AICE Media Studies Blog

 The title of the film will most likely be “Why Do You Ask?” The titles will be in a bold, white font and in all caps. Because the title sequence will be at the end of the opening sequence, I wanted to leave viewers on a higher, uplifted note. This is based on the last scene, where the main character finally realizes she needs to get help. I decided a lighter gray and white font would be best. Alongside this, the font will appear to be “typed” onto the screen, and will stay on the screen for two to three seconds.

Schedule 3/7/22 - Filming will officially commence. I am leaving myself a few days before I film in order to get all my filming equipment ready, as well as to plan out how I will film, based on my storyboard. I will be filming scenes 1-5 today, as well as the necessary voiceover. 3/9/22 - This will be day 2 of filming, which will include the rest of the scenes that need to be filmed, as well as the voiceovers. 3/11/22- Editing will begin. I will be utilizing iMovie to put all the clips together and overlap the voiceovers. Location I will be filming at my house, the roads near my house, the beach and the library.     Participants     Actors: Megumi S.     Filming: Megumi S.     Editing: Megumi S.     Directing: Megumi S. Health and Safety To ensure the safety of myself and those who will be appearing in my film (including my family), I will always have an adult with me, as well as having access to a phone to call 911 at all times. Since there will be a few shots of me driving, I will al

1.  How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?  Which ones? There are 11 titles displayed during the opening sequence. These titles included names of the  producers, directors, editors and the two studios that produced the film,  2.  What connotations do the images carry?  ( how  do you they make you feel) The connotations of the images are extremely explicit and direct. They force the audience to feel the pain, vulnerability and loneliness that victims of sex trafficking often feel. It instills a sense of uneasiness and fear into the audience, thanks to the rawness of the opening sequence. There is little room for interpretation, which further pushes the perspective that the director and title designer want to make clear.  3.  How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?  (Can you tell what genre the film is) The genre of the film is made evident. The genre of the film is a drama and there are a variety of examples that mak

1.  How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?  Which ones? There are 11 titles displayed during the opening sequence. These titles included names of the cast, producers, writers, the studios that produced the film, editors and supervisors for different departments, such as lighting.  2.  What connotations do the images carry?  ( how  do you they make you feel) The images are shocking and gruesome, ranging from roadkill to maggots crawling around to people smoking. The connotation is obviously related to crime and death, symbolized by the dead animals and people participating in illegal activities. The images make people feel on edge and uncomfortable. The images also intrigue people, to see what will happen.  3.  How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?  (Can you tell what genre the film is) The genre of the opening sequence is made very clear from the first couple of seconds. As mentioned previously, the images are mea

1.  How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?  Which ones? There were 22 titles displayed during the opening sequences. These included the cast, crew, producers, writers, directors and music supervisors. 2.  What connotations do the images carry?  ( how  do you they make you feel) The images’ connotation are mysterious and spooky. The sequencing of the title “Babylon Berlin” along with the flashing images int he background have an ominous tone, suggesting that the film is serious and dramatic. 3.  How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?  (Can you tell what genre the film is) You can tell from the very beginning of the opening sequence that this film will be a drama, due to the dramatized images and song that goes along with it. The song that goes along with the opening sequence is non-diegetic sound. It has a slightly eerie sound to it, which further contributes to the genre of the opening sequence being drama.  4.  Wh

1.  How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?  Which ones? There are 14 titles total that are displayed during the opening sequence of the film. These titles include the studios that produced the film (“A Kaliwood Production” and “In Association With Cole Blooded Inc.”), the names of the cast (Kelley Kali, Wesley Moss and Deon Cole), producers (Capella Fahoome and Deon Cole), editors (Angelica López and Katie McClellan) writers (Kelley Kali, Angelique Molina and Roma Kong) and directors (Kelley Kali and Angelique Molina).  2.  What connotations do the images carry?  ( how  do you they make you feel) The connotations of the images make you feel exactly how it is displayed. You feel the heat of a summer day of skating around your neighborhood, having fun. Many shots are tracking shots and medium long shots, which further this feeling onto viewers. These specific shots force the audience to focus on what the actress is doing, which is roller skating around an

I am researching this title design website for insight on the variety of title designs. Looking through the website, I was able to see the how different all the designs were. From the title design of “13” to “A Fistful of Dollars”, it is evident that there is no limit when it comes to the creativity of these designs. The color palettes, lighting and levels of sophistication truly are demonstrated through the designs seen on the website. The title design for “30 Days of Night” involves a neutral and darker color palette, with dark and gloomy lighting. The lighting is representative of the darkness of the movie obviously, whereas the title design for “Along Came A Spider” seems to also be along the same lines except it has more of a darker tone, with the computer screen. These examples of title design show that the designs can vary from anything you could possibly imagine. It also shows that there are no bounds when it comes to the process and how you can tie the design right into your f

I am researching this particular site to learn how the process of creating a title design goes. Looking around the site, I found a few articles discussing how intricate title design can be. One article in particular about “The Queen’s Gambit” included an interview with the title designer and animator for the show’s title designs. The interview discussed in detail how the title design was first thought of, the many drafts and sketches and how the official and final title design came to be. It also included how the title designer, Saskia Marka, was able to incorporate her extensive education in physics into the animation. She states that while she was completing her PhD, she was experimenting with a software and discovered that she was able to use geometric patterns as a design. Once she finished her PhD, she built her way up in the film industry with her designs. Her interview explains how the process of creating the title design can be an extensive one. It also shows that by incorporat

