Across the maze: Title sequence design for a feature film NID Graduation project 2020

DEGREE PROJECT Across the maze : Title sequence design for a feature film

Self-sponsored

STUDENT : ARAVINDAN P B PROGRAMMME : Bachelor of Design (B. Des) GUIDE & Co-Guide : RAVI PARMAR & PRATYUSH KASHYAP

2020 COMMUNICATION DESIGN

ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

ORIGINALITY STATEMENT I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and it contains no full or substantial copy or previously published material, or it does not even contain substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or final graduation of any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this graduation project.

Moreover I also declare that none of the concepts are borrowed or copied without due acknowledgement.

Student name in full: Signature : Date :

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I further declare that the intellectual content of this graduation project is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. This graduation project (or part of it) was not and will not be submitted as assessed work in any other academic course.

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COPYRIGHT STATEMENT I hereby grant the National Institute of Design, Haryana the right to archive and to make available my graduation project/thesis/dissertation in whole or part in the Institute’s Library in all forms of media, now or hereafter known, subject to the provision of the Copyright Act. I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my document or I have obtained permission to use copyright material.

Student name in full: Signature : Date :

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank :

Some names I would like to mention:

Pratyush Kashyap for being my guide and giving feedback & several insights, helping out during tough times. Also for taking the best modules that gave me direction in deciding what to pursue in the future.

Vivek Vikram Singh, Tanmay Singh, Sachin Bagga, Akash Rajan, Thennarisu Siva, Ashique Shaji, Mrigank, Kunal, Ankur Samanta, Kanishk Kamal, Anupriya Srivastava, Nimisha, Vipul Verma, Prateek Panth,Shubham Raj, Ayushi Singh, Smruti Prakashan, Shivani Singh.

Ravi Parmar for helping out in all official purposes and keeping my project technically sound in the administrative aspect.

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Special mentions:

My mother & father, for having the trust in me and letting me do my own thing and supporting me in every way possible.

The makers of Art of the title.com

My friends and batchmates for their constant feedback and reminders to complete what I’ve started.

The makers of Movie titles youtube channel

The makers of Watch the titles.com

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

ABOUT NIDH National Institute of Design, Haryana is an Institute of National Importance, as per National Institute of Design Act, 2014, established on November 15, 2016 as an autonomous institute under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, to emerge as a global leader in Design Education and Research. The institute aims at becoming the torchbearer for innovative design directions in the Industry, Commerce and development sectors.

NID Haryana’s multi-disciplinary environment consisting of diverse design domains helps in creating an innovative and holistic ecosystem for design learning and delivering

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solutions focusing on the emerging needs of people integrated with digital and cutting edge technologies. NID Haryana currently offers full-time four year Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) with specialisation streams of : ​ • INDUSTRIAL DESIGN, • COMMUNICATION DESIGN and • TEXTILE & APPAREL DESIGN. ​ The Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) commences with a two semester rigorous Foundation Program followed by six semesters of specialized courses. Teaching methodology incorporates Industry and Field exposure.

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(fig 1.1) Campus library

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

ABOUT COMMUNICATION DESIGN Communication Design mediates messages to meanings and stories to experiences. NID Haryana offers this discipline in a way that enables the students to explore the sub-domains of communication design by means of analog to new media. The modules are designed in a way where students have the freedom to choose their own project ranging from Film, Animation, Graphic Design, Interface Design and Interaction Design with basic

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modules that are common to all. Students are exposed to emerging global trends, cultural and historical context in which the designers need to function as well as of the social and ethical factors that influence design decisions.

Ability to practice within a local and global context is a guiding principle of this program across the pathways.

ARAVINDAN P B > GRADUATION PROJECT 2020 > NIDH

(fig 2.1) Comm. design assignment display

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. About title sequences.................. 16 1.2. About Prisoners........................... 20 1.3 Project Brief...................................... 22 1.4 Timeline.............................................. 24 1.5 Design Process.............................. 26

2. UNDERSTANDING THE SOURCE MATERIAL

2.1. Watching the film........................... 30 2.2. Watching the interviews.......... 31 2.3. Studying title sequences........ 32 2.4. Case studies.................................. 34

3.3. Deriving storylines........................... 50 3.4. Colleting reference material....... 51 3.5. Selecting the soundtrack 1.0...... 54

4. CONCEPTS

4.1. The suburb............................................. 58 4.2. Trapped in dark places................... 60 4.3. Revelation.............................................. 62 4.4. Review 1.0...............................................64 4.5. The block................................................65 4.6. An intuitive approach....................... 66 4.7. The intermediary layer.................... 68

5. STORYBOARDS 3. CREATING CONCEPTS

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3.1. Brainstorm........................................ 42 3.2. Sketching......................................... 46

5.1. The maze 1.0.......................................... 76 5.2. The maze 2.0....................................... 88 5.3. Review 2.0............................................. 96

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5.4. The woods.............................................................. 98 5.5. Review 3.0............................................................... 108 5.6. Selecting the soundtrack 2.0....................... 109 5.7. Motion test 1.0........................................................ 110 5.8. The maze 3.0......................................................... 112 5.9. The cross................................................................. 122 5.10. Motion test 2.0.....................................................126

6. PRODUCTION

6.1. Animatics.................................................................... 132

6.2. Asset development and Motion design...134

6.2.1. The tree branches.............................. 136

6.2.2. The cross............................................... 138

6.2.3. The maze............................................... 140

6.2.4. The titles................................................. 142

6.3. Lighting...................................................................... 144

6.4. Sound design......................................................... 146

6.5. The title sequence............................................... 148

7. TESTING

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8. REFLECTION

8.1. Pitfalls................................... 157 8.2. Learnings..........................158 8.3. Conclusion...................... 159

