This document provides 9 steps for students to create the best possible title sequence for a media studies assignment. Step 1 involves assessing the task, timeframe, and equipment. Step 2 recommends adding details about sound, camerawork, and editing to a blog. Step 3 suggests building skills in these areas and brainstorming sound effects. Step 4 is to research genre conventions, narrative techniques, character, atmosphere, and setting of title sequences. Step 5 involves brainstorming original title sequence ideas. Step 6 is to create a planning document. Step 7 is to shoot footage. Step 8 is to edit together a rough cut. Step 9 evaluates common pitfalls to avoid and provides advice for a strong final product.

1. AS Media Studies MAKING YOUR TITLE SEQUENCE

2. lots of small things add up to get you better marks

3. 9 Steps to best results!

4. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

5. Step 1 take stock
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what’s the task?
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what’s the assessment?
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what’s the timeframe?
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what’s the equipment?

6. Your task and assessment
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Titles and opening of a new fiction film
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up to 2 minutes
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20 marks Research and Planning
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60 marks Construction
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20 marks Evaluation

7. Timeframe and equipment
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build your skills
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build up your research
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build up your planning
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give yourselves time to shoot and edit
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keep evidence throughout the whole process

8. keep evidence of everything you do!
Step 2 Add to your blog

9. •
sound
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camerawork
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editing
Step 3 Build up your skills

10. SOUND EFFECTS these are VERY IMPORTANT!!!

11. Make a list now of what SOUND EFFECTS You think you could use to enhance your production

12. What did you learn from your preliminary task? Make some notes and add them to your blog under the appropriate Evaluation question

13. •
what do film openings actually look like?
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what does other student work look like?
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what do you need to know about titles?
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how are you going to do something that stands out?
Step 4 Investigate

14. key features
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genre
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narrative (enigma)
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character
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atmosphere
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setting

15. film openings to look at?
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start general
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home in on specific
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make your research focussed and relevant

17. Watch a sequence and decide…which of these are featured most:
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genre
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narrative
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character
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atmosphere
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setting

18. Think about your film… which aspects are you going to emphasise?
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genre
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narrative
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character
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atmosphere
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setting

19. search for student film openings on YouTube and Vimeo (G321)

21. Analyse one or two of them. How successful are they?

22. Level 1: minimal 0-23
Level 2: basic 24-35
Level 3: proficient 36-47
Level 4: excellent 48-60

23. •
possible scenarios
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25 word pitch
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moodboard treatment
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peer and teacher feedback
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realistic expectations - keep it simple
Step 5 Brainstorm ideas

24. •
experiment with camera and editing
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recce shots of locations
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examples of shots, costumes, props, etc. onto blog
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storyboard, animatic,moodboard
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logistics planning, including risk assessment
Step 6 Planning

25. •
people, places, props, costumes
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rehearsing, directing
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equipment, jobs on the day
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keeping a record of the process
Step 7 Shooting

26. •
screengrabs of process
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remember importance of audio and titles
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remember importance of sound effects
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rough cut deadline and peer feedback
Step 8 Editing

27. big picture before fine detail

28. •
seven guiding questions
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20 of the 100 marks
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need to be creative in executions
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digital depth
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Listen to the teacher’s advice
Step 9 Evaluation

29. Six most common student film openings
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Saw: victim tied up in shed
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Scream: hooded stalker follows female victim
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Se7en: killer sticks knife in polaroid photos
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Lock, Stock: gangsters play cards and kill each other
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Waking up: clean teeth, brush hair, leave house
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Flash back or flash forward : “2 weeks later...”

30. six most common problems
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looks more like a trailer or short film
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insufficient titles
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poor sound, poor lighting
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poorly directed actors, not costumed
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confusing for the viewer
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uses one of the six common openings(badly)

31. key advice
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plan for everything
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keep all the evidence
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avoid the obvious
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pay attention to detail
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make your blog varied
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learn from other work