Before the brief was set…
Dr Pete’s Lectures:
In Petes lectures we learn about the effects of typography and how they are used within title sequences to create messages. As well as adding to the aesthetics of the sequence they are symbolic of the theme.
History of title sequences
Movie:
I found a youtube video talking about the history of title sequences and their relevance throughout time…
G’s Lecture:
This lecture was all about research and finding examples of what we liked. It was interesting to look at previous title sequences and how the visuals matched the purpose, analysing the way symbolism creates tone and mood. These are the notes that I took on each sequence for reference to see what ways I can adapt my own piece in similar ways to the ones I liked.
Mini Challenge:
Stills are a key part of a project like this because it gives you a clear vision to what you want the outcome to be. It is a way of projecting what is in your head onto a screen so that when it comes to making the sequence you have a visual to guide you rather than getting lost whilst still giving you the freedom to experiment with new proccesses. I want to do this for mine because getting stuck and lost within my projects is something that has happened a lot and held me back.
This mini challenge was set by G with a rough outline of what the customer wants (as shown above in my notes section.) From this I took all of the elements and researched all the themes of each component and ways I could demonstrate this without being too obvious. For example when it describes a “detective feel” I thought of things like calculative and maths opposed to a magnifying glass. I tried to be as imaginative as possible to avoid cliche.
These are all my research points:
Visual Mood-board of inspiration points:
My final Still…
What I used and how it relates to the brief
- Cork Texture: Early 1900’s rustic look and Medicinal
- Orange curve: Peach colour
- Bottles: Medical Theme
- Vignette: Drak and uneasy feel
- Purple Ink: Violet and uneasy feel
I didn’t get round to finishing the text in the time frame given but this is what I was going to put in a detective like font. I did how add the spacing in the way I wanted to look. The kernings are important, I tried to include the irony of having large kernings in a word that would usually have small ones because they indicate speed and match the word rush. However I like the fact that it contradicts this because it gives the sense of their being something wrong.
3D Workshop in After Effects
Chris T taught us our first introduction to 3D Cameras in After Effects and working with 2 1/2D space.
We worked on a piece with Football players, each of the players 2D images having the camera zooming in and out from the players to create a sense of depth.
Channel 666:
Chris T is a lecturer that came in to teach us some work on after effects.He taught us a range of skills that could be helpful in creating a title sequence and how to work with them effectively on the software. these are all the notes I took in the workshop with him with and everything I want to remember and take away from it…
Screenshots of my work on this:
First things I did: How I made the main comp
- Overlaid an ice texture onto the hand footage
- Used displacement maps to allow the hand to react to the texture
- Vignette effect adds subtle darkness to the edges to make the screen appear smaller and confined adding to a horror like feel
- Also a slight effect on the writing so it appears eroded
- I made the kernings of the letters closer to create a claustrophobic feel and kept it in the colour of the hand to tie it all together. (Just off Black)
Colour correction:
- Used the Lumetri effect with the tool Look to create an instant colour grade.
- I also created my own colour grade used the colour wells and playing around with the contrasts trying not to crush the whites too much
- I decided that my original colour grade was much more effective as I was able to build up colour and tone more slowly to have a more subtle overall look
New comp for the 666 section:
- I used an Alpha matte on the raw footage of the 666 to be able to add contrast and take away the areas of grey
- I chose the blue channel on the RGB to bring out the most information in the grey areas
- I then duplicated them and staggered them so they come on one after another
Adding textures
- I used one of the texture files on the alpha matte to add something interest to the 666
- I bought up the colours and saturation to bring in a red colour to go with the red theme
I then added this comp into the main comp. I think that it was really effective to use two separate comps instead of building onto one as it separates the overall piece into more manageable sections that are tidy and are easier to edit individual parts.
Brief:
My notes on the brief and key points I need to remember…
^G’s little bit of inspiration
Mini Challenge:
G gave us another mini brief in this lecture looking at creating stills. This time we were asked to make a mid title sequence still for a Sci Fi movie using the colours Cyan and Green as focal colours. The piece could not include galactic imagery but still had to present a sense of scale with aspects of landscape to support this. These are the final stills I created…
I used a very simplistic text for this still because there is already a lot going on in the image that I wanted to writing to be strong but subtle. Having the small text before the name gives it a sense of hierarchy and I think all caps made much more of a statement. At first I decided to put the text on the side as it nicely aligned with the neck of the person however after moving in dead central I decided that this was much more effective. Having the small text there adds to the illusion of a sense of scale looking so small in comparison and it also levels out the shot.
