Typography

As we haven't yet look much into typography for our opening credits, it made sense to research some. The typography of the credits is important because it plays a big part in how the audience tells what kind of film it is- for example romance films often have red, swirly or bubbley writing whereas horrors often have black backgrounds with white or maybe red or yellow simple writing.

"Let the right one in" (2004) uses the rule of thirds in it's title screen. This makes it aesthetically pleasing to the audience and allows room on the right side of the screen for snow, which informs the audience a bit about the location. We can tell it is a horror film because it has simple, red writing, in capitals for emphasis, on a black background. Research shows that most horror films have the title on a black background and many have the title written in capital letters. This makes the title clear and the black background makes it stand out and, unlike other genres, does not give away any of the story making it scarier and more surprising for the viewer. It is middley in size and because it is in red and the snow is white, it draws viewer attention more away from the snow and focuses on the title.

Similarly, "Psycho"(1960) uses the black background with the title writing being white. This has a good contrasting effect and makes the title really stand out. The title, again, is in capital letters but unlike "let the right one in" reflects the narrative of the film- not only does the title show it is a psycological thriller but it is also broken up which has connotations of someone in the film having an unstable mind. The typography is, again, simple and directly informs the viewer of the general narrative of the film (before watching it they can tell it is a psycological thriller and features unstable characters). This title again acts in accordance with the codes and conventions of typical horror typography- simple with contrasting colour scheme of black and white. It is big and clearly the main focus of the viewer as it is the biggest word on the screen and there are no distracting pictures in the background, only some credits above and below it but as these are in a smaller, simpler font they are not very distracting to the reader.

"The Birds" (1963) has interesting typography because it still complies with the codes and conventions of horror typography but instead of having a black background with white writing, it has a white background and white writing that is faintly outlined in blue to make it readable. By doing this it allows opportunity to have black birds (probably crows as they are often associated with horror films and murder, although it was hard to tell on YouTube) flying accross the background. These swift moments of contrast in colour emphasise the title and makes it even clearer that birds are important to the main story line. The title, again, is in capital letters and simple typography which allows the viewer to scan over the title then focus more on the birds in the background before the film begins. The title is fairly big which ensures the viewer will notice it despite it being white on white.

Interestingly, "The Others" (2001) has a set in the background. This set is dark and dreary and has connotations of being in a grand yet deserted house- it looks like a large house because of the way the stairs are designed and the way that it appears to be an open area, maybe an entrance hall. By showing the initial setting to be a house it makes the film more appealing and personal to the viewer therefore increasing the terror evoked in the viewer. This film also has simple typography in white and capital letters for emphasis. Because the scene in the background is dark and shadowy with little colour (only redish brown, white and black shading) the title shows up clearly in the middle of the screen. It is fairly small in size which allows the viewer to focus also on the background, not just the title.

This last example of horror film typography is from "The Shining" (1980). It features a beautiful, natural setting in the background which is a stark contrast to the narrative of the film. The typography is reasonably small and focused in the middle of the screen at the bottom, but scrolls up preceeded and then followed by some credits so focuses the viewers attention on it, away from the tracking shot in the background. It also attracts attention by being a bright, turquoise colour- this unnatural colour contrasts greatly with the nauralness of the trees, river, sky and mountains featured in the backgroud.

Overall, these typography examples all have a colour that contasts to the background so the title stands out. The background in each varies so we could use the background of our narrative and just put the typography on top or we could fade in/out to a dark screen and then put the writing on. The writing in each of these examples is fairly large in comparison to the rest of the writing/ screen so we will probably use fairly large typography. Also, the titles seem to be mainly in the middle of the screen or a little to the left so we will probably put our in the middle as well in order to comform to the codes and conventions of horror film typography that have been shown in these examples.

It also seemed a good idea to do a bit of research into the typography of other genres, so we know what it shouldn't look like and maybe we will use it for future reference.

"Casablanca" (1942) is a romance and we as viewers can tell this by the soft, swirly writing. As there is a man in the background behind the title it is suggested that he plays a a big part in the film. Because it is a black and white film it looks to be more for older audiences and appears to be quite a traditional romance film.

"10 things I hate about you" (1999) is a romantic comedy and is aimed at teenagers. The typography reflects this because it looks to be scribbled as though an angry teenager (presumably a girl as girls are represented to be more emotional) wrote it after a break up or something. The green colour has connotations of jealously, suggesting jealously and rage, and maybe heartbreak, are some of the themes dealt with in this film.

"The Life of Brian" (1979) is a comedy film. The form of animation used for the sun and the clouds suggests that it is a fairly old film- although not too old as it is in colour. The slant and size of the writing shows it is a comedy because the size is comically large and the slant has connotations of falling over which is often featured in comedies. The bright blue of the sky and the white/ brightness of the sun and clouds combined with the strong yellow of the title shows it is a cheerful film as bright colours such as yellow and blue (especially yellow) are usually associated with happiness and therefore the comedy genre.