Key ideas for the research portfolio.

2. TASK 1
•VISIT THE WEBSITE WWW.ARTOFTHETITLE.COM AND CHOOSE AN OPENING TITLE
SEQUENCE.
•ON THE WEBSITE, LOOK UP SAUL BASS, THE CREATOR OF THE TITLES FOR NORTH BY
NORTHWEST (ALONG WITH MOST OF HITCHCOCK’S WORK), AND PRODUCE A
SUMMARY OF HIS STYLE.
•DO SOME WIDER RESEARCH ON HIM – WHAT INFLUENCE HAS HE HAD ON THRILLER
TITLES? WHAT OTHER TITLE SEQUENCES WERE INSPIRED BY HIM?

3. TASK 2 – NORTH BY NORTHWEST OPENING
WATCH THE OPENING TITLES 4 TIMES. IN SMALL GROUPS, MAKE NOTES ON THE
FOLLOWING AREAS:
•SEMANTIC CODES (TECHNICAL AND SYMBOLIC)
•SYNTACTIC CODES (SUGGESTED BY THE SEMANTIC)
•SOUND CODES
•THE SIZE, COLOUR AND TIMING OF THE TITLE CARDS

4. DID YOU NOTICE?
The lines running
downwards – what does
that suggest?

5. DID YOU NOTICE?
As the names slide up
or down, a white block
slides in the opposite
direction – why?

6. DID YOU NOTICE?
Notice how the use of
iconography gives us
our location.

7. DID YOU NOTICE?
The sign says ‘NO TURNS’
– is this an accident?
What does it suggest?

8. DID YOU NOTICE?
The positioning and size
of the director’s name is
important. What’s the
effect here?

9. TASK 3
FIND AN OPENING TITLE SEQUENCE USING THE ART OF THE TITLE OR CHOOSE FROM KEY THRILLER TEXTS YOU
IDENTIFIED IN PREVIOUS RESEARCH. BEGIN TO COMPOSE AN ANALYSIS OF THE TITLE SEQUENCE – FROM FILM LOGO AT
THE START TO THE SHOT FOLLOWING THE ‘DIRECTED BY’ CREDIT. ANY CONVENTIONAL THRILLER SHOULD HAVE VISUALS
WITH TITLES OVER THEM, NOT JUST TITLES ON A BLANK SCREEN.
COVER ALL AREAS, AND DON’T FORGET TO:
• APPLY GENRE AND NARRATIVE THEORY (STRETCH – COVER REPRESENTATION)
• USE TERMINOLOGY
• COMPARE TO ONE OF THE OTHER TITLE SEQUENCES (MAYBE ANOTHER SAUL BASS ONE)

10. NARRATIVE BASICS
TZVETAN TODOROV (1970) - THEORY OF NARRATIVE, IN WHICH STORIES HAVE THE FOLLOWING STEPS:
1. EQUILIBRIUM – THE NORMAL STATE OF EXISTENCE FOR CHARACTERS
2. DISEQUILIBRIUM – AN EVENT OCCURS WHICH DISRUPTS THAT EXISTENCE (OR MAKES IT WORSE)
3. RECOGNITION – IT DAWNS ON CHARACTERS THAT THE DISRUPTION HAS HAPPENED
4. REPAIR – THEY ATTEMPT TO FIX THE DISRUPTION, MULTIPLE TIMES
5. RISING ACTION – EVENTS START COMING TO A HEAD
6. CLIMAX – THE PINNACLE OF THE ACTION
7. NEW EQUILIBRIUM – CHARACTERS RETURN TO A ‘NORMAL’ STATE, CHANGED IN SOME WAY.

11. EXAMPLE
A TODOROV BREAKDOWN OF MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
1. EQUILIBRIUM – MAX ROCKATANSKY WANDERS THE DESERT IN A POST-APOCALYPTIC AUSTRALIA.
2. DISRUPTION – HE IS CAPTURED BY THE WAR BOYS, THE ARMY OF IMMORTAN JOE.
3. RECOGNITION – HE REALISES HE MUST GET AWAY AND ATTEMPTS AN ESCAPE (FAILS).
4. REPAIR – MAX MANAGES TO ESCAPE WHEN HE GETS CAUGHT IN THE ESCAPE PLANS OF IMPERATOR FURIOSA,
WHICH HE MANAGES TO TAKE CONTROL OF. THE WAR BOYS GIVE CHASE.
5. RISING ACTION – THEY FIGHT THEIR WAY THROUGH TO THEIR ‘PROMISED LAND’ BUT IT ISN’T THERE, SO THEY
TURN BACK AT THE ENEMY.
6. CLIMAX - THE BATTLE IS FINALLY WON WITH THE KILLING OF IMMORTAN JOE.
7. NEW EQUILIBRIUM – FURIOSA TAKES CONTROL OF THE CITADEL AND MAX RETURNS TO HIS DESERT WANDERING.

12. EXAMPLE
A TODOROV BREAKDOWN OF MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
1. EQUILIBRIUM – MAX ROCKATANSKY WANDERS THE DESERT IN A POST-APOCALYPTIC AUSTRALIA.
2. DISRUPTION – HE IS CAPTURED BY THE WAR BOYS, THE ARMY OF IMMORTAN JOE.
3. RECOGNITION – HE REALISES HE MUST GET AWAY AND ATTEMPTS AN ESCAPE (FAILS).
4. REPAIR – MAX MANAGES TO ESCAPE WHEN HE GETS CAUGHT IN THE ESCAPE PLANS OF IMPERATOR FURIOSA,
WHICH HE MANAGES TO TAKE CONTROL OF. THE WAR BOYS GIVE CHASE.
5. RISING ACTION – THEY FIGHT THEIR WAY THROUGH TO THEIR ‘PROMISED LAND’ BUT IT ISN’T THERE, SO THEY
TURN BACK AT THE ENEMY.
6. CLIMAX - THE BATTLE IS FINALLY WON WITH THE KILLING OF IMMORTAN JOE.
7. NEW EQUILIBRIUM – FURIOSA TAKES CONTROL OF THE CITADEL AND MAX RETURNS TO HIS DESERT WANDERING.
This happens
within the
opening scene –
is that typical in
thrillers?