I again created a mood board for reference photos to accompany my idea generation…
Idea Generation
I have struggled SO MUCH with this part of the project. Deciding what the hell I want to do is the bit that feels impossible. I asked a friend for help to which she said first pick whether you want to do a film or a tv series as the two are slightly different. Being a much bigger fan of series and being addicted to Netflix I decided that was the way to go. Then she asked what my favourite tv show was and to do that because I like it. Problem is my favourite tv show is friends and friends is unbelievably iconic and popular that it is not worth changing. Much like Seven or stranger things, the title sequence and the music is part of the show so I disposed of that idea pretty quick.
Not knowing what show I wanted to do at all, I did it totally the wrong way around and made a mind map of all the feelings and ideas I have for the type of piece I want to create looking at other title sequences I’ve seen…
Wanted to do something intense, moody and a dark vibe to it.
Title Sequences I like:
Spectre:
- 1:34 – 1:38 – Glass shattering involving sections of the live action from the actual film
- I like how it travels through the shards to reveal the faces amongst them
- It has constant themes running through it all shown in different aesthetics for example the smoke and the octopus
- Sense of maturity
- Grand scale suggests the drama and the genre of spy
- Everything stays in a dark shadowed lighting creating a sense of eeriness with sharp highlights on key objects to subtly outline the shape
- Appropriate audio adds to the intensity
Deadpool:
- Moving around the 3D Space
- Use of 3D Cameras around still images
- Constant colour theme of black and red – suggestive of the graphic content
- Angles are dramatic and overdone against a subtle music adding to the comedy within the piece also seen in the names that are given to the actors
- Slow mo over each feature builds up the picture more and more
- It’s a slow reveal drawing in the audience
The Walking Dead:
- Rustic feel with the colour grade
- Sense of distance with the use of blur putting the audience at an awkward angle to make them feel on edge
- Slight movements are subtle but effectively get you I’m the mood for a horror
- The slow pace of action vs the fast pace of the cuts is effective
- right close to far away is also a good juxtaposition
House M.D:
- Anatomy imagery gives sight to the doctor theme
- low light throughout for a dark tone
- Almost confusing approach as things overlay one another much like the human mind
- I like that it goes from really intense slow movements to really quick rushes through overland images as if to be travelling around the scene and going on a journey through the body
- None of the footage from the show except an image of house himself as to give nothing away
- Particle affect to fill the space and suggest movement of fluids
The examples that I have looked for tv series all range around the 30 second mark so I plan on keeping my sequence around that
Breaking Bad
I’ve settled on creating a title sequence for breaking bad as it is a series that I have recently watched and really enjoyed. When I heard the brief this is the type of series I had ideas for and it is the type of programme I want to watch so the prospect of making it excites me. The plot is still fresh in my memory and it has a very strong theme within the content. However the title sequence itself is quite bland and simplistic and I feel like with a show as loved as it is, this sequence could be much more inventive. There is a lot more that you could do than just the green. Theres are aspects I do like about it for example the chemical theme that lies underneath the whole thing and the way the type erodes. It foreshadows the way the series goes as Walter White’s (the main characters) life gets worse and worse. I also like that it isn’t too lengthy and over exaggerated. It is a tv series not a film so instead of just seeing this once you see it at the beginning of every single episode. Therefore you don’t want it to be boring or make the viewer wait too long to watch the show but instead just give them a taste of what they are going to see and build up the excitement.
What I want to keep from it
- Green or yellow or blue colour scheme
- Chemical symbols that make up the title (Thats the brand)
- Chemical symbols in the Actor and directors names
- A similar music
Genre:
I looked into the genre of breaking bad so that I look into title sequences for series or films of the same to see how other people have successfully captured the themes. Breaking Bad is classed under three separate genres…
I understand what a drama is clearly however to get a better understand of the other two I looked into them..