9. IMAGE CREDITS

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10. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

“

SYMBOLIZE AND

SUMMARIZE -SAUL BASS

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”

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1. INTRODUCTION

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

1.1 ABOUT TITLE SEQUENCES Scattering and settling in a huge dark room, seated facing forward, you let your minds hang in mid-air for the first few minutes waiting for it to be hooked and then pulled towards the screen which you’re going to spend two hours looking at. The thing that does this deed is the title sequence, your first contact in the two hour movie. The title sequence sets the tone. It gives a sense of the pacing and genre of the movie, engaging and exciting the audience by creating an emotional response, forshadowing without giving away too much and most of all build anticipation all while doing the function of providing cast & crew names and details.

In order to get acclimated to what title sequences are?

How it works? What impact it can have? and its evolution over the years it is suggested that the reader go through the works of Saul Bass, Richard Greenberg, Kyle Cooper and Danny Yount (their selected works have been mentioned beside their portraits). They have created

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seminal works in the field of title sequences spanning from the 1950s to present day. This viewing would serve as a primer and provide context to analyse & understand this project.

In the past decade with the boom of online consumption and OTT platforms providing the experience of watching movies and TV shows at home there has been a subsequent increase in the content created i.e. more movies & TV shows. This essentially caused an increase in number of title sequences created and the need for it to be done well. Present day there are several high profile studios setup mainly for the creation of title sequences.

Thus making this educational exercise of creating a title sequence and the learning obtained in the process a valuable one. This document contains the process followed by me, the author to create a title sequence for the feature film : Prisoners [Dir. Denis Villeneuve, 2013]

NORTH BY NORTHWEST WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

KYLE COOPER

(fig 3.1)

(fig 3.3)

RICHARD GREENBERG

PHYSCO

ALIEN DEAD ZONE SUPERMAN

(fig 3.2)

SE7EN DONNIE BRASCO ISLAND OF DR.MOREAU

DANNY YOUNT

SAUL BASS

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IRON MAN SIX FEET UNDER KISS KISS BANG BANG

(fig 3.4) 17

ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

It is strongly suggested that a viewing of the title sequence and then the film be done, in that order, by the reader prior to reading the rest of the document, as it would serve as a test of the sequence and making the reading meaningful.

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

1.2 ABOUT PRISONERS The premise of the film is as follows:

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(fig 4.1) Prisoners poster

When his 6 year old daughter and her friend is abducted, it leaves the father and his family terrified.

The search for them leads to one prime suspect, who due to lack of evidence is let go by the police.

This pushes the father from being a bystander to take matters into his own hands. While the assigned detective tries to make sense of his findings, the father has to employ questionable methods to find his daughter.

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The premise pretty much sums up the fact that the film can be easily categorized under the suspense thriller genre, but this cannot be treated as a box which holds the film’s content. The film navigates through many states of mind from fear, introspection, frustration, grief and more. Shaded with a bleak coldness and a sharp sense of reality, in a brooding wet atmosphere we see the film follow a linear narrative but enter into arguments of morality and faith at every turn. A ghostly presence of religion made visible through symbols and at times dialogue, lingers throughout the film. It gives depth to the above mentioned arguments in a very peculiar way. The film makes for a cinematic experience rooted in reality.

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

1.3 PROJECT BRIEF Create an opening title sequence for the feature film : Prisoners (2013 dir. by Denis Villeneuve).

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

1.4 TIMELINE

Research Conceptualization Storyboarding Asset Development Motion Design Sound Design Final Cut Document

JULY

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AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

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Pre-Production

Production & Post production

Documentation

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

1.5 DESIGN PROCESS GATHERING INPUTS/RESEARCH

BRIEF

CONCEPTUALIZATION

•

Watching the film

•

Brainstorming

•

Deriving storylines

•

Watching the interviews

•

Sketching

•

Storyboarding

•

Studying title sequences

•

Collecting ref. material

•

Motion tests

PRE - PRODUCTION FINAL CONCEPT EXECUTION

TITLE SEQUENCE

•

Animatics

•

Sound design

•

Asset development

•

Final cut

•

Motion design

PRODUCTION & POST PRODUCTION 26

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2. UNDERSTANDING THE SOURCE MATERIAL

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

2.1 WATCHING THE FILM The source material being a film the first step was to view the film. The film had been viewed two times prior to this project, but now it was being viewed with the intent of making a title sequence.

Notes were taken during the film which covered several topics mainly including the plot points, production design elements, colour palette, sound design elements & the style and treatment of the film. Key moments in the film were also noted down as it could provide strong visual elements or actions that could be included in the title sequence.

Another important measure was to take screenshots of parts of the film which could later on provide information regarding colour, composition & other details. This started off with the intention to do exactly as mentioned

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above but as the film proceeded screenshots of almost all shots in a scene were being taken. At the time it seemed unnecessary but later it helped immensely in recollecting details from the film .It gave a quick run through of the whole film within minutes. This set of screenshots was extensively used throughout the process.

The film has been viewed several times during the extent of the project. At times done to obtain more information regarding specific aspects. An example would be viewing the film for getting a better understanding about the sound design.

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2.2 WATCHING THE INTERVIEWS Understanding the film also meant understanding the vision behind it. This information was accessible mainly through interviews. The director and the cast were mainly featured in these interviews. The questions of what the director’s vision was and what went into making it are answered in these interviews. They also gave glimpses into details regarding characters and events which are not explicitly shown in the film, such as details about a character’s backstory, reason why a character acts a certain way and reasons behind a particular detail in the film. Notes of this information were taken which provided insights during conceptualization. Several interviews were viewed, majority of it were in video format and a few were written articles.

