BFI Making Film Openings Trip 12-11-2014

On the 12th November, my media class and I attended a study day at the British Film Institute on London's South Bank. The session was intent on giving students advice on creating our opening title sequences for our AS Media Studies coursework. 

Pete Fraser (Pete's Media Blog) lead a talk about opening title sequences and 5 key features that our title sequences should contain. 

Genre, Narrative (enigma), Character, Atmosphere and Setting.

I learnt that when creating my OTS it is important that the title of the film comes in near the BEGINNING of the sequence, so that it does not look like a trailer.

I also learnt that sound is just as important as visual, it is important that there is no distracting background noise, such as wind, and if this is the case, foley should be used to sync sound with action. Editing has to be continuous as well to give a professional feel. 

We also had a Q&A with Hannah Rothman (an associate director for Create Advertising London) and Dexter Fletcher (an actor/director). Both of these were fascinating to learn about careers in within the media industry and they were able to offer us professional advice in terms of creating our opening titles. 

I found the day a huge success as I left London feeling inspired from the study day, and motivated for creating my opening title sequence.