The key points I picked up is that they will give the audience heightened feelings of suspense and surprise and that it puts a comedic twist on topics that aren’t known to be funny. Having watched the series myself, it made me feel on edge a lot of the time so have a title that would portray the intensity of the programme is vital. The way the show is laid out also starts with the end of the season and then all of the episodes lead up to you realising what the beginning part was about. Theres a sense of eeriness in the unknown and I like that everything isn’t always clear so symbolism of key parts whilst giving away no spoilers is something I would like to achieve.
Black Mirror: Thriller
- Cracked text is really effective not only is it a horror type series but it actually has “mirror” in the title and breaking a mirror is bad luck
- Extremely simplistic purely using the text to present to mood
- I think it’s really well done because despite it’s length it tells the audience everything they need to know about the show
- Every episode is so different that something too detailed wouldn’t actually work for this
- The symbols and glitch audio suggests a hack on a computer
- even the glow effect is like glow from a screen the cyber genre is really enforced in this
Theme Overview:
I typed the series into google and looked at what images it bought it. This gave me an idea of what visuals are related to the show so I could use this as inspiration.
- Green and blue and orange
- Rustic
- Early 2000s
- Scientology
- Chemistry
- Street
I also looked up fan art on the show to see how people use art to describe the show and the way in which they manipulate the characters to present personality and the themes in it…
Main Inspiration
Orphan Black:
This is what I was most attracted to when looking at title sequences and I think it would work really effectively. These are visuals that I have always admired and is something I would aim to create. When being told to push ourselves in this project I saw this and although the skillset I would need to create it is out of my comfort zone it is something I want to aim to achieve.
What I like:
- Everything is central and their is a clear focal point for the eye
- Kaleidoscope effect adds to the plot line (all about twins)
- The same is for the text as one thing becomes two
- Blue and white and black colour scheme – sinister and scientology
- Transition to red has connotations of blood and fear and horror like qualities
- focused around the human body relevant to the series but not explicitly obvious
Quick Ideas
An idea I have settled on is creating a sequence with the evolution of the production of meth. I want the focus to be on scientology and chemistry and the intelligent aspect of the show to present both the actual science that is created within the show as well as the clever plot line and the way the story is put together.
These are the key frames of the show that help inspire me…
Season 2 episode 9 – 16 minutes in
season 4 episode 1 – 37 minutes in
season 5 episode 3 – 24 minutes in
Typography
In deciding what typography I should use on my Title sequence I gathered that it would be a good idea to have a look at what styles are used currently in this genre as inspiration…
This is just an alphabet of a typeface that is typical in the Thriller genre. The typeface is called Thriller Regular and Im referencing it because it is the most typical type for a film like this. The type is rough yet allegeable and stretched as to be seen as bold and prominent. It is the type of thing you’d expect on something to do with halloween. Heres some examples of how it’s used…
Other thriller films and the types they use…
Psycho:
Inception:
Seven:
Gone Girl:
Breaking Bad Logo
This is the original Breaking Bad Logo..
I spoke to G about whether or not I had to change the logo to make it unique but he told me I could keep it as it is the branding of the show. I’m really happy about this because I like the typography of it and how it links in with the periodic table.
However the green would look really out of place with the colour scheme that I am aiming for so I decided to play around with that on photoshop…
Original:
Mine:
Stills
3 stills of different ways I could create a title sequence
1st Still: Bubbles on bubbles
- Two different types of bubbles layered on one another
- All text central using colours from within the visuals
- Vignette effect using paint tool to draw focus to the middle
- Black background
-Can create with fairy liquid and a straw in the sink
2nd Still: Blood against the shaving foam with the cracked glass texture
- Blue cracked glass texture and shaving foam to create a smokey effect (always shaves his head = reference)
- Heisenberg iconic drawing
- blending modes to merge them together
-Can create with actual foam swirling it with water and the image in ink coming through paper
3rd Still: Close ups of key imagery with a smokey/eery effect
- dodge tool to brighten the highlights on the letters
- The colours of the text matching colours in the image
- Close up of a book that becomes the demise of Heisenberg with red colour to indicate danger (cant tell if its subtle or it might give too much away?)
- three textures: 1 a soil. texture like the red dust where they park their rv and then the other two being a peach faded texture and a smoke effect to give a mystical effect
-Can create with a close range shot of key items and a macro lens on textures
Breaking Bad Overview
I found a video on youtube about the evolution of the main characters in breaking bad and the all the key features in the plot line that helps the story unfold.
