Choosing The Title Text Dafont.com

Whilst Heather and Josh were in an exam in this lesson, I was looking on dafont.com to choose the font for the titles within our film. Below are screenshots of the website and possible fonts to use. I decided to choose 'BEBAS NEUE' as it is simplistic and bold which is similar to the style of our film.

This font is good as it stands out a lot, it is easy to read, the font is also very bold and stereotypical for a Film Noir title. 

It could be argued, however, that this font is too basic for a 2016 film and it is not memorable for an audience. To overcome this, editing of the font may be done om PhotoShop.

Here is a diagram of the webpage layout.

Another font that was being considered was the above one. This old fashioned font was more memorable and had elements of sophistication and elegance.

On the other hand, the slenderness of the font could be off-putting to any members of the audience, also, the style of our film is supposed to be bold and outgoing rather than elegant which is why we are not using this font.

Opening Title Sequence of I Wake Up Screaming

To get an idea on how to film our opening title sequence, I analysed the Film Noir 'I Wake Up Screaming' to see how generic Film Noirs create opening title sequences.

In the minute long OTS, the Fox ident is shown for 12 seconds and then there are 7 different credits shown in an urban city. The second credit is the title of the film and the fifth includes all studio idents.

The sound used is performed by an orchestra, it starts off similar to horror-like music; the music is then at a slow tempo which gradually increases throughout. This may be hard to replicate in our production as we are unable to create an orchestra ourselves.

The camera used is black and white, this is because it is filmed in 1941-a simple editing technique could be used to replicate this. Also, only one shot of the New York skyline is used throughout the sequence.

Mise en scene used in the OTS includes low key lighting and a location of an urban city (New York). It may be hard to take a photo of an urban city's skyline, but the low key lighting will be easy to replicate in our Film Noir.

The editing includes a fade from black to begin the title sequence, each credit is spelled out in lights that are superimposed over the New York skyline. Superimposing writing over an image may be difficult but after researching, we should be able to include this in our sequence.

Here is a screenshot of the Title in the Opening Title Sequence

Analysing the Codes, Conventions and Narrative of the Opening Title Sequence of Fargo

Fargo:
This neo-noir crime thriller is set in Minnesota in 1987. A man in serious debt hires two men to kidnap his wife so he can collect ransom from his wife's wealthy father to pay off his debts. However, the plan is jeopardised when the kidnappers shoot a state trooper.

From the frozen image, I can see that there are a group of men having a conversation in a bar. In the frame, one character is positioned with his back to the camera which adds a sense of mystery to him, the other two characters can be seen clearly from above the table. To draw attention to the character talking, there is strong lighting on him whilst everything around him and the other characters sort of blend together as it is dark.

All characters are shown from above the table in an over-the-shoulder shot that is a medium shot- this is so all characters involved in the scene are able to be seen. This shot suggests that the men are in some sort of negotiation but it is informal as the clothing is quite casual; the beers on the table reinforces that the location is in fact a bar and the cigarette is a conventional aspect of a Film Noir. It is likely that the shot is filmed like this as the characters are in conversation and if it was composed differently it may not keep the audience interested, the camera is behind the character sitting on his own so everyone can be seen and some of the background is included to keep the 'bar' feeling alive. If this was filmed somewhere else, the camera may be at a different angle-for example if they were in one of the character's office then he may be show from a low angle so he appears to have the power.

The camera moves from one shot to the next when the character with the back to the camera starts talking so the audience can clearly tell who is talking. It is likely to be filmed in the evening due to the low levels of lighting, the amount of beers that have been drunk and the clothing worn, it is located in a bar as it is a conventional location to meet in a Film Noir as it is a place the 'everyman' often goes to- this may be relevant to the target audience. The informal clothing suggests that the characters are likely to be working-class and they are not attending a high-level business meeting; the body language of the character on the right implies that he is not interested in the other character as he is leaning back and barely looking at him. This suggests that the characters on the right does not know the male on the left that well, if they did they would be closer to him and more engaged. This frame could be seen as a pivotal frame to the narrative as it shows the characters negotiating and planning events that will unfold later in the film, however, it does not clearly describe the characters personality or keep the audience on the edge of their seats.