Looking at some of the title sequence tutorials on videocopilot.net had me thinking of the art of the title sequence in general, especially because I know we're going to have to make one soon for class. I YouTube'd "best title sequence" and came up with this video. This guy sums up pretty well some of the best TV title sequences we've seen:
I agreed with a lot of what he had to say. Mad Men, Dexter, Fresh Prince, The Simpsons, etc. all have title sequences I would call "iconic". They take the quality and creativity of title sequences in TV to another level. Fresh Prince does it mostly through catchy music, but how can anybody deny a title sequence where almost everybody knows the lyrics to it's song front-to-back.
Mad Men in particular is a fantastic example of how a title sequence can use motion graphics and animation to display themes of the show beautifully. This video I found does a great job explaining just how much of Mad Men's themes are telegraphed in the intro:
Hello! My name is James Sussan. I'm a senior TVR major. Looking forward to working with you all this semester.
I've always been fascinated by animation. It's a ludicrous amount of work to produce, with a high level of skill involved, but the result could be something absolutely glorious every time. Not only that, but the possibilities and creative boundaries of an animated project are nearly limitless. As evidenced time and time again by film studios such as Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks, a fully realized animated film can leave an impression that lasts a lifetime, whether a feature-length project or a quirky short.
In our first couple classes, we've started learning the basics of animating in After Effects. Essentially, I now know how to create a shape, and make it do certain pre-programmed actions using code. The idea that a person can start with something as simple as a few shapes and a few codes, and end up with something as heart-warming as "Toy Story", or "Up", is something that truly excites me for this class. Not that I am expecting to create a full, professional, animated film anytime soon. However I'm sure my experiences in this class will be a lot of fun and will help me appreciate the art of Motion Graphics and Animation to the fullest.
An animated movie I saw recently that really surprised me was "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs". I never saw this movie when it came out, because I honestly assumed it would be stupid and unfunny. The children's book it was based on never seemed like the type of thing to be translated into a successful film. A friend showed it to me a couple months ago though, and now its up there with some of the best animated movies I've ever seen. It's creative, hilarious, and yes, at times heartwarming. It's nothing at all like the children's book it's based on, which is a great thing because this allowed the movie to create original characters that helped push the raining food concept into a cohesive story.
Luckily for me, there's a few behind the scenes videos for "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" on YouTube. One of my favorite scenes from the movie is the Jell-O Palace Flint creates for Sam. I think this is pretty much everyone's dream:
I always liked watching these types of videos, where the animation gets broken down step by step. I'm sure they'll mean a lot more to me however by the time the semester is over.
These videos already make the amount of work put into animation look really scary. Despite that, I can't say I'm not eager to try my hand at it. Hopefully I can make something one day anywhere close to as cool as these movies.
Recently, I saw All is Lost starring Robert Redford and it was basically Cast Away without Wilson. Regardless, I started thinking about production logos and what makes them special. I watched many intros and realized at this point in my school career, I could remake practically all of the logos. The memorable part of each logo, however, is the sound. You recognize the Focus synth and the MGM lion roar as much as you remember the logo itself. Arturo stresses the use of sound in animation and it truly is important. Whether it is a song or a synth swell, the audience can associate the sound with the logo. More advanced titles are recognizable such as Jerry Bruckheimer Films and it preps the audience to expect something amazing. If you see an unrecognizable production title you may not know what to expect but if you see the MGM logo, for example, you associate it with extremely high production value. The companies have a few seconds to express the brand and need to make it memorable. Each logo requires a sound and it's usually a swell that draws you into the picture. I plan to create a powerful logo for my reel that draws the audience in through sound and simplicity.
The Last of Us is a popular video game released just this passed June. I've yet to play the game myself, but I really hope to soon. I've heard incredible reviews about how successfully the game puts you right into the action. My roommate said he stopped playing the game because it got too terrifying. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic 2033. You must defend yourself against the zombie-like monsters along with savage humans and cannibals. The story line is apparently very intense with complex characters and twists in the evolving plot. Along with that, the game looks beautiful. Here's a in-game screen shot to give you an idea:
With so much thought going into a game, the title sequence could not be given any less. On theartofthetitle.com, I found a video of the title sequence and an in depth interview of how they made it.
First off, the intro:
The director of this title sequence was a dude named Henry Hobson.
During the interview posted on the website, he was quoted in talking about the making of this video.
Kevin and I spent a day in San Diego, just covered in black ink, pouring it on every surface imaginable, and every shot just ended up looking like paper! We had black ink, some natural sponges, mosses — everything borne of nature — and then we had compressed air, literally computer cleaning compressed air. If you shook the can heavily you could actually freeze the surface of whatever you sprayed it onto, so the back end of the sequence is actually the reversed footage of this freezing and unfreezing of black ink. It creates the look of the black mould, but it wasn’t anywhere near far enough. It worked perfectly for the back end, but the front needed that extra help from real mould.
