STINCS - Down With Love

Down with Love

Setting
Theme
Iconography
Narrative
Character
Style

During lesson, we watched title sequences for the following films: Skyfall, Vertigo Catch Me if You Can and Se7en. We scrutinised and established the conventions within the title sequences which we were shown, we discussed the elements of these title sequences together as a class. We also analysed the sounds  (soundtracks, Foley sounds) for the title sequence. After we analysed and had a discussion about the title sequences as a class, we were handed sound recording equipment to gather recordings for our own title sequences; scraping sounds, footsteps, tapping sounds, rain and other types of sound which we desire to capture.


Setting:

The title sequence conveys to the audience that the film (Down With Love) is set in the city; the images which are displayed presents structures – buildings. The soundtrack which is played throughout the title sequence is quite jazz like; the audience can establish that the film is set in a city by listening to the music which is played. The lyrics in the soundtrack share connotations of romance which links with the genre type of the film – ‘romantic and stupid’, ‘down with cupid’ , ‘down with love’ – Film name. Repetition  is used on the films name (down with love) the repetition used keeps informing the audience that the film is mainly about love and romance by listening to the music which is played. The audience may assume that the films is set around the 1960s mainly because of the music.

Theme:

The theme for this title sequence is quite generic due to love being the main theme throughout the title sequence. The title of the film gives away the genre to the audience due to the word 'love' being presented in the title of the film. The words 'love' and 'sex' is displayed on a sign at some point in the sequence, this encourages the independence of a relationship due to the connotations which is interpreted by the audience. 

Iconography:

In the opening sequence to Down With Love, a range of iconography is presented to the audience: hearts appear which connote passion and love, the gender symbols are presented side by side one another which could convey unity between both genders, the coluring is typically used for connotations of love (pink) various backgrounds and images appear with the colour pink (hearts). A typewriter is shown in the title sequence which could foreshadow a role or occupation which a character has in the film. The audience can establish that the film is about love due to the generic title of the film and the images which appear which is accompanied by the soundtrack which has lyrics which convey various suggestions of romance to the audience.

Narrative:

The majority of the title sequence seems to be hand drawn work, the typewriter which appears; the hands which occupy the instrument seem to have feminine accessories upon them - could convey that the character is female and had an occupation which is associated with typewriters. The protagonists do not seem to appear in the title sequence; their roles are partially anonymous to the audience due to inadequate amount of interaction with characters - keeps the audience guessing of what future events which could occur throughout the film .However, there are other concepts which hint the unity between characters due to the presentation of the gender symbols which appear and the wine bottle - could connote/foreshadow that characters may have a drink with one another. The lyrics in the soundtrack convey further connotations of love and lightens the mood when viewing the title sequence (quite catchy). The images of the city tells the audience that the story is based around a city and with some research; the intended city is New York city with the time period of the 1960s. The particular connotations which justify the film to have the initial concept of love foreshadow specific parts of the story instead of showing clips/cuts of the film to the audience; this might be intended to keep the audience of thinking about future events.

Character:

The characters are not formally introduced to the audience; characters do not appear throughout the title sequence. However, the voices of the two people singing which accompanies the title sequence could be the voices of specific characters in the film. The audience are not aware of the characters appearance when viewing the opening sequence, but there are images which connote references of occupational specifications; the typewriter - journalist, writer (1960s). 

Style:

The title sequence shows a book opening with the sun passing and then the moon which eventually takes over the sky with the stars with it; this concept informs the audience that film is intended to take place in the day and at night. The majority of the colouring is bright which fits the colour scheme of the images which appear on the screen - lightens the mood for the viewer. The music which plays throughout the title sequence is quite jazzy and fits the lifestyle of the characters which may appear in the film due to the time period - jazz music was popular in America during the mid 1900s.