Key features of the series:
- The Hat
- The sunset
- The RV
- The production of meth
- The barrel of a gun
- Eyeball
Practice
Struggling on how to approach my idea I had a 1-1 with G to discuss my ideas. I told him about the orphan black title as my main inspiration of which I thought was quite out of my reach but he showed me a simple way to achieve a similar effect. We went through the use of 3D Cameras and how they can be used to move all the way through the images and explore the 3D space.
This is my quick experiment with what he taught me using 2D images of chemical bubbles in after effects…
In this experiment I worked with 3D cameras using the idea of zooming through the images and I really like the effect it gave me and want to continue to develop this.
I also played around with different blending modes between the 2D images to see how it made each image react with one another. I don’t necessarily like the colours that have come out of it, the yellow and blues clashing however when I create my own footage ill be sure to keep colour blending in mind.
Alongside the camera moving in and out of the 3D space I used keyframes on the opacity of the images so that it created smoother transitions between the shots.
The outcome:
One thing I do want to try out to add to this is the wiggle tool to create a more natural movement
Final Stills
1st Still: Bubbles on bubbles
This was my favourite still from my 3 choices I made but I adapted it to be in the colour scheme I want
-Can create with fairy liquid and a straw in the sink
2nd Still: bubbles in a chemical container birds eye view
-Can create with bubbles and fairy liquid on a black sheet of paper
3rd Still: Shards floating around
-Pieces of glass attached to string surrounded by black paper
Procrastination
So I started drawing on my foot tattoo because this is what happens when I can’t figure out what to do next…
Audio
This is the official score that they currently use for the breaking bad opening title sequence. I think that it is important to keep the audio to something similar to this as it is sinister and makes the audience on edge which I think sets up the theme of the show perfectly. The audio needs to get the watcher excited for what they are about to see so I want to make sure that excitement is there with the track I choose.
AUDIO UPDATE:
NOTHING I can find is even close to being as iconic as this soundtrack so I am struggling to find anything worthy…
AUDIO UPDATE 2:
I Spoke to some classmates about my problem with audio and they told me I can use the original music which has made my day
Names
I watched one of the first episodes of breaking bad to find the names that I need to include in my title sequence. In terms of hierarchy, The first will be the creator of the show and then following this will be the biggest character to the smallest. The two main characters are Walter White and Jessie Pinkman so I plan to put their actor names in larger text or higher up in the screen.
Created by: Vince Gilligan
Two main Characters: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul
Other key characters: Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt
I want to keep the symbols from the periodic table in the names of the Actors/Actresses so this is my list of how that is going to work…
Vince GilLigan
BrYan Cranston
AAron Paul
AnNa Gunn
Dean NOrris
Betsy BRandt
cc glue gun
cc mercury
Footage
I want to create a piece with all kind of chemical bubbles and reactions so I watched multiple youtube videos on how to make water fizz over e.c.t. In order to do this I picked up lots of different supplies from around town.
Test tubes and Scientific bottles from a local pharmacy:
Coke/Lemonade and Mentos:
Powder Paint:
I also got bicarbonate of soda, cornflour and vinegar to create the fizz like effect and the blue was food colouring in the solution.
I wanted to keep a black and white like colour theme so the contrast was high and pulled more focus to the blue which is the iconic colour throughout the series. The meth they cook is made by substituting pseudoephederine with methylamine which brings out the unique blue colour so I want this to be vital in the title sequence.
My set up: Everything was done on top of a large piece of glass (That took out many chunks of my finger) and black paper underneath for a solid background. At one stage the water seeped into the paper and made a really interesting texture behind the glass so I worked this into a lot of the shots…
My Final Footage thumbnails…
I sorted through and these are the ones I like the best:
- 56 – Green liquid on the glass
- 60 – Green fairy liquid bubbles
- 61 – Bubbles through big bubble
- 62 – 1 minute 13 Bug bubble through shot
- 65 – Growing bubbles out of a test tube
- 68/69 – Pull focus bubbles
- 71 – Screen filled
- 72 – Blue overflowing thing
- 74/75 – Overflowing with blue on the background
- 79 – Dust across the background
- 83 – cornflour bubbles
- 88 – Bubbles on the glass
- 90 – Mentos and lemonade
- 93 – Smashing the glass
- 96 – Glass still
Kaleidoscope effect
I just simply added the Kaleida CC effect onto some bubble footage to see the effect and was instantly super happy with the results I got…
I really enjoy the trip effect and because why project is all about drugs, the trip is a side effect so could work really effectively in my piece. I want it to imitate the mind of the drug user as well as the production of the drug.