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

2.3 STUDYING TITLE SEQUENCES Examples of title sequences and their corresponding movies where viewed. It was a process of familiarising myself with title sequences, a way of broadening the understanding of it. From this several inputs regarding its creation and working in both films and TV shows, were acquired. For this process several online resources were accessed, major ones being:

Few of the sequences viewed had a personal impact and at the same time a resonance with the project. These were: • Alien (1979, Dir. Ridley Scott) • Dead Zone (1983, Dir. David Cronenberg)

1. Art of the title is a website dedicated to the art and • The man with the golden arm celebration of title sequences. It contains a huge array of (1955, Dir. Otto Perminger) title sequences and selected works are accompanied with interviews of its creators and their process of making A few simple yet important technical details observed the sequence. were: 2. Watch the titles is also website with content same as the one mentioned above.

3. Movie Titles is a youtube channel which has a big collection of title sequences in the best quality readily available for viewing.

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• The order in which the titles appeared were more or less the same in all the sequences.

• Each title was displayed for an average time of 3 seconds.

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

2.4 CASE STUDIES ALIEN The crew of a spacecraft, Nostromo, intercept a distress signal from a planet and set out to investigate it. However, to their horror, they are attacked by an alien which later invades their ship.

(fig 5.1) Alien poster

Released in 1979,directed by Ridley Scott, Alien still holds up as one of the classic films in the sci-fi/horror genre and is a pioneer of it. The title sequence was designed by Richard Greenberg from R/Greenberg Associates and is iconic in its status. A personal examination of why it’s working well was done.

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(fig 5.2) Title sequence frames

• The slow pace and ominous music/sounds slowly grabs the viewer and drags them into a dark tense state, ready to experience the movie

• The titles in its formation at a point gives away that it’s going to read ‘Alien’ but the inevitability of it slow completion makes it come off as an unstoppable force.

• The font used for the titles is Helvetica Black, being neutral in its presence it embodies the cold nothingness of space.

• The whole sequence also sets up the planet as something dangerous, the sound even feels like it’s coming from the planet, in a way acting as a prologue for the film.

• The formation of the titles, which is an iconic characteristic of this sequence, itself builds up a level of tension that is only lifted higher in the movie.

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

THE DEAD ZONE

The film is based on a novel by Stephen King and is directed by David Cronenberg, released in 1983. It walks the thin line between psychological thriller and horror.

The sequence for this film was also designed by Richard Greenberg and is him at his best.

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(fig 5.3) The Dead Zone poster

When Johnny Smith awakens from a coma caused by a car accident, he finds that years have passed, and he now has psychic abilities. Heartbroken that his girlfriend has moved on with her life, Johnny also must contend with his unsettling powers, which allow him to see a person’s future with a mere touch. After shaking the hand of aspiring politician Greg Stillson, Johnny sees the danger presented by the candidate’s rise and resolves to kill him.

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(fig 5.4) Title sequence frames

• The music marries the sequence so well it right away slips the audience into the cloudy & eerie space of the movie

• Similar to the alien’s sequence the inevitability card is played off great to create the apprehension present throughout the movie.

• A visual pun is pulled off neatly, the words ‘Dead Zone’ is created by actual dead zones in the visual (blacked out spaces) which gives it the flair of becoming a rememberable sequence.

• The typographic prowess of Richard Greenberg is very much evident in this as he uses basic forms to create the eerie, disjointed appearance which slowly builds itself like a puzzle into the title.

• Cross dissolve and zoom out being one of the most basic techniques in filmmaking their right use gives the sequence its simplicity and timeless quality.

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM

The film directed by Otto Preminger, based on a novel

by Nelson Algren, dealt with a subject considered taboo at the time of its release, 1955. Depicting the lifestyle of a man struggling with drug abuse and caught in a web of gambling and past trauma, this film was one of the pioneers in its use of a title sequence for groundbreaking effect. The title sequence was designed by Saul Bass and is part of his seminal work in the area.

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(fig 5.5) The man with the golden m poster

When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up.

Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer, small-time con man Schwiefka, and Frankie’s old drug dealer, Louis, re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

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(fig 5.6) Title sequence frames

• The graphic language of the sequence consisting of disjointed elements resonates with the fragmented life of the protagonist.

• The jagged hand at the end ties up the whole sequence in its messaging of the subject of the film and its connection to the poster.

• Jazz music used in the sequence further contributes to the nuanced feel of the film.

• The treatment of the sequence sets up the intrigue in a very welcoming manner as it doesn’t show the horrors of drug abuse but teases it ever so slightly with its semiabstract depiction.

• The black and white colour scheme heightens the intensity, capturing the mood of the film.

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3. CREATING CONCEPTS

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

3.1 BRAINSTORM The first step in the process was to do a brainstorm right after watching the film, as it was necessary to kick-start the thinking process. Putting things down on paper broke the barrier of the blank sheet.

The second brainstorm was done after watching the interviews of the artists in the film. Each interview had a new word or phrase used to describe the film or a specific part of the film which were included in several sheets.

All the sheets together formed a large brainstorm which provided a whole idea of the movie.

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(fig 6.1.1) Brainstorm sheets

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

(fig 6.1.2) Brainstorm sheets

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(fig 6.1.3) Brainstorm sheets (with points from the Interviews)

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

3.2 SKETCHING As the brainstorm was being done ideas that came to mind had also been sketched out. These sketch’s presence helped in keeping up the momentum and get into a state of thinking visually. Then on several sketches were done describing ideas for transitions, camera angles etc.

