Titles:
When it came to research on titles within film openings, I specifically researched how the title sequences appear, in terms of order and style, along a timeline in the film opening. This timeline was based on a generic order throughout the film '2012', which is not of the same sub-genre. However, I felt the title sequence would not differ a significant amount due to this.
We named our film 'Driven'. We called our piece this as the title has a double meaning, where on one hand, the main character was driven to succeed in his career and, on the other hand, he is now driven to return to his old self. As our plot line would be based off his mental and physical recovery, we felt that this title suited the film, as it is the moral of the film. The theme behind the title, which is a relation to actions and feelings we associate with motorsport, is a common trend in the sub-genre of motorsport. Titles such as 'Rush' and 'Need for Speed' show how this theme is used. With our title reflecting our plot, which is about our main character being driven to recover, we have also followed patterns of some other films, such as 'Need for Speed', where the title reflects on the dominant theme within the film. Our title 'Driven' appears on a black screen at the end of the opening, where it is accompanied by the end of the voice over, which has the final word 'driven'. It also co-incides with the end of the soundtrack, which is faded slightly to put focus on the title. The soundtrack is not typical of a motorsport film as these films are usually a sub-genre of action, where the soundtrack is fast paced, chaotic. Credits:
When researching the timeline of events for a film opening, I came across a generic structure for the opening credits of a film. The order in which credits appeared on screen went:
- Distribution company
- Production company[ies]
- '[Distributor] presents...'
- Production companies separately
- Main Cast (lead through to main stock characters)
- Title
- Any other actors in the film
Our credits followed this layout, as it is the same across most films. Our credits are all the same font, are only white an not bold colours and are of similar size. This is different to the typical opening credits of this sub-genre, as the fonts are typically bold and full of colour. We chose to avoid this as we felt the look of the credits would take away from the drama of the storyline, however we kept a font which we and the target audience felt could still represent the sub-genre. We stayed with this ethos when it came to transitions as a fast transition, which is common with motorsport films, would clash with the pace of the opening.Characters:
Our film opening only contains the protagonist and a few extras (the fans in the flashback), which is again unusual of a motorsport film as there is more characters traditionally introduced, such as an antagonist or stock characters like a love interest or friend. The lack of secondary characters helped us establish the narrative better, as we are representing a disabled individual, who is typically attached to feelings of lonliness, which could only be created if he was the only character in shot. Within the motorsport genre, this representation isn't prevelent, with films such as 'Rush', 'Need For Speed' and 'Fast and Furious' focusing on fame and teamwork. This menas our product has a high contrast in plot to others.
Settings/Locations:
For Motorsport based films, stock settings include garages and races at tracks or on the road. Within the films 'Torque', 'Rush' and 'Need for Speed', all three of these settings are included. Because of this, we decided we should include both settings within our film opening, as it encodes the sub-genre of motorsport. Due to limited access to the circuit on the day of filming, we could not film in the desired locations, which were in the pits and out in the pit lane itself. However, with the locations we could use, we feel we have encoded the sub-genre as best as possible.Costumes:
In the motorsport sub-genre, the protagonist is usually the driver, and would be seen in a racing suit or can be seen in rough clothes in a garage, such as in 'Need for Speed'. Stock characters can then include friends within the team, so would also be in rough clothes or in race suits. Love interests or female characters in general are in glam costumes, as this is a stereotype of this genre. Our character, as stated earlier, is disabled so our costume had to encode this. We used the race suit in the flashbacks to show how he was a successful racer, however is now alone. The ripped jeans and the jumper sohw how our character olacks care for his appearance, a common stereotype of disabld characters in the media.Camera Work:
Our camera work is of big contrast within the opening as we are representing two different society stereotypes. When we focus on the character in the present time, the camera movement when panning is very slow and still. This is done to show a slow pace of life for the character. This representation is also present in the film 'Need for Speed' when, at the beginning of the opening, the camera tracks slowly above a city before tracking down slowly to the garage. Thsi shows how the life of the characters inside is slow and not filled with action.
In the flashback scenes in our opening, the camera movement is fast and the camera is also hand held. This is done to make the scene seem frantic, and show the contrast in the characters life from then until now. Though handheld shots are not nicluded in the films i've analysed, the general fast movement of shots and close-ups included within these are common throughoutthe sub-genre, especially in the film 'Torque', when the camera tracks the racers as they drive.
Editing:
The flashback scenes include cuts within shots, which give the audience the impression that the characters memory is not clear after his incident. It also gives the scenes a faster pace, to show how action packed his life was. This use of fast cuts in action packed scenes is prevelen in the film 'Rush',when the race begins. It is done as it creates a feeling of chaos and action within the scene. Compare this to the present scenes again, and the takes are longer and, between establishing shots, we have a cross dissolve transition which lasts for 2 seconds. This encodes the theme of a slow pace of life, as the pace of editing is slow.
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