Although every film acquires a working title, its final title is often plucked late from an agony of indecision because it must be short, special, and epitomize the final version's identity. Remember that your film's title may be the only advertising copy your audience ever sees, so it should be informative and alluring. TV listings and festival programs rarely have space to describe their offerings, so the title you choose may be your sole means of drawing a potential audience.
Titles, especially when film rather than video is involved, are a minefield of trouble. Here's a short guide to avoid blowing yourself up.
Style: Form follows function. Emulate by finding models among films of a length and budget commensurate with your own film and see which approach to titling you like. There are plenty of examples available on TV or for rent in the video store. Some of the most artistically ambitious films use brief and classically simple white-on-black titles. You could do a lot worse.
Over-laden titles: A sure sign of amateurism is a film loaded with an egocentric welter of credits. The same name should not crop up in multiple key capacities, and acknowledgments should be kept eloquently brief. An actor unknown to the general public should never be introduced with “Starring Sherry Mudge.”
Contractual or other obligations: If you have used union actors, they have assuredly come with contractual specifications that may affect the size and wording of title credits. Obey these scrupulously or live to regret you were ever born. Because many favors are granted filmmakers in return for an acknowledgment in the titles, be sure you honor your debts to the letter. Funding or college degrees also may have a contractual obligation that you acknowledge them in prescribed wording, so this and all such agreements should be carefully checked and double-checked before titles are locked down.
Font, layout, and size: Choose a font for clarity and size, and avoid small lettering. Anything too small or too fancy disappears on the television screen, where so much work is first seen. When spacing adhesive letters, note that some letters can be put close to each other, while others need some space for the word to look balanced. There are plenty of manuals to help you.
Spelling: Spelling in titles and subtitles should be checked scrupulously by at least two highly literate and eagle-eyed checkers. The spelling of people's names should receive special care because a misspelling indicates for all time that you care too little about them or their work to give their correct names.
Title lengths: Decide the right duration for a title to remain onscreen by reading the contents of each card (which represents one screen of titling) one and a half times, out loud. If you are shooting titles for film, be sure to shoot at least three times as much as you need. This allows for a title to be extended if needed. Crawl titles, if long, are run fast, or TV just chops them off.
Titles for film: If your film is to compete in festivals, reserve some of the budget to shoot the best titles you can afford because professional-looking titles signal a high-quality film. Here is the procedure:
a. First, do a viewfinder field test using a grid to check that what you see is what you are putting on film. If titles come up misaligned, suspect your camera's viewfinder. Judging alignment through a film viewfinder is hard anyway because the image is so small.
b. Shoot using high-contrast film or else black won't be true black but gray. Run tests with standard lighting to determine the best exposure. Light titles on black are easy to overexpose, leading to a puzzling loss of definition that gives your lettering an out-of-focus look.
a. If you want lettering conventionally superimposed on an image for background, you can only superimpose black titles on that image if you use a negative-to-positive printing process. This is because black lettering produces white lettering on the negative, which lets through a fully exposing light that prints black on a positive print. Few topics benefit from black titles unless you specialize in graveyard comedy.
b. If you try to superimpose white titles using the negative-to-positive process, white lettering renders as black in a clear negative. Light then passes all around the titling, burning out the image meant to be the background.
c. For white titles on a moving background, the printing elements must first be converted into positive form, then contact printed to a new negative, which is then cut into the appropriate place in the film printing negative.
d. If you are making composite prints (one shot superimposed on another) be aware that registration in 16 mm is none too steady, and expect some jiggle between lettering and background. Do a camera steady test first (shoot a grid, rewind the film, move the camera slightly and shoot the grid again, then process and project to see how much movement is apparent between the two passes).
e. Colored or fancy titles probably have to be shot using an optical printer. First-rate opticals are done in 35 mm, at astronomical cost.
For elaborate film titling, you will have to talk with the customer representative at one of the few surviving film labs to see who specializes in making up and shooting titles. They may use either the traditional, optical-printer process or one that is computer-generated. Because the bulk of such work is for feature films, check prices very carefully, preferably when sitting down in case you faint. If you go ahead, meet with the person who will be making them and get all prices and everything else you discuss in writing. Be sure that any further charges for reshooting are fully defined.
Never leave film titles until late in the process and assume that all will be right on the night. They are tricky to get right, especially if you are at all ambitious and want fancy effects. Titles, like troubles, are sent to try us, so give yourself plenty of time in case you must reshoot.
Titles for video: Most editing software comes with excellent titling capability that includes a large array of typefaces, drop shadow, movement, crawl, and other exotic behaviors. Resist the temptation to exult in your new freedom; keep titling classically simple—unless, of course, your film's topic and treatment call for something more. The blessing with video is that you see immediately what you are getting and can make changes until everything looks right. Superimposed lettering, whether colored or white, is more legible with a black outline.
Often when you submit your film to a foreign competition, the festival asks for a subtitled print in a particular language. This is now easy (if time-consuming) to do using video. Here are some guidelines:
“How are you?” | Shot 1 |
“I am feeling all right… | Shot 2 |
… but am hoping that you can … | Shot 3 |
… give me some advice.” | Shot 4 |
Copyright: At the very end of the titles, remember to include your name and the © symbol, with the year as a claim to the copyright of the material. To file for copyright in the United States, write to the Registrar of Copyrights, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20450, and ask for current information on copyrighting. If you reside in another country, be sure to check the correct copyright procedure with professionals. If and when you come to sell your film, any legal omissions can be costly or even paralyzing.
Once your film is completed, you can enter it in festivals. To give yourself the best chance, you will need to prepare a publicity package to help you market your work. At last you get to experience the ultimate rite of passage: seeing your film in the company of your true masters—a paying audience. This can be a thrilling or a chastening experience. Whichever comes your way, it's the final reckoning and represents closure for the filmmaker.
Now, what film will you make next?
The points summarized here are only those most salient from the previous part. Some are commonly overlooked. To find them or anything else relating to post-production, go to the Table of Contents at the beginning of this part.
Editing in General:
Viewing Dailies:
Preparing to Start Editing:
Editing Procedure:
First Assembly:
Rough Cut:
Diagnostic Methods:
Fine Cut:
Evoking a Trial Audience Response:
Sound Effects and Music:
Working with a Composer:
Sound Mix: