difference in production Idents for Working Title [WT] or Indie
the importance of company idents
SUMMARY: ... ...
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short audio visual clips played before films
first thing to see at a film opening
one of the simplest area of film openings
showing their brand to the audience
usually 3 company idents to spread the risks
usual to be 1 - 5 secondslong per ident
idents for conglomerate or subsidiaries are longer than indie idents
a lot of production companies competing
Big Six are dominant both in distribution and production
What are Idents?
An Ident is the identity production companies. It is one of the simplest area of all in the aspect of film openings. It's usual for the idents to be between 1-5 seconds long per ident. They are very important since there are so many Production Companies competing. However, the Production Companies in the Big Six such as Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Walt Disney Studios are the most dominant both in production and distribution, therefore, it's very easy for them to get a theatrical screening. The Ident is also showing their brand to the audience. It is very common to see at least 3 Company Idents this way the risk is spread. Sometimes you only see one Ident which is very unusual. There is often an audio bridge between the Idents. However, you are going to see more signifier, intertextuality, and horror color scheme in company Idents that are focused on horror genre.
Below are some examples of Company Idents. ...
... Similarly, there are variations for Idents. They change their look to adapt to the genre such as sci-fi, Horror etc. (Below are some examples) ... ... What's the purpose of an Ident?
The main purpose of an ident is branding. BBC One ident is simple and plain so this way they can save the money and spend the saved money on tv shows. Another purpose is to sell the company to the viewers and production companies. ...
... Here are some more general information about distribution companies: ...
Idents are short audio-visual clips which play before films - essentially company logos
Idents for conglomerates or subsidiaries are longer than indie idents, and as they have more budget are usually made digitally rather than practically.
Sound effects used are sometimes used to signify film genre, or are unique to the ident
the Film4 ident for example has its own sound effect
for horror films the ident is often changed to fit the horror genre, and sometimes comedy, but not for most genres
For the Big Six, idents are long, use cgi and have grand orchestral music (if there is no audio bridge)
more expensive
gold and silver used a lot
images which show scale (the earth, a mountain, the sky)
There is a certain level of risk with attaching a company's ident to a film, as if the film is a flop it is then attached to that company (the reverse is also true - if a film is massively successful)
eg Nightmare Before Christmas - Disney did no believe it would be successful, so on theatrical release it did not have the Disney ident - only after it was a massive success was the ident put at the start of the film on the dvd
... Indie v Conglomerate In class wecompared 2 films: '71 produced by the indie company Warp, and Les Mis by the subsidiary Working Title
'71
Les Mis
domestic total gross = total combined revenue from ticket sales
Box Office does not account for tax, budget/profit sharing
Typical Warp and WT examples: WT made 100x more than Warp
Les Mis is not a tentpole ($100m+)
Budget still too high for Independent uk company
WT had a Big Six distributor (Universal), Warp had an Indie (Roadside Attractions)
Les Mis released at Christmas - holiday for blockbusters/family films
That option not available to Warp (but possible counter-programming...)
Cinemas will only accept longer running time for films with high Box Office potential (blockbuster movies)
The longer the runtime the less screenings a cinema can do in 1 day
Youth/family market are key demographic for cinemas
WT typical low age rating (MPAA PG-13/BBFC 12) v Warp typically high age rating (MPAA R/BBFC 18)
Number of territories for theatrical distribution
fragment form Les Mis territories
screenshot of all of '71's territories
these 2 screenshots show the vast difference between the amount of theatrical distribution an indie and conglomerate/subsidiary can achieve
WHAT I DISCUSS IN THIS POST:
- initial research: what are the numbers?
- precise wording and order
- companies
- auteur
- actors
- technical roles
- design: font size, animation, case/s, (sans-)serif, colouring; connoting genre
- timing, animation, transitions (how long stay on screen; varies by role? straight cuts or transitions?
- main title: any difference or same design as other titles? duration different?
MAIN FINDINGS: ...
...
a method where film credit production companies
about 20 - 30 titles
there can be exception, in the Mexican or The Wicked Man there we only see under 10 titles
at high end tentpole movies everything is pushed to the back so the titles start after the movie
usually about 3 mins long
in title sequence you find a lot of signifiers
exposition what the genre of the movie is going about
different positioning
different size font for titles
We started this process by individually researching a wide range of titles sequences, and analysing the basic numbers and trends behind these.
1: INITIAL RESEARCH - WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS??
SUMMARY: How many titles do we usually see?
I looked at 10 film openings from different genres which are linked in this post.
In film openings, we usually see between 25 - 30 titles
CONVENTIONAL EXAMPLES: - Sleepers (1996) - The Notebook (2004) - Mean Girl (2004) - Sherlock Holmes A Game Of Shadows (2011) - Lord of War (2005) - Spider-Man 3 (2007) EXCEPTIONS: However, there can be exceptions sometimes we only see a few titles (under 10). E.g. The Mexican (2001) or The Wicker Man (1973). In some modern tentpole movies, you find no titles at the beginning, everything is pushed to the end e.g. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The first title to appear starts at 01:55:32 (ending 01:57:37).
