up to the screen but then moves to the side.
The text also includes the producers, director, conductor and the actors/actresses, I have also included all of these in my titles.
There are also none of the cast or any people shown in the title sequence, the only human part shown are fake hands, this is because the film is about Edward who has scissors for hands and is incomplete, so we do not know who the characters will be in the film which makes it a surprise.

The use of music in the title sequence is important as it builds an atmosphere for when the film starts, the music is composed by Danny Elfman who also composerd the music for other Tim Burton films such as 'Charlie and the chocolate factory', 'Batman', 'Planet of the apes' and 'Sleepy Hollow'.
The music first starts out when 20th century fox appears on the screen, at first it is quite with just a bell playing but then as the actors names begin the appear and more objects that are in the film through out begin to appear, the music becomes louder which builds up tension just before the film starts, I have also noticed the music used in Edward Scissorhands is similar to the music used in other films by Tim Burton that are composed by Danny Elfman as well, this shows they have similar tastes in genres of films, as all the films done by Tim Burton have a dark twist to them just like his more recent film 'Alice in wonderland' which is more intense and violent compared to the original Disney one.

Music

The editing took longer then originally planned, so I have now begun to create the music I shall use.
I have made a variety of short music clips that will fit the theme of each scene they will be in, for example the scene where they find the body of their friend, I have made music that is dramatic and slightly dark, but not very emotional as she has just been murdered.
I have made sure to include different instruments instead of just having a guitar for example, playing constantly throughout the scene, instead I have used a drum kit in the back ground for a beat and then a guitar on top of that so there is a tune to it, I then also added a effect in the back ground called 'Borealis' this is a dramatic dark cinematic effect that makes the scene more dark, as I took out the original back ground noise of birds and people talking that was happening through the scene as it did not fit in and there was to much happening with the music playing as well.