Exploring possible master topics

Topic 01: Main Title Design

Many people skip the credits scene at the beginning of an episode or film on Netflix and Co. But this sequence is often so much more than just the listing of actors and others involved in the project. So, what makes this sequence so important for films and TV series? What is it exactly? Where did it come from? How is it constructed? Are there rules? Are there specific classifications for different types of credits scenes? Could main title design in TV series be for each episode different and used actively as a storytelling device?

Consulting the internet for first quick research into the topic of credit scenes I tumbled upon other terms for this sequence: main title design, title sequence, opening sequence or intro. Wikipedia describes it the following: 

Also, other sources describe like the film term glossary of filmsite.org describe it as initial titles which are usually placed at the beginning of a film. It states that its often an ignored aspect of films, but that they are an aid for creating an introduction into the time period, mood or design of the film / TV series (vgl. titles, 2023).

There are two websites which are solely dedicated to archiving title sequences. In addition, they publish discussions with creators about their process behind their main title design and general articles about specific designers (artofthetitle.com [up-to-date] and watchthetitles.com [believed to be last updated 2013]). 

Other literature I found, and I would have a closer look at for further research: 

• Bass, Jennifer, Pat Kirkham: Saul Bass: A Life in Film & Design – London: Laurence King Publishing, 2011 About Saul Bass (important figure in the history of title sequences) and his work
• Betancourt, Michael: Semiotics and Title Sequences: Text-Image Composites in Motion Graphics. USA: Taylor & Francis, 2017 Focuses on the relationship of text and background image and its meaning.
• Buhse Eric: Der Vorspann als Bedeutungsträger: Zu einer zentralen Strategie zeitgenössicher Fernsehserien – Darmstadt: Büchner-Verlag, 2014  In German, but it contains the history of title design, and focuses more on TV series.
• Krasner, Jon: Motion Graphic Design: Applied History of Aesthetics – Burlington: Focal Press, 2013 Contains history, focuses on motion graphics in the different subgenres, also elaborates on the process.
• Schaudig, Michael: Das Ende vom «Ende». In: montage AV – Zeitschrift für Theorie und Geschichte audiovisueller Kommunikation, 12/2, 2003, S. 182-194 Article focusing on the end credits and its history.

Links

• “Title sequence” (2023): In: Wikipedia, Online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_sequence (Last opened: 11.10.2023).
• “Title” (2023): In: filmsite.org, Online: https://www.filmsite.org/filmterms19.html (Last opened: 11.10.2023).

Topic 02: Moving visuals within exhibitions and museums

For my bachelor’s Thesis I already touched upon exhibition design theoretical and practical. Since exhibition design unites lots of different fields of design, I wanted to take a closer look into the possibilities of the moving visuals within the field of museums and especially exhibitions. From my experience I came up with the following different usages of moving visuals within exhibition: as exhibition pieces (artistic nature and historical nature), as (additional) explanation videos (can be visualised as interviews, motion graphics) and as part of immersive experiences. Now I ask myself if there are further ways of usage within exhibition I didn’t come up with. 

Further questions that popped up in my head are: Are their untouched possibilities for the video within exhibitions? How does the popularity of immersive exhibition affect the museum/ exhibition landscape? How beneficial is the knowledge transfer in form of video content?

While researching into the topic, I stumbled upon a research paper called “Immersive experiences in digital exhibitions: The application and extension of the service theater model” by Sharleen Xiaolian Chen, Hung-Che Wu and Xiaoyuan Huang. As the title already suggests, it focuses mainly on the possibilities and benefits of the audience’s immersion in digital exhibition. But they also state that: 

“Digital exhibition mode, with traditional physical exhibition space, provides a better viewing experience for the audience, which is an important development direction in future museum development”.

Chen, Huang, Wu, 2023

Therefore, I concluded that in my master thesis I would like to further explore the benefits and possibilities of the video as a format within exhibition. There is only one problem I experienced while my first research: literature for that specific field is rather rare. So maybe I’ll have to extent my research to the possibilities with space and video projection/ projection mapping.

