assignment 10 powerpoint
TRANSCRIPT
The Walking Dead• It’s a non-linear OTS because:
-It is introducing the setting to the audience and it could bring narrative enigmas to the audience such as; Where are the people?
• The OTS prepares for the programme by: -Establishing the setting, the sub-genre and the themes of the programme. -Themes include: death, danger, conflict and survival.
• Narrative within the OTS include: -Where are the humans? -What has happened to the human race? -What do the establishing shots want us to see?
• It mostly supports forms and/or conventions of the genre because: -A non-linear title sequence is common with zombie horror films/programmes -It introduces the main characters of the story -The audience do not know what there is to come in the story (it gives nothing away to the audience)
Answers continued
• Characters represented? -No characters have been represented in this OTS
• Why there is no representation of the characters? -The OTS does not want to give too much away to the audience -Creates more narrative enigmas
• The OTS presents credits and the main title by: -Using the rule of thirds -Small font size for actors and production company, large font size for the title -White font makes the text stand out more from darker backgrounds, black font makes the text stand out from lighter backgrounds -No credits are placed in the centre of each shot, this is so it won’t distract the audience from the establishing shots -Title appears word by word. It is large as it is more important to the audience and it stands out clearly from the dark background
Effective shots in OTS
The placement of the title doesn’t distract the audience from the deserted streets of
the city
Empty streets/roads can connotea sign of loneliness and can make
the audience feel at unease becausethey will not know what could
appear in the streets at any randommoment in the programme
The use of a filter on this shot can createnarrative enigmas to the audience because
it is unclear on what the dark liquid on the floor is
The blurred edges of the frame allow the audience tofocus more on the centre of the composition which ismore in focus than the rest of the shot since it is more
important to the audience as it carries more of an effectto the shot
Use of low key artificiallighting makes the setting darker and can connote a
sign of danger to the audienceas dark places can often mean
something could be there
Use of mise-on-scene of the papers onthe floor could tell the audience that
there was chaos (something has happened)and has caused the setting to become
deserted
Sped up shots can show theaudience how empty the settingis for the programme. Narrative
enigmas such as “Where iseveryone?” could arise by using
this type of editing
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The use of blood and the birdseating the flesh of an animal cantell the audience that there will
be scenes of blood, guts and gorethroughout the programme
The fact that the animal is lying on the roaddead could connote death within the
programme
The use of a long shot to establish a scene iseffective because it can tell the audience why
the city in the background is deserted; everyone wanted to leave the city for some
reason. This reason is unknown to theaudience and this will make them want to watch
the programme so they can find out what happened
The font size used for the title shows the audiencehow important it is compared to the rest of the
credits used in the OTS
The colour of the font allows the font title to stand out from the darker background The filter used on the shot makes the
image look run down and worn out. This links to the setting of the OTS as the streetsand buildings look as if they are run down
so this effect is relevant and effective to use
DEXTER
• The OTS in Dexter is Linear and symbolic. Linear because it flows from one sequence to the next simultaneously, it also symbolic because a lot of the scenes in the OTS represent a lot of the themes in the series.
• The OTS prepares the audience for the programme by setting up the series and tells us a lot about the main protagonist and the themes.
• Narrative enigmas throughout the OTS include: Who is he? Why does his normal everyday activities connote different things? Why are his activities observed so close up?
• Certain serial killer movies and TV shows such as Se7en have very detailed opening title sequences that reveal a lot about the characters within the show/film.
• The main protagonist ‘Dexter’ is represented through a number of symbolic actions throughout the sequence
• I think it was important for them to do this as it sets the scene for the show and gives you a brief glimpse of what you are about to watch. I also think that doing this makes the audience appreciate the personality and the characteristics of ‘Dexter’ and how he is different from everyday people.
• The OTS uses depth of field to pull in and out of focus during certain scenes of the title sequence. This turns the viewers attention from one thing to another, and is often used to emphasize certain things. Also, no credits are placed in the center of each shot, this is so it won’t distract the audience from the establishing shot.
Effective Shots in the OTS The depth of field
technique is used here to not only distinguish
between Dexter and the mosquito, but to also show the swiftness of
death along with blood. This gives us an idea
that the themes throughout the series
are to do with death and gore.
Also if you look closely, you can see that Dexter is smiling
after he has killed the mosquito. This gives us a key bit of information regarding
Dexter’s character and reinforces his character as
basically, a bloodthirsty serial-killer, but on a much
smaller scale.
The methodical and technically skilled side of
Dexter’s character is portrayed using these shots of the orange being cut into. You can see below the fine
cut and the technique used is similar to that of an
experienced knife wielder. This gives us our first glimpse
of the skill and experience Dexter has had at chopping
things up, namely flesh.The gore aspect of the series is again
reinforced as we see the juice of the
orange shoot out. This connotes the blood spatter that
will no doubt be ever present in the series.
