Media Project One

After researching some films with sci-fi title animations, I came across Guardians of the Galaxy and it’s title animation. Within the first 20 seconds of the opening scene in the video (https://youtu.be/JNlnQwHWSYw), the audience see a raging, stormy planet with extreme weather conditions – the title animation tells the audience that 26 years have passed from the very beginning of the film. The first screen grab shows the initial stage of the title animation and how it reveals itself to the audience – it has an coded like appearance when its denoted on the screen and each letter seems to be randomised with another letter from the alphabet. When it comes to decoding the letters, each one flickers through several letters until fully decoding to expose the correct one, which can be seen in the second screen grab.

After the first title animation (26 Years Later), the name of the planet is revealed in a similar way – from the first screen grab you can see that the letters are being decoded, however, this time there are multiple lines of information that are also be revealed too. I like the way in which its not all shown at once, it has a staggered effect which not only put emphasis onto the name of the planet but sub-consciously tells the audience what is the most and least important info being shown.

The main reason why I like it style of title animation is because of the coded like appearance when it appears on the screen – I feel that this suits the genre of the film really well and also adds to the science fiction element too. Secondly, I also really like the font thats used as it’s really well suited to the genre of the film –  the serif font is very clear and easy to read. Additionally, it also looks very modern as sans serif fonts are more traditionally associated with classic/fancy texts. Thirdly, the hierarchy of the text is also very appealing as it clear and very well structured – the planet name is in bold and is the brightest at the top, this tells the audience that its the most important as it occupies most of the space. The description is second largest in the middle, this again tells the audience about its importance within the whole title and the co-ordinates are smallest and least visible at the bottom. Overall, this a very clear and aesthetically pleasing title animation comprising of several factors which help to communicate it information to the audience, so much so that it was continued on into the sequel, however, its used a different manner and I feel the overall effect of the title convention is less impacting on the audience when compared to the first (which can be seen below).

Overall, I would really like to use this convention within my own animation, however, I would like to adapt and develop upon it so that it more so suited to my theme. I feel like as the film and my animation both fit into the same general category of space that the title element would be very appropriate to use – I would have to think very clearly about the font and also the weight of the text, spacing and alignment as this would have a impact on the viewers experience when watching the animation either consciously or sub-consciously (they might be able to tell if the title element looks odd/out of place). In addition, I feel that the colour and power of the decoding element would have to be thought through clearly as this could also impact the audiences viewing experience.

Another book by G, Millerson Basic TV Staging will help explain key concepts about composition within a shot, this will allow me to stage mine so that there is balance within each so that it looks more aesthetically pleasing.

Within the book I will be specifically looking at Chapters:

• Purpose of Staging (Page 10)
• Staging Styles (Page 16)
• Staging Opportunities (Page 18)
• Neutral Backgrounds (page 112)

Purpose of Staging

Staging or setting the scene within a animation or video aims to create a particular pictorial effect, this then creates a reality which was never real in the first place – it was materialised, for example having a star field background in an animation aims to immerse the views into believing that it took place in space, when in reality it was created digitally. So generally, it can be stated that staging provides the background for the performance of the project, and this background can consist of the plainest materials or really complex ones – it still has the same general effect. However, it is key to note that having the wrong background for the performance may dominate it – this would take the viewers attention from the performance which isn’t beneficial.

Staging Styles

When it comes to staging my animation, I will have to think clearly as the background should match both the programme material and presentation approach – It wouldn’t be very effective having a bright pink background when the whole animation is supposed to take place within a space/zero gravity environment. I will try and replicate a realistic environment, in this case space – i will create a ‘star field’ material inside of C4D where you can see glowing stars when rendering, this will help reinforce the notion that it is in a space setting, however, I will have to play with the settings to make sure that the background/stars aren’t too dominant to distract the viewer.

Staging Opportunities

A major factor when considering the opportunities of staging are the physical parameters of the objects, as the scene will be consisting of a cube with a ring of sphere’s around it, I will have to factor in its size – if the background is too narrow then it will appear that some of the spheres will be cut in half which will be an undesired aesthetic. Additionally, the staging also needs to conform to established concepts or notions that people already have about space – this is an opportunity to further boost the realism in the animation as observant viewers will realise thats what its trying to replicate.

Neutral Backgrounds

If I am unable to get the ‘star field’ material to work in my animation, I will be using neutral background – again as its a space themed animation, I will use a black background which connotes notions of: Night, Mystery, Heaviness, Sombreness and Smartness – to which I intend to try an incorporate the element of mystery, especially with the use of the geometric cube. A benefit of having a neutral background is that I can have a wide range of flexibility with the camera settings, notably with the depth of field – having a shallow depth of field blurs the background of any scene, having a plain neutral colour allows for wider extremes to push the camera too as there re no significant details in the background that are lost.

Editing will be another aspect in my animation, this book explains when to cut and why which will aid in making my animation flow more smoothly and not cutting away prematurely.

Within the book I will be specifically looking at Chapters:

• The Edit (Page 40)
• The Cut (Page 50)

The Edit

An edit can be generalised as a transition between two shots, however, it can take many forms including: a straight cut, a mix (fade from one shot to another) and a fade (fade to black/white) – to which each of them connote different meanings. It is highly emphasised that when in the editing process that there should always be a good motivation to make a cut, either that being a visual edit within my animation or a auditory edit in sound to ideally denote new information to the audience. If this is adhered to, the fresh range of visual/auditory information will keep the audience interested in the animation without being too patronising – resulting in a higher finished project being created.

The Cut

Within an animation there are cuts in the visuals which stitch together the narrative, however, good cuts are usually made up of 6 key elements which intend to adhere to:

1) Motivation – During the final stages of my animation when I’m editing, there needs to be a good reason to cut from one piece of footage to another. If there is no new information being supplied in the next shot, the audience will become bored of what is being seen – for example, if I show a red coloured sphere and cut to another one, there is no extra info adding to the audiences experience. However, if instead of cutting to a plain red sphere, it cuts to an orange one it makes it slightly more interesting as different and something new is happening.

2) Information – Like above, a new shot should contain new information – for example, a red sphere cutting to an orange sphere. Although not a lot difference in present, the change in colour still adds to the diversity of each shot.

3) Composition – Each shot should have a reasonable composition, this should be a balance between a object space and negative space where nothing present but also the rule of thirds can be used. Having object falling on each third line will aid in achieve a more aesthetically pleasing shot.

4) Sound – Ideally, when an edit occurs there should still be some sort of sound continuity between shots – this will achieve a flowing narrative and help one shot flow into the next even if they aren’t related. Oppositely, if an edit occurs where a close up (CU) cuts to a long shot (LS) the sound could also reflect this by becoming quieter or echoed.

5) Camera Angle – Each new shot should be on a different camera angle, this can help give the audience more information about the subject in the composition. However, in my animation I feel that having similar camera angles will help keep the audience orientated in the space environment – constantly changing the came angle might make it hard for the audience to understand where they are in relation to the subject.

6) Continuity – Movement or action should be evident/similar in the last shot to new shot – this will be a key convention to follow, especially during the end of the animation where the sphere moves inside of the cube, as I plan on drawing the camera from the mid shot (MS) of this event to a LS and having it matched perfectly will be essential.