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(fig 7.1.1 ) Sketches

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

(fig 7.1 .2) Sketches

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(fig 7.1 .3) Sketches 49

ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

3.3 DERIVING STORYLINES A simple crisp storyline was to be extracted from the film.

A storyline that would contain a striking theme that ran through the film. This would serve as the backbone of a concept. The major storylines derived from the film were: 1. Becoming a prisoner of circumstance 2. Searching in the dark

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3.4 COLLECTING REFERENCE MATERIAL The act of searching and collecting reference material initiated the process of art direction, providing a pool of visuals and sounds. This mainly consisted photographs, title sequences & music. Hence a mood board was made which represented the mood in a broader sense. Further on in the project it would provide elements and details which could be narrowed down towards as per requirement.

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

8.2

8.3

8.1

8.7

8.6 52

8.5

8.4

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8.9

8.14

8.10

8.15

8.8

(fig 8.1 - 8.15)A glimpse of the kind of material acquired.

8.13

8.12

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

3.5 SELECTING THE SOUNDTRACK 1.0 The selection of the soundtrack had been started off right from the beginning. The two directions at the time was to either use the soundtrack of the film or a track by a third party. After going through material belonging to both these categories, a few that fit the requirement were shortlisted. But the most probable direction was using the film’s score as it was tailored for the film and captured the mood perfectly. The score also inspired visuals which added to the process of making concepts.

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4. CONCEPTS

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

4.1 THE SUBURB The unforgiving climate and the numb surroundings of the suburb is played well to reflect the mental state of the characters, while the surroundings itself feed their emotions.

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The sequence would contain shots establishing the suburb’s depressive cold climate and numb like surroundings acting as the background to each title being displayed.

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(fig 9.1) Rough storyboard exploration

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

4.2 TRAPPED IN DARK PLACES When a character is at his/her most vulnerable, the shot is set as a frame in a frame, evoking a feeling of being trapped.

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The titles would be set in a frame such as that and revealed using a light panning over the scene to convey an abstract idea of being a ‘prisoner of circumstance’.

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(fig 10.1) ‘Trapped’ like frames

(fig 10.2) Rough storyboard exploaration 61

ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

4.3 REVELATION For achieving more clarity in the current concept a method taught in an identity design module was employed. This was to assign primary and secondary attributes to flesh out the vision. After a doing a short brainstorm the attributes assigne d were:

All the major clues in the film are revealed by a light source in dim lit settings and made sense of, as the story proceeds. Trees bear witness to the events unfolding in the film and are visible throughout, being somewhat ominous in their presence.

- Primary attribute: Foreboding

- Secondary attribute: Contemplative

The sequence would be a combination of these elements.

The titles will be revealed by light in a dark environment with a tree bearing witness, having a foreboding presence with a sense of contemplation as the undertone.

This led to the formation of the ‘Revelation’ concept.

The sequence would create an air of apprehension while grounding the audience to the serious nature of the film.

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(fig 11.1) Clues revealed in dark settings & Trees present as witness

(fig 11.2) Rough storyboard exploration 63

ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

4.4 REVIEW 1.0 Both personally and by the guide a review of these concepts were done. The summation of which was that these concepts provided a good direction in terms of visual treatment and was leading towards a place of clarity. But they lacked depth in terms of how it dealt with creating the mood. Also, they had redundancies which would stifle the process of creating a whole sequence out of it. Hence the conclusion was, new concepts need to be made.

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4.5 THE BLOCK Now a point had been reached where no new ideas were being generated. It was a block of sorts. This had caused a break in continuity and a 2 week hiatus. 2 weeks in which no remarkable amount of work was being done, a clear deterioration in pace had happened.

The co-guide was approached and a discussion took place regarding this wherein the final decision was to adopt a more intuitive approach.

The recommendation was to go back to pencil and paper and make the first draft of a complete storyboard and its consequent drafts, as he had explained, in the project the storyboard is the concept. The creative direction received was to create a storyboard that taps into the intermediary layer of the film, the layer in-between the text and subtext of the film which hadn’t been explored much in earlier concepts.

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

4.6 AN INTUITIVE APPROACH An approach in which instincts were at forefront in guiding you and logical/technical reasoning took a backseat.

Effectively it removed the tight constraints that the predominantly technical approach followed previously had planted, and it felt like a breath of fresh air. Opening up a much vaster area to play around and create new concepts.

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• Brainstorm • Sketching • Deriving storyline

Concept

Storyboarding

Go forward

(fig a) Earlier approach (predominantly technical)

• Brainstorm • Sketching • Deriving storyline

Internalise Inputs Storyboarding

Concept

Refine Storyboard

Go forward

(fig b) Newly adopted intuitive approach

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

4.7 INTERMEDIARY LAYER The text i.e. the surface level information provided is that of the daughters being abducted and consequent series of events. The subtext, the underlying themes and emotional conflicts discussed point at the state of being prisoner of a situation, how your beliefs and emotions make you so and how religion ties into all this.

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The film oscillates between both, in scenes where a lot of physical action happens the text becomes prominent while in scenes where deep reflection and decision making happens the sub text comes forward, both of these states are very well balanced, hence for the most part it leaves the audience in between these both, the intermediary layer.

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5. STORYBOARDS

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

The process of making the storyboard started off by sketching i.e. using pen & paper. Now these sketches were fragments, not following a definite structure, they formed parts of a storyboard, ideas for shots & transitions.

