The main visual difference between the two is the way the titles are presented. In a mainstream film opening, the titles will normally be incorporated around the activities that are happening on the screen; for example if there is a man walking with a gun, the titles will usually be placed around the man, allowing the audience to see who is starring in the film, but also allows them to keep concentration on the main figure in the scene. However independent films do not do this, usually the titles on an independent film opening will be placed wherever, usually in the middle of the shot or often in the same position as the main action on the screen is, making it difficult or awkward for the audience to read it, but the editors do not usually pay much attention to where they place them. If a mainstream film opening doesn't have the titles placed around the action in the shot, the font in a mainstream film opening will tend to be very fitting with the genre, for example The Hobbit uses a similar font that used on various props throughout the film and on the book cover. Independent films usually use standard fonts that can be found on things like Microsoft Word, and they dont look as effective as a unique font that would be used in a mainstream film.
(Appropriate font used for The Hobbit, used throughout the film and in the book)
(Basic font, in positions hard to read for the audience uses in 'This is England')
Another difference between the two types of film openings is that the background camera shots or background images are very high quality or complex in a mainstream film opening, however in a independent film opening they are quite low quality and the camera is not often very steady as they cannot afford the equipement that a mainstream film company can.
In The Hobbit, a computerised background map of Middle Earth is made for the background for the opening titles, and as it is made by computer effects, costing more money than This is England's background shot which is just video footage found from the 1980s, and apart from it being video footage, a lot of it is very low quality, making it easy for the audience to see that it is an independent film.
Another big difference between the two kinds of openings is the music that is used. Mainstream films tend to have music tracks specially made for their films, for example The Hobbit's theme tune was specially made for the film, whereas independent films tend to use pieces of music that have already been released, and is just played over the top of the scene, like This is England plays a 1980s song throughout its opening sequence.
All of the factors above contribute to making a big difference between mainstream and independent film openings, and from reading this, I think most people would now be able to tell the difference between the two, even if they are not a media studies student.
No comments:
Post a Comment