I also tried adapting the size in the effects panel to add more shapes to the image…
Although the patterns are really effective I don’t like this as much as you lose the effect of the bubbles and I like that you can still see the gloss of the bubbles in the first one. This way you can still see that it is an experiment taking place.
Mirror Effect
As well as the kaleidoscope I decided to play around with the effect called “mirror” to make my own kaleidoscope. This way I should be able to fade into the trip looks from the original bubbles.
First I took the footage and put it into a new comp. I added an adjustment layer as to not be destructive in my editing, keeps everything tidier. I added the mirror effect to this layer and duplicated it 5 times, changing the reflection angle each time up by 15. I also had to recenter the reflection centre as it start point is central on the right hand side. This was my result…
To add the fade in I simply just keyframed the opacity on the adjustment layer from 0 to 100 over the first few seconds…
Particle Effect
I thought it would be nice to add some digital particle effects to go alongside the live actions to create fluidity between the shots. To do this I took a black solid with the effect CC Particle World.
At this stage I simply just changed the particle type to faded sphere and took away the velocity and gravity to make the particles central.
At this point I really wanted to particles to start central and fade out to the edges. To do this I adapted the X and Y radius and key framed them until the particles left the screen…
I changed the death rate to slightly larger to give a more faded effect but then changed the particle type to darken and faded sphere to depths the shadows and give the particles a rounder look. These colours suit my colour scheme better and I like the way the two look together against the black background…
The previous experiment created particles that were quite flat. Because my title sequence consists of moving through 3D Space with 3D cameras it was important for me to add depth to work alongside this. To do this I just lengthened the Z Radius…
I added the a one-node 3D camera to this to see what it would look like key framing the position to more through the particles. However I didn’t quite achieve the effect I wanted to as I wanted to seem as though I was going through the particles but instead it seemed flat and moved unnaturally.
I tried to fix this problem by key framing the position of the Effect so that as the camera moves through the particles move against it until it becomes black but it still doesn’t look quite perfect…
Particles Take 2:
More Footage:
I looked back at the stills I had created as an outline for my title sequence and realised I hadn’t taken any shots for still 3 and I really like the look of that one. Therefore I took the glass that we smashed in the previous shots and used it to recreate it.
My final footage:
I sorted through and these are the ones I like the best:
- 17
- 20
- 21
- 24
- 25
- 28
Very Quick Storyboard
Fractal Noise Effect
Creating a smoke effect over my text by editing using the fractal noise effect…
I also played around with the saturation so the logo starts of in black and white and becomes colour, and this way it makes the appearance of it look more natural and liquidy. (not sure if thats a word but I’m running with it)
A Gaussian Blue Effect also helped the fluidity…
And then to finish off these piece I simple just added a mask around the edges with a slight feather bring in the darkness of the solid into the corners of the squares giving it this moody undertone which I am superrrr happy with…
Cracking text
I followed a youtube tutorial to help me figure out how to crack text..
This is my result following this tutorial
Things I learnt from this tutorial
- How to use masks to reveal effects
- The use of the Easy Ease tool when using 3D Space
- The Shatter Effect
- Using depth to increase reality in the image
Whenever I do Text on my after effects it is also very pixelated and I feel like it should not be like this so I emailed G to help me…
He replied…
and basically I was being really stupid. I put it up to ‘Full’ resolution and it worked instantly. Oops..
