The document summarizes how the opening titles of a student film use and develop conventions of real media products. It discusses various elements of the opening - the film title with white text on black background, the production company logo, establishing shots of locations, costumes chosen for characters, use of props, camera shots including close-ups and point-of-view, editing techniques like split screens, font style and credits, how the opening sets up the narrative and hints at the crime thriller genre. The opening follows conventions used in other films to engage the audience and set the scene for the story.

1. In what ways
does your media
product use,
develop or
challenge forms
and conventions
of real media
products?

2. The Film Title
This is the film title which appears
at the end of the opening credits.
The black screen highlights the
end of the opening and indicates
to the audience the beginning of
the narrative. The white title
contrasts the black background,
making it more prominent to the
audience.
Our film opening title uses the same idea of
a white title on a black background as the
film ‘Fish Tank’ does. This fits the forms and
conventions of real media products as we
have used the same, impactful screen to
highlight the title of the film to our audience.
Source: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=b93T5l7glsg

3. Production Company Title
This is our film production
company logo. The change in
the colour of the moon is used
to suggest the earths rotation
around it. Thus, reflecting the
night time. We created the logo
in Microsoft PowerPoint, then
inserted it into a sequence on
IMovie. After, we added it to the
beginning of our film opening.
The ‘NightTime’ is in a white bold
font to suggest it is the main
focus point on the screen. The
‘Productions’ is in a smaller font
to show what relevance this shot
has to the film. and also making
the title ‘NightTime’ significant to
the audience.
Our opening is similar to other films such as ‘World War
Z.’ This is because we both start the film with the
production company logo playing. The Paramount
clip is the first scene to play to the audience. We have
used this idea in developing our own media company
sequence to then also, put it at the beginning of our
film; this, fitting stereotypical media conventions.

4. Location
These are our main location shots seen in the
opening titles of our film. The image of the
town is an establishing shot. This allows the
audience to understand the location at
which this is happening, making it more real
and therefore, easy to understand. We have
also shown the location of the other
character to highlight the contrasts between
where they are based. Therefore, showing the
audience the characters different
backgrounds and intents during the rest of
the film.The idea of using an establishing shot to set the
scene is similar to most film openings and follows
the use of this convention. Films such as ‘Brave,’
‘Zookeeper’ and ‘Captain America: The Winter
Soldier’ all use the same convention of an
establishing shot being the first scene the
audience sees. This is because it allows the
audience to connect and understand the setting
and area the film is based in.

5. Costumes
All costumes characters in films wear, are
chosen to suit their personalities and
characteristics that will be portrayed in the
film. We have used this convention in our film
opening as have chosen the costumes of our
characters carefully, to fit their roles they play
in the film.
We have chosen specific clothes for our characters to wear
based on their roles played in the film. The office worker/
action woman, Alice, wears all black in the opening. This is
because the opening is based on evets that happen further
on in the film, rather than the beginning of the film carrying
on from the opening titles. The business woman/ murderer,
Esme, wore a black/grey turtle neck and blazer to suggest
her powerful role in the business world. Where as, the
computer specialist, Craig, wore all black to imply his
mysterious, reserved characteristics in this film.

6. Props
Props are a tool used in all films to aid the characters
performance. They are also used to make the
narrative clearer to the audience; therefore, making
them more involved in the story line.
In our film opening, we used the convention of props several
times throughout. These were to help improve the narrative and
make it clearer to the audience what was happening. For
example, the gun is used to insert fear and slight confusion into
the audience. This is so they want to carry on watching the film
to see why the gun is being used. The map is used to suggest
travel in the film. This is because the business woman travels to
China and is followed by the action woman. This is where the
action woman pursues her revenge on the business woman.
Again, the lipstick is used to make the film more real and
relatable to the audience, this is because it could be something
that the audience do before going out to complete a task.

7. Camerawork
Tilt down shot
Establishing shot
Close up shot
Point of view shot
We have used several different camera shots to make our film opening. This is to make it more
interesting and exciting for our target audience; therefore, making them want to carry on
watching the rest of the film. Some of the shots we have used include point of view,
establishing, tilt down and close up. The establishing shot is used to make the audience
aware of where the film is set and to avoid confusion of what is happening. The point of view
shot is used is used to allow the audience to see exactly what the character is seeing,
therefore, they can feel more involved in the film. This is because the audience are seeing it
from their own eyes, as if they were the character themselves. The tilt down shot is used to
show the whole body of the character. It adds contrast to the camera shots used and
provokes interest for the audience.Many films use different camera
techniques in their film openings.
This is, such as, ‘The King’s Speech,’
which uses a close up shot as the
first image the audiences see’s.
This is a common convention used
to capture the audiences
attention, which is why we have
used this shot in our film opening.

8. Editing
Picture in picture
Split screen
Date and time in left hand, bottom
corner
These are the editing techniques we
added into our film opening. They allowed
improvement as the scenes created
tension and allowed us to put two pieces of
footage on at the same time. Therefore,
allowing us to fit more footage into a
shorter space of time.
The split screen is a used convention in film
openings. The film ‘500 Days of Summer’ uses it.
This was so they could show to sets of film at the
same time; therefore, allowing them to fit more
footage in in a smaller amount of time. This is
similar to our film and is why we used this editing
style. However, it is not a common convention
found in film openings as it would not be
impactful if it was used all of the time.

9. Credit Font and Style
We have used a clear white font
called ‘Impact.’ The colour white
was chosen as it was able to be
seen on all backgrounds where we
wanted to insert text. The font used
is clear and the audience will be
able to read it quickly. We have
put the names of people in bold so
they stand out. This is compared to
the credit title such as ‘Director,’
which is in lower case apart from
the first letter which is a capital.
Many media compositions use white fonts to display
their opening titles. This includes TV dramas such as
‘Prison Break,’ which use a white, clear font for their
titles. This makes it easy for the audience to read
them on most backdrops. Comparably, this is why
we used this convention in our film opening.

10. How the Opening Sets Up the
Narrative
The opening sets up the narrative in our film as the three main
characters are shown. These are: the office worker/action
woman Alice, the business woman/ murderer Esme and the
computer specialist Craig. There are also clues and
foreshadowing of the narrative through the use of the props
such as the guns. The location shots also help to set the story.
These all help to suggest to the audience the narrative and
allows them to become intrigued and therefore, carry on
watching the film.
All films use the opening to hint or highlight
the following narrative. This is to capture
the audiences attention and make them
carry on watching the film.

11. How the Opening Suggests the
Genre
The genre is clear in the opening titles
through the use of the characters
personalities and traits. Also through the
lighting, camera shots, editing and mise-
en-scene. These features make it easy to
see and for the audience to understand
what type of genre the film is going to
be. This is like how ‘Skyfall’ create the
genre of action, adventure, thriller with
their opening. This is through the use of
dark lighting, blood, grave yards and
guns. These all help portray the films
genre though the opening titles.
Our genre of ‘Crime thriller,’ has been portrayed
through our opening by the use of dark and dim
lighting. The use of the date and time shown at the
very beginning suggests spy or mission intents by
certain characters. Also, the use of the close up
shot on the eyes and the medium shot on the gun,
both create a sense of a small, confined space. This
creates tension and an unnerving feeling for the
audience. Therefore, putting them on edge so they
are intrigued and consequently want to watch the
rest of the film, to find out what happens.