Dexter’s identity
The ruthless and aggressive side comes out in Dexter’s character during these two
scenes. In these scenes Dexter is just about to tie his
shoes and floss, but the force he is applying and the
tension in his hands can imply that he is strangling
someone.Also, the fact that these things are being
implied during such mundane activities
shows that this ruthlessness is
embedded into his DNA, rather than he
has just got into it. This tells us that his dark
side is a massive part of his character and it
wears off on everything he does.
Dexter’s identity pt2
To reinforce this point I can use these three scenes to show, again, how his
serial killer identity rubs off on everything he does. The multiple
cracks in the egg show his power and efficiency and connotes broken bones. The two scenes below show his love of
domination and his controlling personality. This is conveyed by
showing how the downward movement of his hand crushes the coffee beans, which implies he is
always in control of the lives of his victims. It also implies that he is
always one step ahead and never out of his depth.
Dexter’s identity pt3
Again, these scenes reinforce this point. We can see below the way he squeezes the orange against the juicer shows the inside of the fruit falling out. This easily implies guts spilling out of a stomach.
This is the same with the second orange scene, where the remnants of the orange is lying on a table. It shows the trauma the orange has been through and for a
second time uses the mundane everyday activity of juicing an orange to mask
Dexter’s dark side. Another scene where this is apparent is the scene where he cuts up the bacon in the packet. The
combination of these everyday normal activities combined with the execution of
a bloodthirsty serial killer gives us this sense of him hiding in plain sight, and
trying desperately to keep his dark passenger hidden, but at the end of the day you can’t hide who you are forever and that becomes evident with the little
details shown in these scenes.
Dexter’s identity pt4
The theme of gore is a mainstay throughout the Opening Title Sequence. Again, it conforms to my
earlier argument in the last couple of slides about
Dexter’s dark side being hidden in mundane
activities. As well as this though normal things like Tomato sauce and drips of
blood are used just to reiterate the main themes of the series as well as increase
the feeling of unnatural normality when we see
blood.
Themes
Lastly, the title and the credits combine with the activities taking place which again heightens the feeling of normality with blood.
The ‘Dexter’ title gives us a bit of information about his character, everything in Dexter’s world is
blurred and uncertain but the one thing that has remained a
constant throughout his life is his love of blood and violence, and this is outlined by the bold and
sharp bloodstained title accompanied by a blurred
background. The subtlety of this makes the scene even more
effective as it builds on Dexter’s hidden identity.
Title and Credits
What type of ots is it?
• The OTS to the Last of Us is both non-linear and symbolic. It’s non-linear as it shows the audience a montage of how fast the virus can spread.
• It also symbolises that the events will be focused around the virus and how it devastated the human population. The purpose of this is to frighten but inform the audience.
How does the OTS prepare the audience for what to come?
• The OTS prepares for the game as it informs the audience what has happened, the consequences and which direction the events that occur are going in.
It creates narrative enigmas such as:
How did it occur?
How many survivors are there?
What is left of Earth?
Forms and conventions of the genre.
• Symbolic opening title sequences aren’t usual for sub-genres.
• It gives us no location so we don’t know where the events will take place or if the virus has hit most or all of earth.
• There’s no characters, action or bodies being shown but we know it’s there thanks to the news reports keeping the audience informed of the casualties and the consequences of the outbreak.
• The names of the cast and crew are slightly bigger than the role so it catches the eye of the audience first and so they get credit for the production.
Forms and conventions
• The OTS reinforces aspects such as death, chaos, danger and survival.
• The OTS presents credits and the title by using the rule of thirds. The title is in black and white and slowly fades in so it stands out from the background, grabbing the attention of the audience immediately.
• The whole OTS is in black and white. This was done to clearly show how fast the virus can spread by making the virus white and the background black.
What I enjoyed about the OTS
• I enjoyed the use of sound e.g. the news reports and the use of carpuntal sound as the news reports and the sirens in the background emphasise chaos and lack of control. Whereas the carpuntal sound is something you wouldn’t expect.
• You would alternatively expect something more intense or dramatic to signify to the audience that this virus is serious.
• I enjoyed the different camera angles and shots to accurately and successfully show the progression of the virus to keep the audience entertained.
• The title of the game is announced at the start of the OTS. The use of black and white helps the title of the game stand out from the background as well as making it bright and bold.
•The OTS shows the spread progression of the virus by editing the speed of the shots, suggesting that the virus is fast spreading and contagious.
• The role of the crew member is smaller than the name of the person that did the role as it’s more important.
• It stands out from the background, doesn’t get in the way of the virus moving about so the audience can focus on all of it and so it catches the eye of the audience first. It also allows them to get credit for their work.