If you want to read the rest of the interview here's the link:
It's a very interesting read and really got my mind thinking about ways to get creative shots. What's slight ironic (and I didn't realize until later) is that this intro was made with absolutely no CG effects. But we could easily apply this in After Effects and transform this footage into something that looked even more surreal. If you were looking for that effects anyways.
As it is, I love the footage they got and I think it fits perfectly with the game.
Last year, during my mass media research methods class, we had the opportunity to talk to a writer that worked on Portlandia, Arrested Development, and Comedy Central's Kroll Show. Our class watched the Kroll Show pilot before it was aired and the one part that stuck out was the animated intro sequence. Famous icons, fonts, and titles are recreated to say Kroll show and flashes quickly with the electronic music. This intro seems simplistic but graphic artists must've photoshopped each individual font and put it in the necessary background. The last Kroll Show title with the explosion in the city seems fairly easy to recreate. The only question I have about this sequence is how did Comedy Central get away with using all the fonts and titles from famous shows and games. I would think that there would be some type of copyright lawsuit of sorts. The show is quite funny but like many sketch comedies, it's either hit or miss and not all skits are funny.
-MCH
*The title sequence wasn't a choice on the blog youtube search but here is the link. KROLL SHOW INTRO
We spoke about the Breaking Bad intro and how many people posted about it on the blog last year but as a dedicated fan, I feel it is necessary to post about. The main title sequence is accompanied by a distinct guitar and bongo song that Breaking Bad fans can identify but the animation itself is extremely simplistic. For most shows, the intro develops over time and changes based on the season and what is going on at the time. For Breaking Bad, however, the title sequence has been the same through five seasons. I truly believe that in a few weeks, I will have the ability to recreate the Breaking Bad title sequence with no problems. For example, I could make the smoke in the background already and the periodic table of elements is layered over itself to create the ghost look. I think this is the first major project I want to do. What does this simplistic intro say about the show? Unlike other opening sequences, the Breaking Bad intro only says created by Vince Gilligan. There are no shots from past episodes, there's no cast listed, and it's only 18 seconds long. I think that the title sequence can take away from the show at points and since diehard Breaking Bad fans know who is in the show and want more story, the short title allows a longer period of time for the actual show. At same time, however, the sequence is memorable due to the accompanying sound and simplistic yet clever use of the periodic table. Also, the actors' names appear with elements placed in their name during the opening scene.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Film Riot - Helicopter!
Although this effect itself isn’t all that complicated (or at least seemingly not too complicated), I find it to be very impressive. The way the production team put this piece together is pretty spectacular! I love the fact that they didn’t only show you what their (final) product was, but also how to do it. This group, “filmriot” appear to have countless videos for how to add things to your production. What makes this even nicer is that they show people who are ‘amateur’ film makers, aka low budget productions or the at home movie maker type of person. On a side note, their intro sequence is phenomenal as well! I love everything that they have going on. I feel that they found a very good balance of too much vs too little, making it just right! I really like this filmriot page!
I've been watching a lot of Lost recently with some of my friends. Most of us have seen the series, but one of my roommates is completely new to it, and with each little discovery she gets into it more and more. It's really amusing to watch first-timers discovering Lost. Every little thing seems so much bigger to them, because everything is fresh. I sometimes wish I didn't know the whole story just so I could watch it again and have the same reactions.
Cast of Lost, Season 1
But anyways, the reason I decided to write about Lost was because I read an interesting fact about it recently. The creator of Lost, JJ Abrams actually also created the intro sequence to the show as well. This seemed pretty cool to me because I didn't think that this happens very often. It is modeled after the Twilight Zone because he was inspired by the black and white theme and the mysterious use of focus.
Lost intro
It's such a simple opening, even at our current level of After Effects experience, any one of us could probably replicate this if we really wanted to. But this is also why it's so effective. The mysterious music, and the drifting of the title only add to the themes of the show. Rather than having a cheesy opening with collected footage set to upbeat pop music, they chose to add to the already mysterious effect of the show, which makes all the difference.
Lost outro
Additionally, the end of the show featured this same logo. However, for the end shot of the show they rotate the title so that it faces the audience head on. My friend made the observation the other day that it's almost like a challenge, the way they change the title format. It just makes you want to watch more of the show, which is completely true.
My favorite part about the end logo is the accompanying music. JJ Abrams is also responsible for the music of the intro/outro. He created the majority of it with parts from the plane they used as the Oceanic Flight 815. The "boom" noise at the end comes from hitting a piece of the plane.
I don't know about you guys, but this just about blew my mind.
