Triangulation & Referencing Task Worksheet
Theme: History, technology, aesthetics
Focus: Form and function of movie title opening sequences.
Book reference (author, year of publish) e.g. “Jones, 2015”
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Relevant key points in summary (use bullet points)
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Additional notes (e.g. for or against)
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Braha and Byrne (2011)
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Anatomy of typeface, cone vision and screen dimension, timing, synesthesia, movie titles are the logo.
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Analytical and instructional
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Stanitzek (2009)
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Functional characteristics of the title sequences
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Thorough semantical analysis
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Curran (2000)
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Review of different film titles and famous studios
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Overview and studios history
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Krasner (2013)
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Historical track of flim titles pioneers to modern days
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Historical facts and quotes
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Solana and Boneu (2007)
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Detailed deconstruction of many different contextualised movie titles
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Analytical, historical,
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Yu (2008)
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Typographic developement, based on screen, methodology
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Analytical, historical
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Plummer (2007)
| Techniques and choreography of title sequences |
Instructional
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Gross (2015)
| History of title sequences | Historical, partially analytical |
Online content:
http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2416&context=etd (Printed)
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25619727.pdf (Printed)
https://designschool.canva.com/blog/film-titles/
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/10/the-art-of-the-film-title-throughout-cinema-history/
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yiq_o4FfDUoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=title+sequences+graphic+design&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=title%20sequences%20graphic%20design&f=false
Documentaries and other important videos:
http://www.watchthetitles.com/articles/00170-kyle_cooper_interview_pt_1_2
Other links:
http://www.artofthetitle.com/
http://amovieposteraday.tumblr.com/?utm_source=DesignTAXI&utm_medium=DesignTAXI&utm_term=DesignTAXI&utm_content=DesignTAXI&utm_campaign=DesignTAXI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1HNuAE9WdU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQDUtjwoaTY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_Qg1pQSOa0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8tBU5BqHtw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Vvs_JAh04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw10quvFJOI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtJ6yAGjsIs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4xrJ_r6PUs
Different authors speak about the purposes of title sequences and how to approach the design process from a typographic or filmographic perspective.Other links:
http://www.artofthetitle.com/
http://amovieposteraday.tumblr.com/?utm_source=DesignTAXI&utm_medium=DesignTAXI&utm_term=DesignTAXI&utm_content=DesignTAXI&utm_campaign=DesignTAXI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1HNuAE9WdU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQDUtjwoaTY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_Qg1pQSOa0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8tBU5BqHtw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Vvs_JAh04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw10quvFJOI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtJ6yAGjsIs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4xrJ_r6PUs
500 word triangulation
The title sequences as paradigmatic anticipation of cinematic syntagm (Stanitzek, 2009, p48) offers elements of the film arranged in a narrative manner. This "duplication" of the movie will anticipate the events to come in a paradigmatic way, while the movie itself will do it syntagmatically. For example, the Pink Panther (Blake Edwards, 1964) anticipates the commotion in the film. The title sequences in Se7en (David Fincher, 1995) provides the personality of the killer.
Different authors have different definitions of this anticipation that can work together. Braha and Byrne (2011, P1) identified that "one of the primary functions of a title sequence is to set the tone... get a sense of the genre and pacing of the movie". Gross (2015) claims that the purpose of the title sequences is to nurture audience's expectations evoking the overall mood of the film and setting up the story. Krasner (2004) adds that the title sequences establish the context and set the tone of the movie. It gives an anticipation of events that are going to be revealed.
The great title designer Kyle Cooper (2009) ensures that title sequences set an expectation and makes the audience forget about everything else. Title sequences can be used to add more information to the film, and it's designers work to tell a story to put the audience in context. Braha and Byrne (2011, P1) add that "effective title sequences foreshadow themes of the movie without overshadowing the movie itself". They are an anticipation, but key points are not given away. Title sequences are not a summary of the film. They have the ability to add meaning or expose details missing from the film that are maybe revealed at the end or after a few views. These of course are choices, but it is imperative to capture the essence of the film. "Title sequences need to engage and excite the audience by hinting at some of the topics, themes" and even challenges taking place. The intention is to build anticipation and "create an emotional reaction from the audience" that makes them want to know more about it.
