Typeface development: title + credits

 This blog post contains research on a bunch of typefaces and title ideas for our movie opening scene project. This blog post was done by my team member, Kristine.

These are some examples that I liked

1. [⏺REC]

I liked this idea because the font and style stands out from other found footage titles, making it a unique feature. The idea of using the red dot and bracket helps convey that the movie is related to a recording, signaling to audience that it is a found footage film. In the second version, blood splatters suggest audiences that the movie may context murder, death or gory scenes. However for this title card, it was seen at the end of the film. This was because the filmmaker still wanted to maintain the realism and managing to incorporated the title card.

2. The Blair Witch Project

The opening scene for this movie was really short since the title did go before the movie start. This is because a found footage typically does not require an opening scene to maintain realism. The way the title was presented was simple, but it has many strong points to support the reasoning behind it. Incorporating a small title makes audience feel like they are watching a raw, unedited footage to which helps keep an immersive feel.

3. GRAVE ENCOUNTERS

This was a great way to sneak a title card because it didn't really feel like one. It made the found footage seem more like a YouTube vlog, which might make the audience feel like the movie was edited, slighting reducing its realism. However, it was an effective way to incorporate the title card without making it feel too planned. This font also differs to what most found footage films use and it also can be an inspiration. This distorted font gives audience an unsettling emotion which could suggest paranoia or hallucinations.

4. CLOVERFIELD

This title card is short and lacks a typical opening scene because they decided to follow the conventions of a found footage film. This could also be an idea we could incorporate to help maintain a realistic feel to the audience. What I like about this is the way the editor used different technological fonts to create the connection to a recording. I think the time-stamp helps enhance the feature of this technique and the use of inserting the title card in the document name is such a great way to sneak in the title without intended to do so.

5. Spree

This is similar to the example from Grave Encounters, where they sneaked the title card into the scene to maintain the realism effect. I found this opening scene really sick and smooth because of the transition is created as the name of the app is also the name of the movie. This could be an inspiration to us since we could use the title of the book as our title card. I also like the use of a simple, clean font with a red coloured title, which helps make it feel like part of the recording.

What credits / names will you include

Starring: Actors

         - Drew: Panji Wiradharma

         - Carrie: Kellie Collins

         - Lyla: Lamiya Zara

Editor: Maisie Halomoan

Directed: Kristine Lambert

Found footage films often don't include opening credits to keep the feeling of realism. Since we wanted to keep that same style, we chose not to include any credits at the start. Doing so would break the immersion and make it feel less authentic

10 Typeface Choices

credits: dafont.com, capcut fonts

Discuss Connotations

VCR

What I like about this font:

- It's a typical found footage font, which aligns well with the genre conventions. We could use it to stay true to the found footage style. 

What I dislike about this font:

- The font looks too digital. Our goal is to make the film feel realistic, not technologically advanced. We don't want to incorporate too much technology, as it could break the illusion of realism

How it will look like in our product (brief idea)

Punktype

What I like about this font:

- This font is commonly used in found footage films because it looks handwritten. This gives the impression that it was made and meant to be "found", which fits the genre

What I dislike about this font:

- The font appears too old for a modern found footage film, so it doesn't logically connect with the setting or time period (2019). It feels out of place. On its won, the found looks strange and may require vintage filters to bring out the desired realism. Without those, it could disrupt the overall authenticity.

How it will look like in our product (brief idea)

The overall meaning to both of these title card helps make the movie feel real, especially if it's made for a found footage horror. It looks like a police report or a warning, telling people what happened before the scary footage starts. Because there are no pictures, it makes people feel nervous like something bad is coming. This simple look makes it seem like nobody edited it, like a real tape someone found. This tricks people into thinking the story really happened, making it even scarier.

Experiment

Here are quick experimental pictures that I did to get a better look on how each font would look like

Title Ideas

Opening Text Ideas

Reflection

My team member, Kristine, did a great job looking at a variety of different types of fonts. My team and I now have a better idea of which one we will use and why it's best for our film, considering the genre that we have chosen.