Analysis of a Title Sequence: SE7EN

00.03  New Line Cinema Presents

00.06  An Arnold Kopelson Production

00.10  A film by David Fincher

00.13  Brad Pitt

00.18  Morgan Freeman

00.23  Se7en

00.28  Gwyneth Paltrow

00.33  Richard Rowntree

00.38  R. Lee Ermey
00.41  John C McGinley
00.46  Julie Araskog, Mark Boone Junior
00.53  John Casrini, Reginald E. Cathey, Peter Crombie

00.57  Hawthorne Jones, Michael Massee, Leland Orser

01.03  Richard Portnow, Richard Schiff, Pamala Tyson

01.10  Casting by Billy Hopkins, Suzanne Smith, Kerry Borden

01.16  Music by Howard Shore

01.21  Costumes designed by Michael Kaplan

01.24  Edited by Richard Francis-Bruce

01.26  Production designed by Arthur Max

01.34  Director of photography Darius Khondji

01.38  Co-Producers Stephen Brown, Nana Greenwald, Sanford Panitch

01.44  Co-Executive Producers Lynn Harris, Richard Saperstein

01.49  Executive Producers Gianni Nunnari, Dan Kolsrud, Ann Kopelson

01.54  Written by Andrew Kevin Walker

01.57  SE7EN

01.58  Produced by Arnold Kopelson, Phyllis Carlyle

02.03  Directed by David Fincher

Plans for filming...SCHEDULE

Try and get the bulk of the filming done on Sunday 29th January!!!

My Ident - Juxtaposed Productions

This is the ident that I have created using Adobe AfterEffects that I intend to use for my media film. I chose to keep it fairly simple because I did not want it to detract from the image of the film and for it to remain fairly impartial and uninfluencial upon the audience.
I particularly like the font that I used because it is interesting and adds more depth to the ident.

Teletubbies

For this task we had to remake the opening title sequence for the Teletubbies. We were given a similar background image of the sky, the foreground and the baby's face; we then had to create the shape of the sun and create the sequence so that it flowed accordingly to the original sequence.

First AfterEffects Experiment - Anatomy of a Murder

This was my first introduction to using Adobe AfterEffects CS4 and we were given the task of creating a title sequence for 'Anatomy of a Murder'. We had to create the shapes and text and then design the sequence as we thought appropriate and fitting.
I enjoyed the task because it was a good, in-depth introduction to the software and I felt comfortable with using it afterwards.

Ideal props to include in my film opening...

Location for filming...

LITTLE ELLINGHAM, NORFOLK

I have chosen to do my filming in my village because the fields and location is very ideal and is quite isolated, so I do not have to worry about the interruption of lots of cars and loud background noises.

Narration...

A narrator, within any story, is the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of the three entities responsible for story-telling of any kind. The others are the author and audience; the latter called the 'reader' when referring specifically to literature.

In the case of my media film, I am using narration through Eliza, therefore making her the viewpoint character. The effect of doing this is that straight away the audience is able to relate to and empathise with her character, just through her dialogue.

A narrator may tell the story from his own point of view (as a fictive entity) or from the point of view of one of the characters in the story. The act or process of this is referred to as narration. Along with exposition, argumentation, and description, narration (broadly defined) is one of four rhetorical modes of discourse. More narrowly defined, narration is the fiction-writing mode whereby the narrator communicates directly to the reader.

In my media film, I have chosen to not show the character of Eliza within the opening sequence to establish an element of the unknown for the audience. The aim of my opening is to leave the audience asking questions and to want to watch further, which is or should be the aim of all film-makers.

ELIZA...

Character profile and moodboard:

ELIZA NIAMH MURRAY
Age: 18
D.O.B.: 28th December 1991 (Film set in 2010)
Star Sign: Capricorn
Nationality: British
Hair colour: Blonde
Eye colour: Hazel
Hometown: Rural village in Norfolk, originally from Yorkshire
Hobbies: Reading, listening to old music, being outside
Other siblings: None
Relationship status: Single

Heart Rate Monitor...

