Entitled to Title II

A while back I posted a rambling little blurb wherein I debated putting titles on Single Shot Cinema style images. Since I have always loved the title-sequence of films, and it seemed like an exercise in literary skill to come up with cute little monikers for the shots, I went ahead and... came up with cute little monikers for the shots. Just like being at the movies, but with individual images, right?
Well, in time I came to look at them and realized a few things. First, the titles were essentially 'forcing' viewers toward a narrative direction that they might not have gone in, if left on their own. Essentially, "This is the story you should be seeing." While that is good (if not vital) for a motion picture with a definite theme, it sort of takes away from the Cinematic Style approach to still photography, wherein viewers are brought in with the express purpose of having them make up the 'rest of the movie' in their heads. In a nutshell: It was hindering the whole idea. Secondly - and possibly more importantly - it looked... well... cheesey. What might make for a great film title, given proper time to build on a fully developed plot construct, can look trite, contrived, or downright dumb when photo-shopped into the bottom of a still shot. Tying to be 'cute' or 'cool' works on some occasions. But not so much when you are asking people to make up their own 'mental movie' upon seeing an image.
So, like everything else, one lives, learns, and adapts. The titles are gone from Single Shot Cinema, as is that lame, less-than-stellar faux-movieola explanatory screen slideshow. One screen explains it all, and YOU take it from there. Learning all the time... Learning all the time.

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C. M. Franke | Photography

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