Other literature I found, and I would have a closer look at for further research: 

• Chen, Sharleen Xiaolian; Wu, Hung-Che; Huang, Xiaoyuan: Immersive experiences in digital exhibitions: The application and extension of the service theater model. In: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Volume 54, 2023, Pages 128-138, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.12.008 The articles focuses more on immersive experiences and its effect upon the audience.
• Menotti Gonring, Gabriel; Crisp, Virginia: Practices of Projection: Histories and Technologies. USA: Oxford University Press, 2020. Focuses on projection mapping and its history and its role as practice, technology and expressive form across multiple cultural, temporal and geographical contexts. Not necessary on exhibitions.
• Rostásy, Andrea; Tobias Sievers: „Handbuch Mediatektur – Me-dien, Raum und Interaktion als Einheit gestalten, Methoden und Instrumente“. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 2018. In German; It contains a chapter about visuals, projection mapping and their technical parameters which should be considered when working with them. 
• Saba, Cosetta, et al. Preserving and Exhibiting Media Art. Amsterdam University Press, 2013. The book focuses more on media art as exhibition piece, its challenges in the field of media art preservation and exhibition, providing an outline for the training of professionals in this field.
• Schmitt, Daniel; Burczykowski, Ludovic; Thébault, Marine: Image Beyond the Screen: Projection Mapping. UK: Wiley, 2020. Focuses on projection mapping its history and its limitations, possibilities and much more. I cannot tell to which extend its relevant for projection mapping in exhibitions.

Topic 03: Emotional impact of Materials

In fine arts the visual aesthetic of an artwork is partly defined by the chosen technique/ material. The same is applicable to film and photography. It matters if you shoot your film on a 35mm analog film, on a Camcorder or on the newest DLSR. So I would argue that material is an important part of a product, even when it’s more or less 2D. 

Mixed media animation uses this characteristic, and it focuses on the different materials, the different mediums as well as the different techniques and merges them to its own aesthetic. It involves combining traditional hand-drawn or computer-generated animation with live-action footage, stop motion, claymation, puppetry, or other forms of visual arts. This allows artists to experiment with different styles, textures, and aesthetics to create unique and visually dynamic animated sequences.

Now I’m asking myself if the usage of different material can be used as a storytelling tool like color? Does different material convey specific emotions to the audience? Can it be a tool for Character Design? What is the benefit of combining analog and digital workflows? Does the integration of different materials simulate dimension towards 2D animations?

Literature:

I was struggling a bit for literature on this topic because there isn’t really theoretical work on mixed media.

• Genz, Julia, and Paul Gévaudan. Medialität, Materialität, Kodierung: Grundzüge einer allgemeinen Theorie der Medien. Bielefeld: transcript, 2016. Print. In German; It’s more theoretical literature about the importance of material within semiotics.
• Harris, Miriam; Husbands, Lilly; Taberham, Paul (Eds.). Experimental Animation: From Analogue to Digital (1st ed.). Routledge, 2015 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315203430 This book could be interesting for the different inputs from animators and their workflow, but also for the theoretical input.
• Ohnmacht, Tina. Wasser in Animationsfilmen: Materielle Transformationen, diskursive Interaktionen und strukturelle Analogien. Deutschland, Schüren Verlag, 2022. Even though it’s just about water as a material. It could be interesting to have a closer look on one material in particular way. 
• Schleicher, Harald, and Hans Beller. Filme machen : Technik, Gestaltung, Kunst – klassisch und digital. Orig.-Ausg., 1. Aufl.., 2005. In German, This book would be helpful in regards of structuring the product itself.
• Schröter, Jens, et al.  Analog/Digital – Opposition oder Kontinuum? : Zur Theorie und Geschichte einer Unterscheidung. 1st ed.., transcript Verlag, 2015. In German. It’s less about materials or mixed media and more about the terms analog and digital. Maybe there would be aspects I never considered when thinking about these two terms.