Using the SketchBookExpress on my MacBook Pro I was able to create a design for the scan of a Heart Rate Monitor which would be used in hospitals. The initial one that I completed looked quite similar however, the line has no depth and doesn't look overly realistic.

For this reason, I decided to copy the sketch and to lay it on top of the original, slightly out of place. This creates the necessary depth and makes it look like the line has more 'life' and is much more realistic, also with more of an aspect that it could be moving.

This image I will be using during my title sequence.

Research into my chosen genre...

"Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles."
My film opening is following the genre of a Romantic Comedy however, I wish to challenge that concept by not displaying to the audience within the opening two-minutes a possible romance which will take place.

“

In a typical romantic comedy the two lovers tend to be young, likeable, and apparently meant for each other, yet they are kept apart by some complicating circumstance (e.g., class differences, parental interference; a previous girlfriend or boyfriend) until, surmounting all obstacles, they are finally wed. A wedding-bells, fairy-tale-style happy ending is practically mandatory.[5]

”

A few of the top Rom-Com's of the decade:
Juno, About a Boy, Bridget Jones' Diary, Amélie, Wall-E, The Silence of Sleep.

Script: Initial Draft

"A DAY IN THE LIFE OF..."

FADE IN:

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - MORNING

Panning through the countryside; fresh morning. Birds chirping, soft piano music being played in the background.

ELIZA (V.O)

Many people in life have a sense of direction and know

what they want their future to hold, apparently, not me.

I seem to be going nowhere and at the age of 18, I have

nothing to say for myself; no achievements, nothing, not even

a library card or a bus pass. Even old people have those, clearly...

my - life - is - irrelevant.

I've never had a boyfriend - well, of course, I've dabbled in the

occasional 2 week fling, but nothing serious, 

nothing significant; never broken a bone, never even been 

to hospital, besides of course when I entered the world and left the

safety and comfort of my mother's womb.

As Gandhi said, "I don't have a message. My message

is my life." and "When I despair, I remember that truth and

love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers,

and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end

they always fall. 

Think of it...always."

It is only when I think of those who have less than me

that I realise how much I do have; 

a functional family who supports me, a good education, friends who love me...

Need I say more? I'm a pessimistic, optimistic, naïve, melodramatic, 

shy and pathetic teenager, who wants nothing more than to find

her meaning in life. But I have no idea how to go about it.

I'm waiting for a revelation, anything, hit me by a bus

and kick me in the teeth! Anything.

This is a first draft for my script and is part of a narrative voiceover in which the main female protagonist, Eliza, opens the film with a monologue which provides the audience with an insight into her life and the moral dilemmas and stereotypical 'teen-life dramas' that she faces. 

The words that I have highlighted in bold all hold great significance. "I seem to be going nowhere" - Eliza is a confused teenager who is struggling to understand and piece together her future. 

Gandhi quotes - provide her character with a more philosophical interest and she becomes more in-depth. They also bear significance and irony to the rest of the film.This was also used in Allen Coulter's 2010 film Remember Me which I thought was incredibly effective and has a great dramatic impact upon the audience.

"I'm waiting for a revelation, anything, hit me by a bus and kick me in the teeth! Anything." = Irony, she will be hit by a vehicle and will be left hospital-ridden and so by saying this, it could be said that she is 'tempting fate'.
COUNTRYSIDE:

 GANDHI:

 MONROE:

 REMEMBER ME:

RESEARCH

• Inspirational quotes from Mahatma Gandhi and Marilyn Monroe
• Classical piano music for backing (Listen to)
• Films with female narration in opening
• Life support machines

Gandhi
"Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart."
"The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience."
"The real love is to love them that hate you, to love your neighbour even though you distrust him."
"If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm."
"Let us all be brave enough to die the death of a martyr, but let no one lust for martyrdom."
"I don't have a message. My message is my life."
"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it...always."

Monroe
"This life is what you make it. No matter what, you're going to mess up sometimes, it's a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you're going to mess it up. Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're going to fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself."

Classical Music Tchaikovsky -

Nutcracker: Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy

1892

Tchaikovsky -

Nutcracker: Waltz Of The Flowers

1892

Chopin -

Funeral March

1829

Life Support Machine