But within two days’ time a structure emerged. A structure within which these fragments could be placed/linked together to form a storyboard. Filling the gaps, refinement of the shots, addition & subtraction of elements were all done on the fly. The first storyboard took more time than anticipated but as one was over things picked up pace and subsequent storyboards were made.

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(fig 12.1.1) Storyboard sketches

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(fig 12.1.2) Storyboard sketches

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(fig 12.1.3) Storyboard sketches

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5.1 THE MAZE 1.0 The titles try to escape from a structure that is enclosing it and gradually growing around it to become a maze. These visuals are overlaid on top of visuals depicting a search happening in the woods at night. Starting from heavy rain and transitioning into snow, progressing towards the snow covering the whole screen and fading out to reveal the film’s name.

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sfx : Heavy rain (fade in)

sfx : Loud thudding sound [Cut to above shot]

The torch hits the screen

Music starts

A torch is panning through the woods, making the trees visible.

The torch light slowly wipes off the screen to reveal a title

Two semi circular elements (graphic elements) enter the screen from the sides.

Title : Warner Bros. presents

They converge towards the centre.

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They join at the centre forming a circle, trapping the title within it.

The title starts to track outwards

They track till the edge of the circle resembling an attempt to escape.

The title fades off

The light wipes off again to reveal another title

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The torch light pans agian to reveal another shot of the woods

Title : An Alcon Enterantainment presentation

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The circle grows and other elements fade in

Title : Hugh Jackman

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Title : Jake Gyllenhaal

Title : Viola Davis, Terrence Howard

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Title : Maria Bello, Melissa Leo

The snow gradually increases

Snow particles enter the shot

Title : Paul Dano

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Title : Dylan Minette, Zoe Soul

Title : Casting - Kerry Barden, Paul Schee

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Title : Music - Johan Johannson

Title : Costume Designer Renee April

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Title : Editors - Joel Cox, Gary D. Roach

Title : Production Designer Patrice Vermette

Title : Director of Photography - Roger Deakins

Title : Producers - Broderick Johnson, Kira Davis

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Title : Executive ProducersMark Wahlberg, Stephen Levenson

Title : Screenplay Aaron Guzikowski

Title : Director - Denis Villeneuve

The snow completely covers the screen

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The white screen fades out to reveal the film’s title.

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5.2 THE MAZE 2.0 A flashlight pans over the woods, rainy dark atmosphere, revealing a title which tracks out and disappears. The next pan reveals a ring around the title which constricts the title’s tracking within it, each pan reveals a ring and a title while illuminating different parts of the woods, the background alternating between darkness and the woods. These rings progressively becomes recognizable as a maze which completely traps the titles within it.

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Sfx : Heavy rain (fades in)

Title (fades in) : Warner Bros. presents

The title tracks outward the screen and fades out

The torch beam revolves to show more of the woods.

A torch beam pans to reveal the woods, while its raining.

Title : An Alcon Entertainment presentation

Title : Hugh Jackman

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The torch pans this time to reveal a blacked out circular (graphic) element

The title tracks out but is constricted within the circle.

Title : Jake Gyllenhaal

Title : Viola Davis, Terrence Howard, Maria Bello

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The torch reveals another concentric circular element, constricting the titles further

Title : Melissa Leo, Paul Dano

Title : Casting - Kerry Barden, Paul Schnee

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Title : Music - Johan Johannson

Title : Editors - Joel Cox, Gary D. Roach

Title : Production Designer Patrice Vermette

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Title : Director of photography Roger Deakins

Title : Producers Broderick Johnson, Kira Davis

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Title : Executive Producers Mark Wahlber, Stephen Levenson

Title : Screenplay - Aaron Guzikowski

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Title : Director - Denis Villeneuve

The graphic elements comes together to form an unsolvable maze, completely choking the titles within it.

Sfx : Loud thudding sound The film title appears on screen.

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5.3 REVIEW 2.0 Both storyboards were presented and a discussion was conducted. The review was that both of these had a strong link to the film with its use of the maze but it lacked variety in terms of transitions. The second storyboard had the revelation of the maze as its strong point but the circular form itself didn’t quite encompass the feeling that was intended.

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The recommended idea was to have a good transition every 30 second in a way that each transition is better than the one before with the last one being the best.

Essentially the title would need 3 transitions in a 30-30-30 second rhythm.

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5.4 THE WOODS A man is walking through the woods, searching. His flashlight reveals the titles. Gradually the environment around him changes from trees to walls. As he examines these walls he is shown from above, a light in pitch black.

The camera pulls back moving further away from him, to reveal a maze in which he is trapped.

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Sfx : Heavy rain

Sfx : Thudding sound A flashlight is turned on

(The flashlight is held by a person)

Only the area lit by the flashlight is visiible

The light reaveals parts of the woods and the titles.

Title : Warner Bros. presents

He walks forwards into the woods using his flashlight to light up the surroundings 99

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Title : An Alcon Entertainment presentation

Title : Hugh Jackman

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Title : Jake Gyllenhaal

Title : Viola Davis, Terrence Howard

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Title : Melissa Leo, Maria Bello

The flashlight points downward to the ground

The guy keeps on walking , running the torch over the ground to reveal the titles 102

Title : Paul Dano

[Cut to : Shot from behind]

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Title : Zoe Soul, Dylan Minette

Title : Casting - Kerry Barden, Paul Schnee

Title : Music - Johan Johannson

Title : Costume Designer Renee April

Title : Editors - Joel Cox, Gary D. Roach

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He moves further into the woods

[Cut to : Above shot} The torch reveals a wall.