Only 3 Titles
7 Titles
Titles are 5mins long!
How long is the title sequence?
The duration from the first to the last title is usually about 3 minutes long.
In some cases, it can be considerably more or less, eg:
The Mexican (2001) the duration of the title sequence is only 23 seconds
Production Companies: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Marvel Studios, Laura Ziskin Productions
Numbers of titles: 30
Duration from first to the last title: 00:39 - 03:05
2: Precise wording and order
SUMMARY:
A title is a method where films credit production companies or Cast by visuals and sound (Stars, Editor, Director.....). The opening credits for production companies are the most important members of the production which are often accompanying by non-diegetic music. The aim of an opening sequence is to establish the mise-en-scene. Titles (Numbers): - About 20-30 titles (However sometimes only the companies and the director is mentioned) - The duration of titles is usually about 5 minutes long. (It can be shorter and a gap between them) - +/- 5 companies are usually credited (But it can be less) Main areas and order: 1. A ... production/presents/in association with 2. Film (Director) 3. Starring... / With... / Introducing... / Co-starring... (Actors) 4. Technical Roles (about 10): - Casting by... - Costume designed by... - Music composed by... - Editor... - Director of photography... - Lightning by... - Production designer... - Screenplay by... - Executive Producer... / Produced by... - Directed by... 5. Directed by... (Director) (Director is the only one who always gets credited twice)
... RESEARCH (mine): looking at 10 films (link to post here) from a range of genres I counted the number of titles in their opening sequences and the duration
there were usually 20-30 titles
in some films only the director/companies had titles
In older examples there were usually more titles on screen at once (4+) an in newer examples there were never more than 3
Submarine
Start/end time of main titles: 0:00-1:53
Submarine was co-produced
2 indie companies (uk- Warp, usa- Red Hour)
Film4 Productions - a subsidiary of Channel Four Television Corporation
UK Film Council (in this case funded by the National Lottery)
Film4 and the UK Film Council both have idents, and are credited in the titles
8 companies in total were credited
The full titles were all upper case, and are given below in order (prod/dist company x2) present in association with (prod comapny x2) in association with (prod comapny x2) in association with (prod company) a (prod company) production film title ... I was surprised at how few there were for Submarine when you compare these opening credits to how many people were involved on the IMDB credits, and the director/writer wasn't credited either. The sans serif font used is against a dark blue background - the seriousness of the font signifiessocial realismand coming of age - which this film has aspects of. However the extreme spacing of the lettering connotes a slightly quirky aspect - the film is a hybridised rom-com. In this example the font may also have been chosen as a part of the IP - it is the same font used on the cover of the book which the film is based on. The blue also links with the ocean theme and setting, so could be a combination of mise-en-scene and for aesthetic purposes.
... Baby Driver
Start/end time of main titles: 5:43-8:20 Running time of main titles: 2:33
Baby Driver was co-produced
America indie company Media Rights Capital
uk subsidiary company Big Talk Productions (subsidiary of ITV)
uk subsidiary Working Title (a subsidiary of NBCUniversal - one of the Big Six largest conglomerates)
The full titles were all upper case, and are given below in order (dist. company x2) present a (production company x2) production a film by (director & writer) film title (actor's name) (actor's name) (actor's name) (actor's name) with (actor's name) and (actor's name) (actor's name) (actor's name) x3 casting by choreography by costume designer music by editors production designer director of photography executive producers (x3 names) executive producers (x3 names) produced by (x3 names) written and directed by
There were a lot more credits given in this one compared to the indie film Submarine - this is probably because star billing is a large marketing/advertisement strategy. Actors agents often put a lot of effort into getting their actors names into billing blocks and having title cards to themselves rather than being one name amongst several. This is more typical of high-budget films made by conglomerates or subsidiaries.
There was an animation with these credits via GIPHY
The title for the film made the building look like a road and the orange of the font emphasised this (the colour of taxis and road lines). This has narrative connotations as the protagonist is a getaway driver.
The serif font is also an intertextual reference: the font is called Gunplay and was designed for the 1972 Steve Mcqueen/Ali McGraw film The Getaway (a neo-noir film) - This appeals to a secondary older target audience who would be able to pick up on the preferred reading
... Mean Girls
Start/end time of main titles: 0:00-5:12
Mean Girls was produce by Broadway Video, a production company founded by Lorne Michaels, who receives 2 credits
again famous actors get there own credits (Lindsey Lohan directly after the procurers name and before the film title)
it was distributed by Paramount - one of the Big Six conglomerates
The full titles were all upper case, and are given below in order a (producer) production (actor's name) film title (actor's name) (actor's name) (actor's name) (actor's name) (actor's name) (actor's name) x2 (actor's name) x3 and (actor's name) casting by... based on the book ... by... music supervisors (names x2) music composed and conducted by ... co-producer... costume designer... editor... production designer... director of photography... executive producer... produced by ...
screenplay by... directed by ... The font clearly indicates a female teen target audience and signifies rom-com/drama: the serif fun tis almost bubble and lots of pink is used. There is animation with these titles: they slide in and bounce - this signifies the comedy aspect. ...