13. FURTHER EXAMPLES
•THE CONVERSATION (1974)
•SICARIO (2015)
•SHALLOW GRAVE (1994)
MAKE NOTES IN THE COMPARISON GRID TO EXPLORE THE
DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES.

14. SCHEDULE FOR THE 3 OPENING SCENE
ANALYSIS PIECES• AS WITH THE POSTER ANALYSIS, I AM NOT EXPECTING MORE THAN 200-300 WORDS OR 60-90
MINUTES WORK ON EACH ONE. BE REALISTIC ABOUT YOUR WORKLOAD AND WHAT THE MARK
WEIGHTING FOR EACH ONE WILL BE (NOT MUCH)
• ALL THREE NEED TO BE COMPLETED BY MONDAY 17TH OCTOBER
• THAT WILL BE 2/3 OF THE INDIVIDUAL PART OF THE RESEARCH DONE ALREADY
• USE THIS TASK TO REALLY START TO DEVELOP YOUR IDEAS
• START EXPERIMENTING WITH DIFFERENT WAYS OF DISPLAYING THEM ON YOUR BLOG –
POWERPOINT, PREZI, ANNOTATED POSTERS
• YOU COULD EVEN PRESENT ONE AS A TIMELINE ANALYSIS (SEE EXAMPLE).

15. REVISED SCHEDULE – TAKE A PHOTO
INTERIM DEADLINES:
• FRIDAY 14TH OCTOBER – POSTER ANALYSIS 2 AND 3
• MONDAY 17TH OCTOBER – OPENING SCENE ANALYSIS 1
• MONDAY 31ST OCTOBER – OPENING SCENE ANALYSIS 2 AND 3
• FRIDAY 4TH NOVEMBER – SCENE ANALYSIS 1
• MONDAY 7TH NOVEMBER – AUDIENCE SURVEY RESULTS
• FRIDAY 18TH NOVEMBER – SCENE ANALYSIS 2 AND 3
SURVEY RESULTS ANALYSIS AND THRILLER PLANNING WILL BE DONE IN LESSONS.
The priority is to create the
pieces. Any problems
posting to blogs can be
sorted out later. You can
always email me
documents, PowerPoints,
Prezi links and whatever.

16. REPRESENTATION
• BY NOW YOU KNOW ABOUT PROPP’S CHARACTER TYPES AND A LITTLE ABOUT
REPRESENTATION.
• TODAY WE WILL LOOK AT A COUPLE OF OPENING SCENES THROUGH THIS KEY
CONCEPT AND SEE WHAT WE FIND.
• FIRST, A RECAP. . .

17. REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN
Two key theorists:
Laura Mulvey (1975)
Male Gaze – audiences forced by
camera and editing to see
women from the viewpoint of a
heterosexual male.
This relates to both appearance
and activity.
Thus, women are seen as
objects, possessions, prizes and
helpers.
Angela McRobbie (1974)
Feminine conformity – audiences
read female characters as
‘conforming’ to society
expectations.
Thus, women are housewives,
mothers, emotional, subservient
to men and concerned with
‘family’ above all other concerns.

18. FEMINIST ICON?
People (especially GCSE Media teachers) often use
Ripley from the Alien film series as a character that
challenges these theories. However. . .
• In Alien (1979) she was subservient to a male ship’s
captain. His decision to ignore her advice led to the
deaths of his entire crew.
• In Aliens (1986) her character arc focuses on
motherhood. Her own child has grown old and died
while she has travelled through space and so she
‘adopts’ a little girl whom she rescues.
Battle of the mothers?
The climactic scene from
Aliens (1986)

19. THRILLER OPENING
•The Box (R. Kelly, 2009)
Task
How do the camera, editing, sound (including dialogue) and mise-en-
scene represent Cameron Diaz’s character in the opening scene?
Bonus
How does this conform to/challenge Mulvey and McRobbie
(remember – Mulvey isn’t just about looking sexy: how does the male
character’s view of her impact the audience?)

20. REPRESENTATION OF AGE
Young people
Stereotyped as. . .
• Yobbish
• Having a gang culture
• Disrespectful
• Into drink and drugs
• Teen pregnancies
• Silly/not serious
Old people
Stereotyped as. . .
• Fussy
• Senile
• Infirm (ill/weak)
• Interfering
• Victims
• Inflexible

21. THRILLER OPENING
•Gran Torino (C. Eastwood, 2008)
Task
How do the camera, editing, sound (including dialogue) and mise-en-
scene represent both the young, middle aged and old characters?
Bonus
Compare to the slight hint of age representation we saw in The Box.

22. OVER TO YOU
Over the next two weeks, we will look into our scene analysis pieces.
You now need to create your opening scene analysis pieces following the
deadlines given. Don’t forget to comment on the placement of titles in the
scene (or the lack of titles) and remember to try and cover genre features,
presentation of narrative and representation within the word count/timing
advised.
Remember the theory as well!
Please apply feedback given to the first piece to the second and third.