A title is displayed on the wall

Title : Production Designer Patrice Vermette

[Cut to : Shot from behind] Title : Director of photography Roger Deakins

[Cut to : Top shot]

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His torch shows that he is trapped within a room like structure

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Title : Producers Broderick Johnson, Kira Davis

Title : Screenplay - Aaron Guzikowski

Title : Director - Denis Villeneuve

Title : Executive Producers Mark Wahlber, Stephen Levenson

A maze (graphic element)slowly fades in around the room.

The camera slowly pulls out

Letters fade in around the circular maze.

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All the ketters fade in to read the film’s title ‘Prisoners’

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5.5 REVIEW 3.0 The latest storyboard fit the necessary requirement of having the required transitions and also the suspenseful eerie atmosphere which was aimed for, without giving away too much about the film. The next step was to conduct a motion test which would let know if the motion in mind is achievable and works well.

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5.6 SELECTING THE SOUNDTRACK 2.0 After making the first storyboard, another viewing of the film took place. Earlier on, the use of Christian symbolism in the film through both visuals and sounds had come into notice. But during this viewing came the realization that the most intense instance of this was a prayer, ‘The lord’s prayer’ to be specific, which the protagonist sang during crucial moments in the story. From there came the idea of incorporating this prayer into the sequence. Firstly

the movie version of this prayer was listened to again but it didn’t quite fit the requirement as per the sequence.

So the search for the right rendition (of the prayer) had begun and these were mostly by musicians. After going through several of these an apt version was found. This was Johnny Cash’s rendition of ‘The Lord’s Prayer’.

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5.7 MOTION TEST 1.0 Prior to the test a rough idea for the treatment was derived as it would decide the tools and the manner in which they would be used. The main direction was to use 3D visuals which were close to realistic.

In order to achieve these visuals, knowledge in 3D animation, a 3D animation software and its technical know-how was required. These were acquired through resources online which are dedicated to this purpose.

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But while learning and doing the required, the realization came that this wasn’t possible with the hardware currently at hand, it required high end hardware and also a large amount of time which could go beyond the project’s timeline. After giving it some thought it was decided that a new storyboard needs to be made and also a new treatment which was closer to 2D and achievable with current equipment.

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13.1

13.2

13.3

13.4

13.5

13.6

13.7

13.8

13.9

(fig 13.1 - 13.9) Reference images acquired to get an idea for the visual treatment

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5.8 THE MAZE 3.0 This storyboard was more abstract in its telling. The tree motif was integrated with the process of the formation of a structure around each title giving a sense of being closed in on. It showed the formation of fragments which at the end is formed completely to be a maze.

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A soft blue light fills the screen

The titles falls into place like a puzzle completing itself

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‘The Lord’s prayer’ by Johnny Cash with radio effect fades in

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A light slowly reveals the section of a tree

The light pans to reveal a title

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Lights from all sides converge in the middle

They combine to form an obscure structure within which the titles are conjusted.

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The black elements on the sides move towards the centre.

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Sfx : Loud thuddding sound [Cut to : Completely blue screen]

The titles fade in.

The camera slowly zooms out.

black structures emerges from the corners and moves towards the centre.

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The pieces combine to completely trap the titles within it.

The camers zooms out further to reveal a circular maze.

The camera zooms out even further to reaveal letters.

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It completely zooms out to reveal the title of the film

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5.9 THE CROSS The storyboard presents the transformation of a cross into a trap combined with the insinuating growth of trees, the whole atmosphere reflecting on how faith can hold you its prisoner. (The storyboard was conceived as such and elements were added later on in the production process)

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‘The Lord’s prayer’ by Johnny Cash starts

Thorn like structures grows into the frame

They form completely to resemble tree branches

A cross slowly forms in the middle

Tree branches grow accompaniyng the apperance of a title.

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The cross splits.

The vertical structure splits in the middle and lands on either sides.

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They land on either ends.

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The cross elements merge to become a box trapping the film title in it.

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5.10 MOTION TEST 2.0 The Cross storyboard was selected as the final storyboard as it did more than convey the feeling, it had a visual metaphor which gave a hint about the film’s subtext.

There were two clear directions in terms of treatment at this point which was either a completely 2D aesthetic or something in between 2D & 3D. After going through references and examining the technical requirements i.e. the necessary equipment & expertise and the time required, a decision was made.

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14.3

14.1

14.2

(fig 14.1-14.5) Reference images acquired to get an idea for the visual treatment

14.5

14.4

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Style frames were made based on these images and this was opted as final treatment as it had a simplicity to it which reflected the films sombre style. It was neither completely 2D nor 3D and contained a textured appearance. The forms and music together suggested a moody yet tense atmosphere.

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(fig 15.1) Style frames created from the reference images

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PRODUCTION

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6.1 ANIMATICS Frames were created using the storyboard and then set to time to create the animatic. This gave a sense of the timing and an idea of how the whole thing would visually play out. At this stage the flaws in the sequence were also identified and necessary changes were made in later stages of production.

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(fig 16.1) Lo-fi frames created for animatics

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6.2 ASSET DEVELOPMENT & MOTION DESIGN The assets required for the animation can be broken down into these elements: • The Cross & its pieces • The tree branches • The maze elements • The titles

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These were developed & animated in two stages 1. As a vector counterpart.

2. Its 2.5D

It was essential that the material assigned to the elements be ambiguous in nature while the form give a clearer idea of what it is, to be a sort of calling card for the ambiguity present in the film.

