Draft feedback + response

In order to improve the written work, tutors suggested that a good way to improve it would be adding some primary research, like interviewing a title sequences designer.

When I used the book "Uncredited" for the research of the topic of title sequences, I found out that the two authors of this book were Spanish like me. I saw this as an opportunity to establish professional contact, which has allowed me to carry out this interview to Antonio Boneu, a film director expert in title sequences and film theory.


Interview.

- Who you think is the most effective title sequences designer and what makes it so good?

I'm not used to answer to questions like that... I can't reduce the whole to a single thing, not even to the "10 best" and that kind of stuff you see on TV. I know too many sequences and I have my own criteria, which is not based on how fantastic a sequence might be,. It's also based in what the sequence aims to be, and how appropriate it's for the film or series.

Obviously, I like Bass... but not always. Same with Ferro, Binder...

I think the most prolific designer and with bigger influence of history is Wayne Fitzgerald (he only designs title sequences). Pretty much the same with Dan Perry (I love Taxi Driver's, Raging Bull's and All the president man's). I firmly believe that the most important designers and also the less valued are Steve Frankfurt and Robert Brownjohn (To Kill A Mockingbird, Goldfinger and From Russia).

Sandy Dvore (my personal discovery) and Lardani (The good, the bad and the ugly) amuse me, but just that. I also like Juan Gatti and his collaborations with Almodovar.

I like Cooper when his ego allows me to like him and I like Karin Fong, Balsmeyer, Greenberg, Trollback, Lebeda, Deborah Ross, Dany Yount...

But if I had to choose one for their work as a whole, Jean-Luc Godard fascinates me... those are not title sequence, those are words on screen. The first 10 years of this director are overwhelming and everything is way over anything that has been already done. Pierre Etaix and his collaborations with Jacques Tati also fascinate me (Mon Oncle).

And to mention a plastic artist I adore all the work of Geoff McFetridge. Suicide Virgins and over all Adaptation and Where the Wild Things Are.

And I'm sure I am forgetting many other things...


- Since you pick McFetridge at the end, why do you think his work is so effective?

In my opinion McFetridge possess a higher level of implication, since he doesn't work as a designer. He does what he does due to his personal friendship with Jonze and they find solutions to problems of narrative packaging. The best example is where the wild things are, in which uses title sequences as subtitles. Typographic information in addition of the tone of voice (a 'musical key' style) works together with the way he manages to tell the audiences it is an independent or European film. And it is false. It is a movie full of stars.





Another way to improve it would be adding a further elaboration of the notion of paradigm/syntagm in relation to film. In order to extend that, I added a little paragraph with an example of an irruption of this relation. It can't be very detailed, since the essay already passed the 3300 words, which is more than 110% of the words required.

"This is similar to when a third party cut the title sequences out (a common practice on public TV). It feels like a low-cost production. This is because title sequences can achieve more than just showing information about who is in the project" (Stanitzek, G. 2009, P.49).