Common CAMS in the movie Common camera angles within the film include eye level angle, bird’s eye view, tracking shot, POV shot, establishing shot, over the shoulder shot, medium shot, medium close up shot, two shot and three shot. An example of the two shot and the medium close up shot is when Travis and Alexis are in the car arguing and when they are at the beach talking. An example of the bird’s eye view angle would be the shots of the landscape, like the beach throughout the film.  Common CLAMPS in the movie Costumes in the film are simple and are not notable at all. The clothes the characters wear are modern, such as a t-shirt and shorts, or a jacket and jeans. There are scenes wear the characters wear more formal clothing, such as when Travis and his family go to church. The lighting in the film include natural light from the sun, dusk lighting from when the sun had just set when Travis and Alexis were at the beach, and lots of artificial lighting, like the neon lighting of shop

Common CAMS in the movie Common camera angles within the film include eye level, high angle, low angle, dutch angle, pan, tilt, tracking shot and zoom. An example of eye level would be when Mia and Sebastian are speaking at the movie theater and at dinner at his apartment. An example of a high angle would be when Mia is looking for her car and the dance sequence of “A Lovely Night” ends, as well as during the “Someone in the Crowd” scene. An example of a dutch angle would be during the pool party scene, right after the “Someone in the Crowd” sequence.  Common CLAMPS in the movie The costumes in the film were extremely simple and nothing extravagant. For the women, it was solid color, flowy dresses while men mainly wore dress shirts and slacks. The focus, unlike Little Women, was not on the costumes but the acting, sound and editing. The costumes did however, seem business casual, as though the characters were dressing to be prepared for a job offer at any given moment.  The lighting, o

Common CAMS in the movie Common camera angles in the film are eye level, high angle and low angle. An example of an eye level camera angle would be when Jo and Laurie are speaking to each other on the couch in the attic of the house. A high angle and low angle would be when there is a flashback to when Amy cuts her hand and stumbles upon Laurie’s house, where she yells and cries and Laurie and his tutor look down upon her. Common camera movements in the film are pan, tracking shot and zoom. We see the tracking shot multiple times throughout the film, notably when Jo sells her first story at the publishing office and when Amy in the carriage, and Laurie, walking on the side of the road, see each other for the first time since they were kids.  Common shots in the film are the establishing shot, wide shot, long shot, medium long shot, medium shot, medium close up, two-shot, three-shot, POV shot and over the shoulder shot. An example of the establishing shot was Jo in front of the publishi

My opening sequence genre will be drama. I chose to do drama over the other genres I chose to research for various reasons. The other genres I researched, horror and fantasy, didn’t align with my storyline as I would’ve liked. Horror would’ve been an interesting turning point for the opening sequence. It also would've made a very modern take on the horror genre. However, given that the opening sequence is two minutes, I didn’t feel that I would have enough time to incorporate a full horror plot into the film without it feeling rushed and messy. The ideas I had for the horror genre would've made more sense and would've been better developed had the time for the opening sequence would've been longer. The fantasy genre wouldn’t have run smoothly either. Based on my pitch idea, the fantasy conventions wouldn’t have made sense nor would it had ample time to fully develop within the two-minute opening sequence. The fantasy conventions included magic, a make-believe world, esc

  Common camera angles in your genre (CAMS) eye level high angle low angle dutch angle Common Mis- e n -Scene in your genre (CLAMPS) Costumes (C): Films depend on the costumes of the characters to create the fantasy world within the film. Costumes, alongside makeup, help visually transform actors into characters. For example, the costumes used in Pan’s Labyrinth helped create the  Lighting (L): Lighting in fantasy films are usually darker and dimmer, with bright lighting once in a while to signify something extreme is occurring.  Acting (A): Makeup (M): Films depend on the makeup of the characters to create the fantasy world within the film. Makeup is often used to transform actors into their roles. For example, makeup was used in the “Harry Potter” films to transform the actor, Ralph Fiennes into his role, Voldemort.  Props (P): Used to identify characters as protagonists vs. antagonists and their personalities. For example, in the “Harry Potter” films, wands are used to differentiate

  Common camera angles in your genre (CAMS) establishing shot wide angle long shot medium shot close-up extreme close-up  over the shoulder tracking shot dolly shot zoom shot POV shot high angle Common Mis- e n -Scene in your genre (CLAMPS) Costumes (C): Dependent on characters and film. The costumes a characters wears is a direct representation of the character. For example, in “The Social Network,” the main protagonists and antagonists wore a more professional look (i.e. three piece suits, big watches and dress shoes, rather than their original hoodies and jeans) as they progressed into the business industry and became a more serious group of people. Lighting (L): Dependent on characters and film. Usually drama films have softer lighting. Dramas are usually filmed inside building and do not have any sort of fear elements, like horror does. Drama mainly focuses on the atmosphere of a particular location or scene, so lighting could change dependent on the mood of the scene. For example

Common camera angles in your genre (CAMS) high angle close up tracking shot flash backs tilted angle low angle POV shot slow dolly  Common Mis- e n -Scene in your genre (CLAMPS)     Costumes (C): Dependent on the character. Main protagonists usually wear light colors, like a little girl in pastel colored clothes or a teenager in jeans and a sweater. There are certain tropes that do contribute to costumes, ranging from villains to their victims. Usually antagonists have a noticeable, easily remembered costume. For example, Freddy Kruger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” is easily recognized by his green and red sweater. Jason Voorhees from “Friday the 13th” wears a hockey mask, making him hard to miss.     Lighting (L): Dark, gloomy, black and white and very cool colors. Many horror films take place at night to give a tense, fear-ridden atmosphere.      Acting (A): The main focus is on the actor’s physical expressions and body language. Many times, shots are up-close, focused on the act