Creating my Title Sequence
Screenshots of my production:
I input the first footage file into the main comp and added in my 3D Camera that is going to be the base of my piece…
OK. So I may have forgotten to screenshot all of my progress up until I literally just finished now. Got so tuck into it for about 3 days straight my blog was the last thing I was thinking about. So I am going to go back through each section as chronologically as I can and try and show how I did everything…
Colour Grade
Lumetri Colour effect
I used this a lot on my footage as an easy way of colour grading it all together without having to put in in DaVinci. The first thing I did was take out all the red/orange tones and make them blue to match my colour theme…
Final Thing…
Next section – Colour Graded
Lens effect
I liked the effect of the last piece but if I made the image bigger to fill the screen it just blurred the footage which is not what I wanted. Therefore using this effect allowed it to give an unusual stretched effect which I really liked because it also made it look much more 3D which goes with the 3D Camera going through the footage…
New comp
I used a new comp for pieces of footage that had more effects on to keep my timeline tidier. I used the kaleida effect for this like in my practice…
Beginning footage…
Kaleida effect
Lumetri colour grade
Adding it to the comp
Added more effects to add intensity within the blending mode
Vignette
Without vignette vs vignette – used a mask with an oval
I put a dark vignette on the image above and used the same idea on single shots with masks to make it darker. Using a mask also allowed me to keyframe the mask expansion to give a fade effect which I ended up really liking…
Texture
texture vs without texture
I used a blending mode between the layers to intensify the bubbles. It made it clearer so the over flow looked more interesting. I changed the opacity of this to come in and out to make the change look natural and building
Breaking glass
The lumetri colour really helped me with this shot to make it match the other footage…
It made it much easier to blend it with the previous shot. After putting them together I bought up the shadows a bit to make the two more in sync
I created a mask for this layer, a square shape with a feathered edge. This was important because the shape is smaller than the screen and the edging is slightly opaque so the clean edge was really obvious and ruined the overall effect. the feathered edge made the movement look natural.
Particle Effect
I really liked the eeriness this bought when I made a mockup so I included this really subtly on my final title sequence where the screen felt empty or where I felt it helped tie in shots together…
On this shot I used it to make the hand look less out of place with the opacity on 40% so it didn’t take away too much focus
It is must obvious on this shot because of the stark black background and that is why I most like it because it stops the screen looking empty after a full screen before. I also like that the particles look like a mini reaction
Glass smashing
This is my original still and I realllyyyy want to keep this effect as it zooms out from the smash
I tried moving the camera through the original Footage of the glass smashing but the only effect I got was this…
It didn’t give me the circle effect. THEN IT CLICKED that I had made the stills of the broken glass and added them in…
I colour graded them to have a blue light on it to in keep again with my theme and used blending modes to overlay the two of them…
I added the second still because the first one felt too short and because of the 3D Camera movements the first still goes off the screen so the second one keeps it in the right place.
Text
Incorporating the Logo
I don’t really know why I didn’t just import the comp I made because because I copied everything into this comp…
When I went to add the other text I used alpha-mattes to import a texture into the white of the text. To make sure the two matched I literally copy and pasted the effects from the logo onto the text comps and then it was smooth as hell.
I imported this into my main comp and I’m so happy with the transition. I just added keyframes on the position of the text so it looked like it was tracked with the camera to make it fluid.
Names
I definitely liked having the text Blue for the symbol to make them really prominent and stand out..
I created these texts in different comps and created masks to make them appear by key framing the positions…
This was the only exception because the background was blue and the blue blended in so I changed this to white another colour in the surrounding and it worked really well…
I used labels on my piece initially to plan out exactly where I wanted text to go
Final vs Storyboard
How my final piece relates to my initial storyboard
- I pictured this originally without a blur but I much prefer it with as it gives a lead in to the sequence.
- I pictured bubbles overlaying from the very beginning of the project even in my first practice and I’m so happy I managed to include this into the piece especially because it came out exactly how I wanted it to.
- I kept the zoom in on this shot as the 3D camera throughout gradually goes through the images, however this shot much better into my title sequence with a reveal keeping the edges dark rather than the white bubble background coming in straight away.
- I drew the bubbles on this shit as particles rather than actual bubbles. This texture was a happy accident as I was trying to create a good transition between shots and gave me a much better border than I had even thought of doing. It allowed the transition between shots to be smooth too.
- This is one of my favourite shots within my footage and I know being the strong gesture as it is I wanted it to finish the piece as a statement, and therefore I followed my original storyboard with it. I did try it at the began but then I didn’t have anything powerful enough for a strong finish.
- These last two shots match my original plan pretty much exactly, I tried it out and I liked it so I kept it.
The Final Piece
thank fuck
JEMFX+MG 