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6.2.1 THE TREE BRANCHES ASSET DEVELOPMENT The form of the tree branches was manipulated to make it look closer to a thorn than an ordinary tree and the material and form came together to give it a sort of cold & sharp appearance.

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MOTION DESIGN The trees as it does in the film, doesn’t completely reveal if it’s symbolically closer to the qualities of the protagonist or the antagonist, residing in between. Their growth in each shot is insinuating, trying to reach out towards the titles and it disappears in a ghostly fashion.

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(fig 17.1 )Vector frame and its 2.5D counterpart

(fig 17.2 )Motion of the tree branches

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6.2.2 THE CROSS ASSET DEVELOPMENT The cross’s form is bold and blunt and is designed so to be intimidating in its presence & interaction with other elements. It is at the forefront of the whole sequence. The material it had is close to that of a plastered wall surface but it cannot be pin pointed as such while viewing.

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MOTION DESIGN The cross and its elements are animated to have two natures one being organic and the being more emotionless or numb. Organic in its growth & how it divides and numb in its movement.

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(fig 18.1 )Vector frame and its 2.5D counterpart

(fig 18.2 )Motion of the cross

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6.2.3 THE MAZE ASSET DEVELOPMENT The maze elements were given the same material as the cross to visually establish a possible connection between the both right from the start.

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MOTION DESIGN The maze is presented as blunt and immovable in nature, fading in and out in a solemn fashion slowly growing around the trees and restricting them, acting like an unstoppable force overpowering the tree branches.

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(fig 19.1 )Vector frame and its 2.5D counterpart

(fig 19.2 ) Motion of the maze

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6.2.4 THE TITLES ASSET DEVELOPMENT In the case of the title an added attribute was its font.

Several fonts were tried and a sans serif font – ‘ Pavanam regular’ was finalised, as it best characterized the cold numbness that was required. As in the case of material the titles represented the look of something precious, coming close to a metal like lustre while not being ‘shiny’.

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MOTION DESIGN The titles essentially reveals themselves from the darkness (i.e. the black background) presents itself and fades out, centrally aligned throughout, always congested between the cross’s pieces and finally gets completely trapped.

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(fig 20.1 )Vector frame and its 2.5D counterpart

(fig 20.2 ) Motion of the maze

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6.3 LIGHTING The sequence is lit in a way that it resonates with the claustrophobic and underexposed scenes in the film which tends to be the most intense ones. The lights were set up to behave like a torch, lighting up an object in the dark, rendering the overall sequence as happening in the dark.

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(fig 21.1) Shots depicting the lighting

(fig 21.2) Title sequence frames 145

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6.4 SOUND DESIGN The sound was designed to contain a short narrative in itself. A combination of two pieces of music made up the soundtrack. One was ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ by Johnny Cash and the other was the track ‘Escape’ from the film’s score. The sequence begins with the prayer which accompanies the formation of the cross and is slowly drowned by the film’s ominous score throughout the transformation of the cross. The prayer track has a mono channel while the score has a 5.1 surround sound channel.

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Without getting too technical, breaking it down experience wise (i.e. headphone listening experience) this means that the prayer’s sound would seem as if it’s present right between your ears while the film score’s sound comes from an external source which surrounds you. This technical detail was added to increase the impact of the narrative audiowise.

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6.5 THE TITLE SEQUENCE The sequence consists of two running narratives, one being the transformation of the cross into a prison and the other is that of the formation of the maze around the trees stopping it from growing, completely containing them within. At the end both meet to form an unsolvable maze, being a metaphor for the theme discussed in the film, while the trees act as a sort of indicator of growing tension and is foreboding in its presence.

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The soundtrack starts off with a Christian prayer, a rendition of ‘The lord’s prayer’, and as it progresses the film’s score slowly creeps in, completely swallowing the prayer, ending the sequence in an ominous note, tying the whole sequence together. Thus completing doing the act of symbolizing & summarising the film.

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(fig 22.1) Title sequence frames 149

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7. TESTING

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Testing is a critical part of the process as it validates the sequence’s working. In real life scenarios filmmakers tests their film by having a test screening with a selected audience and the audience gives their feedback regarding several aspects of it after which necessary changes are made to the film.

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In the case of this project the testing was conducted remotely and only my peers were involved in the process due to current scenario of covid. The test consisted of two stages, one in which they viewed the title sequence and their immediate responses were recorded, in the next stage they viewed the film and then filled out a form in which they quantitatively rated the title sequence on how it portrayed the ambience, genre, pacing and thematic input it gave about the film.

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(fig 23.1) Responses from 16 participants were recorded.

The average score has been calculated and represented in this graph

10 9

8.5

8.3

8.3

8.2

GENRE

PACING

THEMATIC INPUT

8

SCALE

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

AMBIENCE

PARAMETERS

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8. REFLECTION

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Reflecting on what has happened in the course of this project, mistakes made, constraints faced and learning gained, this section is divided into three : Pitfalls, Learning outcomes & Conclusion.

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8.1 PITFALLS • During the first half of the project a predominantly technical approach was implemented which hindered progress which was solved by changing the approach into a more intuitive one.

• Creating a solid concept and its storyboard took a huge chunk of time, which reduced the amount of time available for the production process.

• The equipment in hand caused limitations in terms of what was possible visually, a time crunch & technical breakdowns in-between.

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8.2 LEARNING OUTCOMES • Questions such as how does a title sequence work?

What impact can it have? And how has it evolved over the years? were all answered in the course of doing the project, providing context and insights.

• Technical knowledge was acquired which includes learning software skills, technical jargon & other concepts. A critical understanding of what software & technique is required to create a particular effect was gained.

