phase II presentation

i watched the titles and parts of the first two films of the patterns trilogy. i like both titles a lot. i think short titles for short films is the way to go. the packaging and website for the trilogy is really well done and visually works really well across the films and titles.

patterns 1

patterns 2

amanda mentioned this film in terms of similar themes to her film…

and the making of on flickr and vimeo….

i started thinking about titles for feature length films vs. those for short films. i’ve been looking at titles for feature length films up until this week but i wanted to get an idea of what short films are doing for titles. i checked out a couple wholphin dvd’s at the library to take a look at a small cross section of short films. some of them had no titles at all, some were just bad, and others were just really short. i took screencasts of a few of the titles…

i’m liking the last two in terms of aesthetics. i think the simplicity works for a short film. i think keeping things simple in terms of titles for a 10 minute film makes  a lot of sense. the titles shouldn’t overshadow the film, just introduce it.

end titles for Stranger Than Fiction…

i like the color palette and the use of overlaying images/colours, adding and substracting colours and the way opacity is being used. also, the movement and pacing of the titles. the contrast between the rougher images and the clean type is nice.

here’s an interview with the studio that made these titles…

• what music will be used for the opening titles?
• if the whole film is 10 mins long, how long should the opening titles be?
• what information should be contained in the opening titles? (title, credits, which credits get saved for last?)
• what are admission/submission requirements for the three main film festivals?

from the production binder of Amanda Thomson

Heart Robin
Will be a short film, approximately 10 minutes in length, shot both in HD and Super 8 film.

Short Synopsis
Heart Robin, is about a young woman’s coming of age. Robin Lee spends her nights in bars, picking up young men, and letting them take her home. She does this under the alias Shirley Johnson. This lifestyle is wearing thin, and that’s when she decides to contact John Lee, her father, although she’s not sure where to find him.

Background
I am interested in how one’s parents effect their own identity. I never knew my father growing up, and used to make up stories about who and where he was. When Rick Hansen came through town I told my friends that he was my dad. Memories of this time in my life recently resurfaced and I was entertained by the stories we will tell ourselves and how what we choose to believe effects the people that we become. These are some of the ideas that contributed to my decision to make this film.

Artistic Vision, Style and Technique
I see “Heart Robin” as almost musical, meets Nouvelle Vague. I have plans for shots with elaborate mise-en-scene, the characters caught in a sort of dance with each other. Soundscape and music will also play a key role in creating the world that Robin inhabits, mixing sound effects and music, including that of local indie bands. I will also work with Super 8 film to communicate Robins stream of consciousness in a visually abstracted manner. These streams will cut into the narrative creating a jarring effect.

http://mmbase.submarinechannel.com/titlesequences/index.jsp

http://www.artofthetitle.com/