So in class we were told about a website called The Art of the Title, which is a 'leading web resource of film and television title design from around the world'. It has a wide variety of different title sequences which I'm already familiar with from my Graphics class (we briefly studied opening sequences). The opening for Catch Me If You Can (2002) is one that has got my attention for a while now. The overall Saul Bass aesthetic and brilliant soundtrack work perfectly together, whilst still getting the necessary information across: the distribution company, DreamWorks, displayed for six seconds; the studios, Splendid Pictures and Kemp Company for three seconds; producer details, 'A Parkes/MacDonald Production', another three seconds; and the director, Steven Spielberg, three seconds again... It is clear that the titles are actually quite fast-paced, and for good reason, as straight away we are immersed in this animated world of silhouettes and peculiar soundtrack that makes this opening even more mysterious. The film title appears 40 seconds in, for six seconds, then we're plunged straight back into the visual depictions of these two silhouettes in different cat and mouse-like chase sequences... Yet everything about these figures' movement is almost casual; it is all very intriguing and visually pleasing – the colours, the pacing...In technical aspects, we couldn't even begin to think about creating a sequence incorporating this kind of stylistic animation. But if we can take anything away from this example, it's that a combination of subtle and explicit references, with a thought-through audio track, can go a long way to create a sequence that poses questions and gets the viewer thinking about what to expect of the film ahead of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment