Maurice Binder

Maurice Binder was born August 25, 1925 In New York City, U.S.A. Worked mostly in England 1950’s on. He continued working up until he passed away from Illness on April 4, 1991.

Binder’s early works included designing advertisements and catalogs for Macy's department store. Also during the Second World War, he worked at Universal Studios. Later he became West Coast art director for Columbia Pictures. There was a film director named Stanely Donen who hired Binder to create main titles for Indiscreet and they worked together after that on almost all his films. One of them, The Grass is Greener, got Binder noticed by James Bond producers Hary Saltzman and 'Albert Broccoli', who hired Binder for the first Bond picture, Dr. NO. The shot of James Bond through that gun barrel tells you everything you need to know about what kind of movie it was going to be. The gun barrel that frames Bond firing at the camera was a real gun barrel. Binder photographed one using a pinhole camera and subsequently, used the technique in every Bond film. The reason for the swirling design is to spin the bullet, which gives it a truer trajectory. Binder’s style was in the lighthearted adventure venue, and bond openings were pretty tongue and cheek. I think he knew what the audience was looking for. He combined the violent atmosphere with the gun barrel and the extremely sexual nature of the women silhouettes, jumping on trampolines, very subtle.

Binder helped re-define what an opening title sequence could or should be, and used many techniques to accomplish his look, live-action shots, animation, abstract shapes for example were usually integrated into all of his Bond openings. This eclectic approach to title making is relevant to our class because we are learning different techniques that could in theory build a title on their own, but could be much stronger if we learn to combine them in the right ways. It’s interesting that his Opening titles are as cherished and revered as the movies themselves. Regardless of the context (being shot at, political strife, averting wars) The bond movies were characteristically light hearted and fun, and I think Maurice Binder did really well setting us up for that journey every time. Oh and Sean Connery is the only true Bond!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8880568601259240090&q=Maurice+Binder&total=31&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7118054430299870049&q=Maurice+Binder&total=31&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6762294875432787401&q=Maurice+Binder&total=31&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=4

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1412128487776572766&q=Dr.+No+intro&total=426&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

I thought this was interesting also, it's the intro to a spy video game that is obviously modeled after Binders James Bond style.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1412128487776572766&q=Dr.+No+intro&total=426&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Final Pro

* I was thinking about taking the raw material I had from my currrent project and just completely reworking it using all the new techniques we've been learning, but thats pretty close to what I've been doing anyway, aside from the expression project.

*I was also kind if inspied by wesely's wondering around piece and thought we could follow the guy when he has the out of body experince instead of staying in the room, but when he sees the shadow man going to his room he has to rush back.

Revised story board

Goal

My story board was a little too fixed in position, and the stage was not well enough considered. To make it more like a fictional narrative that conveys the feelings I want I am going to include shots from the person on the beds perspective. I will be shooting all my own material and either using the strait photograph or manipulating it some how, cutting it up, drawing on top of it, etc. The key to remember is that the pixels must be 720 x 480 or larger, which wont be an issue with all my own footage. With careful consideration of what I keep in my shot and more personal feelings conveyed through 1st person perspective I believe I will achieve the desired result with a layered composition.

storyboard

It will start with a short shot of someone laying there, then switch to ropes and chains creeping up the bed to simulate the restriction of sleep paralysis.There will be a guy (me) laying in the bed, looking awake, but unable to really move. He will have an out of body experience, which accompanies sleep paralysis. His astral self will walk off. Then a hallucination in the form of a shadow man will come and plauge me. and eventually he will leave. After he is gone my astral mind will return

Technical review

The Kid Stays In The Picture:
I need to figure out how to achieve the fade in look.
The screen splits and opens like curtains at times.
Juxtaposition of party audio to visuals of an empty home.
Uses a constant combo of Fades and Zooms, always moving, always flowing.
Isolation of color on one figure in old photo to create depth, and emphasis- makes a still frame more interesting.
Uses simple animation of stationary objects in background-water rippling, leaves blowing.
Seperating the figure from the enviroment and moving them sepreatly is very important.
Newspaper clippings floating around screen at different trasparencies and paths.
Still figures are overlayed onto film clips.
Work with what you have.
Their goal is to create a discourse (what IS non-fiction)
Distortion of images make is subjective.
Every element in a scene on a different plane- creates depth.
background skewed let or right, foreground stable.
blur effect to create atmosphere.
Always collecting material for film.
Use of drop shadow can be effective.
Work with saturation and mono-chromatic.
Sunflare to create movement.
direct still images like they were actors.
Few hard cuts, cuts affect flow and feeling
no narration at times, for a break.

In the Realms Of The Unreal.
Use of old film clips
film archives useful
Overly often.
Uses more still images than in " The Kid Stays In The Picture"
Depicting drawings in progress could be a nice effect
animated still images.
Stock footage used to achieve atmosphere
Decolorize everything.
Ridiculous amount of movement by seperating figure from background. and animating them.
Panning in still image used often, zooms as well.
Animation loops, in the explosions for example are used often.
Cuts are mostly fades. or sharp cuts.

Ken Burns Civil War:
Shakes old still images only slightly to make them look as if they are being shot from a hand held video camera, cool technique.
Lots of fade-ins and fade-outs
obligatory panning on still images, and zooming in and out of still images. Audio plays a stronger role with Burns, carries more weight.
use of archive film clips breaks up monotony of panning still pictures.
Also uses talking heads to break up still imagery.
and of course the good ole' Ken Burns effect, where he pans across a still image, resting in places of note byythe narrator.

ANimation in photoshop

My animation depicts scrawled sketchy drawing of what it can be like to experience Sleep Paralysis. It includes the binding feelings and an out of body experience.