My favorite movie franchise of all time is Albert Broccoli and Eon Production's depiction of James Bond. Strangely enough, both Mr. Broccoli and I share the nickname "Cubby!" Back on topic though, I find it impressive that the Bond series stays fresh and enjoyable despite having more than twenty movies. Sure it may be the same spy premise every time, but if it's not broken, why change it? Aside from how entertaining the films are, I also love the title sequences.
Everyone knows the gun barrel sequence, which may be perhaps the most recognizable aspect of the series aside from the theme music. What I like more than the famous gun barrel sequence is the intro credits. They all follow some sort of theme from the movie. Of all the intros, I like Casino Royale's the best. The theme it follows is playing cards, which constitutes the latter half of the film.
There are so many subtle aspects of this intro that get often overlooked. For example, at about 1:36 when the crosshair passes over the queen's face, it reveals the face of the lead actress. At the end of the sequence, there are cards flying around but over time they change into British pounds if you look closely. What I would like to replicate or learn how it was done would be at 2:16 when the gun fires and streaks fly out in different directions. It makes me wonder if it was done with an expression or perhaps when they assembled it they set it to random and it just happened to create that design. A better question might be how many people did it take to put this together!
Last class was great being able to see many different opening title sequences. I liked being able to hear from the creators themselves. It helps to know what the creators were thinking when creating these pieces. I was shocked how powerful this program really is. I did the simplest thing in After Effects. For instance just make a square and add some key frames to it. Then at the end of the class was told that is how simple some opening sequences really are with After Effects. It was really neat just making a shape with the shape or pen tool.
Since I'm doing a production company intro for the first project, I began looking at all the intros for the major production companies for some inspiration. The first one I always think of is Dreamworks. http://youtu.be/0ISey9fC0bI (Sorry it wouldn't let me imbed it) I love how the reflection of the water is disturbed by the bobber and how we move up through the clouds to see the boy on the moon. The sequence is just very fitting with the name Dreamworks.
Another sequence I think is very cool is Lionsgate.
All the moving pieces in the lock in conjunction with the creaking sounds gives such a distinct feel. Then the zoom out at the end to reveal the door and it opening to the logo is pretty epic.
The intro to Miramax is a another one that is very well done.
The color is so key in this intro because it starts out during the day and you can see the colors change as the scene descends into night finally coming to the skyline where the logo appears in the building lights. It's a very distinct intro and gives a really smooth feel.
We are all familiar with the intros to Universal,
20th century fox
and Disney
and they too are great examples. None of these intros do anything too flashy but they are all very unique and memorable. The other thing that I noticed is how important the music is to the feel of the intro. With the exception of the miramax intro, we associate certain songs with certain companies. Within the first few bars of the song and the first image we see, the audience can immediately identify the company. Having a lasting impression on the viewer with your opening is key. I feel like it makes your company have a special air about it.
Something that is unique about the show Supernatural, is that every season they change the graphics of their opening theme and they match it to the running plot of that season. The show is about two brothers who dedicated their lives to hunting down demons and monsters, and the atmosphere of the show is captured in just a few seconds of their opener. I'm sure very similar aspects of these can be achieved using after effects, but some of them are things we have talked about or gone over. Season 3 is set over fog and clouds, which we have done very basics forms of with the smoke. Another one that involved particles could be season 7 where the name of the show emerges from black material that dissipates into smaller pieces. Similar to season 5, where there is a red liquid that looks like many of the examples from Video Copilots riot gear expansion. It is also really similar to the end credits of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
We're definitely seeing a lot more opening credits that rely heavily on motion graphics rather then rolling text over live action. Especially the opening for Chuck, shown below.
This is a really interesting article on fanboy.com that chronicles animated opening sequences in television from the 50's through the 70's (it also mentions how Saul Bass played a large part in this television revolution that brought animation to the audiences at home). It says that in the late 1970's, credits began to switch back to live action or just straight animation.
An article in smashing magazine showcases many of the impressive animated credits that have been playing in the last couple of years. Everything from the minimalist title of Lost, to the pop-up book in United States of Tara. While live action seems to work better with comedy, dramas are better paired with animation because it can create a certain mood for the audience and prepare them better for the show without getting distracted.
After thinking about our first project, I spent a lot of time on YouTube trying to find the best opening sequence. I found a lot of good ones and I started to break down the elements in my favorites.
My favorite and most realistic was Modern Family. I'm not sure if the length is too short tho.
My second favorite and a little bit more complex would be the Dancing with the Stars intro. I think I could do it, but I'm afraid it would not look as glamorous.
My other favorites were the intros to Saved by the Bell and The Brady Bunch. Both use motion graphics but not as "clean cut and edgy" as they TV is produced now.
Don't know if any of you have watched it but HBO just launched a new series that premiered last week called Game of Thrones. One of the best parts of the show... the intro. ITS AWESOME so please watch!!
