THE ART OF NAMING

                                                      The Art of Naming

   Names are really important...

   A well thought name could be a real asset in almost anything... 

   Imagine a real nice man named Gavin Butz, or John Smelley or a Japanese girl named Letamee Takashita, or an ugly woman named Linda (beautifull, in Spanish).

   Parents should be very thoughtful when naming their kids as an artist should be careful when naming his work. Would it be a painting, or a book, a song and even a movie.

   A good name could help, and do it big...

   There are strong names and weak names... Coca-Cola is a weak name. It “dies” when you say it. On the other hand, “Coke” is a very powerful name... It almost sounds like a punch. “Kraft” is another strong name, as it is “Heinz”...

   A good name can “sell” anything... A book, or a movie, for instance. Researchers say that when we meet someone, we form our opinion about this person in the first five seconds, as soon as we hear the name. It is not different when we are seeing a film prospect for the first time. Some films have major stars in them but, depending on the tittle, we don’t have patience ( at least, I don’t ) or care to explore the film, the story or anything about it but, give me a catchy tittle and I’m on it, I’ll check it out and will be curious to see what that tittle “tells”.

   Alfred Hitchcock was a master in naming his movies. Till this date people still discuss the meaning of “North by Northwest”. There’s even forums about it.
   "Rear Window" is where it all happens but, he didn't say that ( or put in the tittle )... You realize that as you watch the movie

   The title “To Catch a Thief” comes from an old proverb “Set a thief to catch a thief” and this is what happens in the movie but, the title would be too long so, he shorten it.

   The name of a person, several times, defines that same person, just like the title of a work defines 
( or, at least should define ) that work.

   As movies are concerned, some directors, or producers, or whoever chose to name his work, really cheapens it. Would you watch “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” or  “The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford”? You did? I wouldn’t! I knew, just by reading the tittle, exactly what the movies would, if not look like, or feel like.

   Take “The 40 years old Virgin”  from Judd Apatow, for example. The movie itself is not all that terrible but, the title could not be worse... It “gives away” the movie before you even watch it. Now! Imagine if the title was “Virgin”, having a face of a man, and his love interest, in the poster. People would be, at least, puzzled, since “virgin", most of the times, make us think of a girl.

   “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” from Nicholas Stoller is another example of a bad title. It is a good movie but, because of the tittle, and despite of the “star” in it, sold a lot less than it could. “A taste for love”, the play that the main character is trying to write the entire time, would have been  much better and it would have make perfect sense in the context of the movie.

   Now! Someone could say: What about the “Man who shot Liberty Valance, from John Ford?” Well, in that particular case, The man whom is thought to have done it, didn’t, and the tittle is intended to create that confusion.

   “Gran Torino” is another example of a very well thought tittle... If you watch the movie, you’ll understand.

   Another one is “Two Much” from Fernando Trueba. In this particular case, Antonio Banderas is trying to pretend to be two different persons; besides being relevant the tittle is also a playing on words, as “Made of Honor”, a Paul Weiland film, also is.

   The late Saul Bass was an American graphic designer and Academy Award winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion picture title sequences and film posters. Among some of his work are "Tootsie", “The Man with the golden Arm”, “Vertigo”, “Bonjour Tristesse”, “West Side Story”, the superb “La Nuit Americaine” from Francois Truffaut and the famous Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” but, besides all his art and expertise, even him, could not “fix” a bad choice on a movie title.

   Speaking of which, “La Nuit Ammericaine” ( Day for Night, in English ) is a wonderful example of a very well thought tittle, as the film itself is considered to be one of the most insightful movies of all times.

   It seems that lot of film directors, especially the newcomers, forget that the title, as well as the credits, are part of the whole work. You don’t go to a ceremony dressed in shorts and “flip-floppers” do you? Well, if you do, you shouldn’t. Or maybe you are one of these newcomers I’m talking about... In that case, all bets are off.

   Parents, at least the conscious one’s, begin to think of theirs kids name as soon as they know the “news”, although, sometimes, they do a terrible job. Movie directors should do the same ( not the terrible job part ) or, at least consider the possibility of a good name as they begin their project. 

   Many times a title, when well chosen, will do all the work for the movie

   Experienced directors know, and have incorporated very well in their mind, the art of naming.

Copyright 2/2020 Eugene Colin.