Walter Murch (cited in Krasner, 2004, P.36) gives a metaphorical definition: "The title sequence of a film is like the frame around a painting: it should enhance and comment on what is 'inside', alerting and sensitising the viewer to the emotional tones, the story ideas, and the visual style which will be found in the work itself."
Saul Bass (cited in Krasner, 2004, P.38) also shared his opinion: "My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it." R/Greenberg associates (cited in Krasner, 2004, P.41) also catalogue the title sequences as visual metaphores for setting the atmosphere. "What I do in film is the opposite of what is done with the print image. Dracula is a very good example of the process. There is very little information on the screen at any time, and you let the effect unfold slowly so the audience doesn't know what they're looking at until the very end. In print, everything has to be up front because you have so little time to get attention. In film you hold back; otherwise it would be boring. The audience is captive at a film - I can play with their minds." "You have to take the people who have just arrived at the theatre and separate them from their ordinary reality: walking onto the street, waiting in line; you bring them into the movie. You want to tell them how to react; that it is alright to laugh, that they are going to be scared or that something serious is going on."
In the title sequenes of To Die For (1995) the main character is a controversial woman and Pablo Ferro identified how to add information about the film. "I wanted to set up her identity so well, that you knew this person before you met her."
Curran (2001, p129) divides the function of the title sequences in two. The first is a rough approach, a breathtaking piece of video and audio that impressively grabs the attention of the audience. The second raises a question or provides a clue, but it is also a way to keep the interest of the viewers, quietly wovening into the film.
Different authors have different definitions of this anticipation that can work together. Braha and Byrne (2011, P1) identified that "one of the primary functions of a title sequence is to set the tone... get a sense of the genre and pacing of the movie". Gross (2015) claims that the purpose of the title sequences is to nurture audience's expectations evoking the overall mood of the film and setting up the story. Krasner (2004) adds that the title sequences establish the context and set the tone of the movie. It gives an anticipation of events that are going to be revealed.
The great title designer Kyle Cooper (2009) ensures that title sequences set an expectation and makes the audience forget about everything else. Title sequences can be used to add more information to the film, and it's designers work to tell a story to put the audience in context. Braha and Byrne (2011, P1) add that "effective title sequences foreshadow themes of the movie without overshadowing the movie itself". They are an anticipation, but key points are not given away. Title sequences are not a summary of the film. They have the ability to add meaning or expose details missing from the film that are maybe revealed at the end or after a few views. These of course are choices, but it is imperative to capture the essence of the film. "Title sequences need to engage and excite the audience by hinting at some of the topics, themes" and even challenges taking place. The intention is to build anticipation and "create an emotional reaction from the audience" that makes them want to know more about it.
Walter Murch (cited in Krasner, 2004, P.36) gives a metaphorical definition: "The title sequence of a film is like the frame around a painting: it should enhance and comment on what is 'inside', alerting and sensitising the viewer to the emotional tones, the story ideas, and the visual style which will be found in the work itself."
Saul Bass (cited in Krasner, 2004, P.38) also shared his opinion: "My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it." R/Greenberg associates (cited in Krasner, 2004, P.41) also catalogue the title sequences as visual metaphores for setting the atmosphere. "What I do in film is the opposite of what is done with the print image. Dracula is a very good example of the process. There is very little information on the screen at any time, and you let the effect unfold slowly so the audience doesn't know what they're looking at until the very end. In print, everything has to be up front because you have so little time to get attention. In film you hold back; otherwise it would be boring. The audience is captive at a film - I can play with their minds." "You have to take the people who have just arrived at the theatre and separate them from their ordinary reality: walking onto the street, waiting in line; you bring them into the movie. You want to tell them how to react; that it is alright to laugh, that they are going to be scared or that something serious is going on."
In the title sequenes of To Die For (1995) the main character is a controversial woman and Pablo Ferro identified how to add information about the film. "I wanted to set up her identity so well, that you knew this person before you met her."
Curran (2001, p129) divides the function of the title sequences in two. The first is a rough approach, a breathtaking piece of video and audio that impressively grabs the attention of the audience. The second raises a question or provides a clue, but it is also a way to keep the interest of the viewers, quietly wovening into the film.