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• Learning (the basics of) motion design was vital to the project and it was learnt and applied to create the final product.

• Above all the experience and knowledge of conducting a project with real life constraints of time and budget was very rewarding as it gave inputs that could help in conducting future ones.

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8.3 CONCLUSION 3 minutes has gone by since the film started, now you know who the production companies, the cast, the director and other artists involved are. But more than that you know the feeling, the feeling that’ll persist for the next two hours. Easing you into suspending your disbelief, a critical job has been done.

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9. IMAGE CREDITS

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Fig 1.1 - https://www.nidh.ac.in/institute

Fig 5.4 - https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-deadzone/

Fig 2.1 - https://www.nidh.ac.in/communication-design Fig 3.1 - https://www.cafilm.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/06/saul-bass.jpg Fig 3.2 - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0338572/ mediaviewer/rm1700413696/ Fig 3.3 - http://hurtwoodmedia15tesnimbukie.blogspot. com/2015/10/brief-biography-of-kyle-cooper.html

Fig 5.5 - https://www.imdb.com/event/ ev0000003/1956/1/ Fig 5.6 - https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-manwith-the-golden-arm/ Fig 8.1 - https://in.pinterest.com/ pin/442900944589849755/ Fig 8.2 - http://www.billschwab.com/detroit_2016/

Fig 3.4 - https://www.artofthetitle.com/designer/dannyyount/

Fig 8.3 - https://poembook.ru/poem/1805115-zhdu

Fig 4.1 - http://www.kinofilms.ua/movie/32985/ posters/?photo=315887

Fig 8.4 - https://www.pinterest.ca/ pin/8444318037902619/

Fig 5.1 - https://minnowtv.com/blog/a-brief-history-ofmovie-posters-and-fan-art Fig 5.2 - https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/alien/

Fig 8.5 - https://lewebpedagogique.com/ penhouet/2019/03/13/neige-evaluation/

Fig 5.3 - https://medium.com/as-vast-as-space-and-astimeless-as-infinity/movie-review-the-dead-zone-1983eae2729d39a1 162

Fig 8.6 - https://wilwheaton.tumblr.com/ post/59335653752/ckck-colonne-morris-dans-lebrouillard-paris

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Fig 8.7 - https://www.thephotoargus.com/35-awesomeexamples-of-night-photography/ Fig 8.8 - https://sarahceramics.wordpress. com/2014/02/08/photography-black-white-andbeautiful/

Fig 13.1 - https://elastic.tv/project/lore/ Fig 13.2 - https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/ control-2019/ Fig 13.3 - https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/ control-2019/

Fig 8.9 - http://www.billschwab.com/detroit_2016/ Fig 13.4 - https://elastic.tv/project/lore/ Fig 8.10 - http://www.billschwab.com/detroit_2016-2/ Fig 8.11 – Acquired from the graphic novel ‘Arkham Asylum - A Serious House on Serious Earth (1989)’ Fig 8.12 – Acquired from the film ‘Prisoners (2013)’

Fig 13.5 - https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/ control-2019/ Fig 13.6 – https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-walkingdead-season-9/

Fig 8.13 - http://www.billschwab.com/detroit_2016/ Fig 13.7 - https://elastic.tv/project/lore/ Fig 8.14 - https://www.csoonline.com/article/2934872/ windows-10-will-allow-apps-to-actively-scan-theircontent-for-malware.html

Fig 13.8 – https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/ control-2019/

Fig 8.15 - Acquired from the film ‘Prisoners (2013)’

Fig 13.9 - https://elastic.tv/project/the-terror/

Fig 10.1 - Acquired from the film ‘Prisoners (2013)’

Fig 14.1 - https://www.researchgate.net/figure/GeorgesSeurat-Aman-Jean-Portrait-of-Edmond-Francois-AmanJean-1882-83-Conte-crayon_fig51_313181627

Fig 11.1 - Acquired from the film ‘Prisoners (2013)’

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Fig 14.2 - https://tlarremore.wordpress.com/2015/11/21/ rinse-and-repeat-recycled-brain-salad-surgery/ Fig 14.3 - https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/spartacus/ Fig 14.4 - https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-manwith-the-golden-arm/ Fig 14.5 - https://medium.com/@amillet89/tahoe-200why-i-run-998f3bbfd074 Fig 21.1 - Acquired from the film ‘Prisoners (2013)’

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10. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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BOOKS

MOVIES

1. Bass, J., Kirkham, P. (2001) Saul Bass: A Life in Film & Design. London: Laurence KingPublishing Ltd.

4. Prisoners 2013, Denis Villeneuve (Director), Kira Davis & Broderick Johnson (Producers), Alcon Entertainment LLC, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

2. Braha, Y., Byrne, B. (2011) Creative Motion Graphic: Titling for Film, Video & the Web. Oxford: Elsevier Inc.

5. Alien 1979, Ridley Scott (Director), Gordon Caroll, David Giler, Walter Hill (Producers), 20th Century Studios Inc., Brandywine-Ronald Shusett production.

ARTICLES 3. https://medium.com/@georgepef/film-title-sequencesymbolize-and-summarize-saul-bass-19d74f434ef5

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6. The man with the golden arm 1955, Otto Perminger (Director & Producer), United Artists Corp.

ARAVINDAN P B . GRADUATION PROJECT 2020 . NIDH

MUSIC 7. Prisoners soundtrack by Johann Johannsonn 8. The lord’s prayer by Johnny Cash

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

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ARAVINDAN P B . GRADUATION PROJECT 2020 . NIDH

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ACROSS THE MAZE : TITLE SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM

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