Motion Inspiration

North By Northwest / Psycho / Ocean’s Eleven

Q: How does Saul Bass work with type, image/graphics and music in these three title openings to set the tone for the coming film? 

A: The way that Saul Bass works with type is through a lot of swipe and disassembling of the letters. The music that are chosen for these works sound much alike, except for psycho. That music title is too intense, setting the scene for a horror film and the mood. Became one of the best memorable movie score, because of the screeching of the violins. As for Ocean's 11, it may sound similar to North by Northwest, but I've noticed is that are multiple music sequences and not very consistent. Took awhile to feel the mood of a casino that it's based on.  

Q: Are they reflecting the coming content of the film expressively and kinetically?

A: I believe that psycho expressed the film exactly, especially kinetically, with the bars and the slicing in the names. From what I got from it, was that it was reflecting the murder scenes in the movie. As for North by Northwest title sequence mainly followed grid lines of the building and towards the end followed the flow of traffic, which was interesting, but I don't think it was very expressive compared to psycho. Though kinetically, it was appealing. For Ocean's 11, like North by Northwest, it wasn't as expressive as I thought it would be, but at that time, I'm sure it was highly expressive, by the swiping of letters. Kinetically, it was highly impressive by following the grid lines and towards the end it was forming a diagonal form that still fit with the theme. 
  

Q: How do they play off of one another?

A: comparing all three, they play off of each other when it comes to form and going with shape of things, such as the grid lines and or guide lines and the text coming from either side of the frame, top, bottom, and side to side. Another is the time frame for each, for they were about a minute or two long, which is usual during that time, but comparing it to day, it's a bit too long of an intro, yet now it's not becoming a bit too much of a deal. 

Q: What is the mood you feel watching them? 

A: The mood for North by Northwest was indifferent from what I felt earlier, which was neutral. As for Psycho, I felt uncomfortable from the screeching of the violins and intrigued by the kinetic because I was curious of how they were able to make such sequence in the 1960s. For Ocean's 11, I felt the humor that is betrayed behind the concept of form. 

Q: How are they similar and different?

A:  Like I mentioned earlier, when it comes to kinetic, it's through a lot of swipe and disassembling of the letters. When it comes to the differences, each carry a certain amount of weight. North by Northwest carried the grid lines that were at an angle, Psycho carried vertical and horizontal lines that were 90 degrees or 180 degrees., Ocean's 11 carried curved shapes that fitted the text in groups. 

I Shot Andy Warhol / Safe / American Psycho

Q: How does Marlene McCarty work with type, image/graphics and music in these three title openings to set the tone for the coming film?

A:  In Marlene McCarty's work with type, graphics, and music are all tied together is some way, creating an excellent tone for the film.  

Q: Are they reflecting the coming content of the film expressively and kinetically?

A: When it comes to the I Shot Andy Warhol, the title sequence was unexpected in expressiveness. Kinetically it all started when the title settled then spring forward like a glitch, it actually startled me, as well as the music. As for Safe, there wasn't much of expressiveness and kinetic, but the there is small amount of it that makes it unique. The weight of the text of think and thin is well played to express the names/creators and for the small kinetic was that it followed the rhythm of the vehicle bouncing, creating a sense of motion. As for American Psycho was amazing in terms of expressiveness through the tracking of words and the single line. Kinetically it tied in with the music and would fade in and fade out naturally, reflecting the film in a creative way. 

Q: How do they play off of one another? 

A: They play off of each other through use of leading, tracking, and color of text. 

Q: What is the mood you feel watching them?

A: The mood I felt with I Shot Andy Warhol was neutral until it jumped to the screen and then I felt startled. Defiantly unexpected which ties in with the film as I continued to watch the film of the beginning. With Safe, I felt sleepy and somewhat confused because there wasn't much going on at all other than the driving scene in the title. As for American Psycho, I felt calmed and collected through it's form and music.   

Q: How are they similar and different?

A:  They are all similar with a sense of color. There is only one selective color of red!, like quentin tarantino's films. That I found interesting. As for the differences, they are all different. The use of scale, weight, tracking, fonts, leading, and form. In I Shot Andy Warhol, the leading were close together. In Safe, the text had different weight in names, like first name was thin and small and the last name was thick and large. The American Psycho had lots of tracking and same amount of thinness.  

Here are my inspirations: 

Film: Stranger Than Fiction
Production Studio: MK12

This appeals to me because they expressing the film kinetically through the use of the character's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Creating a sense of background information of the character that would later be changed through out the film. They are tying in the use of creativeness of text, grid, lines, etc., through the tracking of motion that the character creates. It was amazing to see the break down of what an individual does on a daily bases and makes me wonder what I do without actually thinking about it, like the habits of both good or bad.