Typography is the writing that is presented to the audience you see typography in films during the opening credits and the closing credits at the end. When talking about typography this would include the style of the font, size and lower case. Most of the typography in thrillers are different they maybe different colours to different types of fonts and this would vary from film regardless if it was a sequel to a previous film or not.
Typography and connotations (screen shot from various genres)
Horror
The typography used in the grudge is faded and red resembling blood. The font is used to create suspense within the film and attract the audience attention and shows that its a horror film.
Typography and thrillers: screen shot examples from thrillers and their connotations
Man on A ledge
Here we can see the use of a simple but effective font. The use of capitals tells us highlight the situation on what's going to happen in the film. The Large font tells us that that scene is quite important.
The Number 23
The font used in the number 23 is split in two parts here. 23 is most importnat part of the typology in the screen shot since its highlight the narrative may have something to do with the number 23. Also the font looks hand drawn and looks kind of werid and odd.
Some analysis of choices that you may consider (include examples)
Different thrillers would use different types typography depending on the thriller and theme of the film. An example would be the butterfly effect. Most of the title is a mixture off common words and capitals. However one of the "f" is larger than all the words this could be to highlight what could happen in film to do with the letter.Other thrillers may use may use full capitals to grab the audience attention, And others may use common words only to make the title or credits seem insignificant compared to everything else.
The typography i will use in my film needs to reflect the thriller genre. This means that font, size, letter and case of the letter must be carefully chosen for my thriller the typography i would like to use for my film is a faded type of font also i would also use dark colours reflecting the film it self and the size would be a medium size. I will try to use one font for the opening scene and be consistent with the same use of font.
Opening credits are what introduces a film at the beginning of the film itself. the opening credits usually consist of the title of film the production company, Staring actors/actresses, producers and directors and any other important people that is associated with the film. This would depend on the films since they maybe variation to film.
The main purpose of the opening credits is to inform the audience who had made film what was the film title and the starting actors/actress in the film. Most films would focus there main opening credits scene on the title and who is starting and who helped produced on the film in question. others may only have the title since there credits may be at the end and some would have all their opening credits at the beginning of the film. and would have an abbreviated ending because since all the credits at the beginning.
Order of Appearance
Here an example list on how the opening credits would appear at a beginning of a film
Name of the Studio- Some Kind studio
Production Company- Proven Production
Producers- Mr X
Director Mr Y
Leading Actor/Actress MS C
Film Title - Fake
Other Actors/Actress Mr H
Edited By MR Z
Story-boarded by MR A
Music By Mr T
Costume by MR I
[Example Opening Credits]
An alternative would be
Production Company presents a EFG Production
Title of Film
Leading Actors
Music Composer
Editor
Producer
Writer
Director
The audience might feel a range of different feelings depending on the genre and themes that might feature in the film. If the opening credits was alot of scenes which were scary and lot of jump cuts the typography was designed to be spooky. This would make the audience more interested and wanting to find out what's happening compared to films that only have several scenes and is not generally exciting the audience reaction maybe confused and or may think the film is not a really good film. Another reason why the audience may find some of the opening credits more excited then others is because of the people who maybe staring in the film maybe famous however
An example of a thriller opening would be the number 23 the film includes
Production company
The studio
Leading characters
The title of the film
Other actors
Casting
Music composer
Associated Producer
Costume designer
editor
Production designer
Co-Producer
Executive producers
Writer
Director
The overall opening was their to create tension, paranoia and confusion for the audience.
From the research i have concluded that what i should included that the title sequence only contain several important credits that i need for my opening adding more would extend the length of the opening scene and wont make the film any better. The important credits that I am going to include with the film is going to be.
Production and the studio company together
Title of film
Leading actors
Editor
Producers
Music composed
Director
The reason why I choose these credits was because those the most important people that have helped put this film together. Also we need to include the important information first from the tittle of the film and the leading actors as well other information. I want the opening credits to be significant but also i want it quite short as well. For the Typography you will need to refer to the typography post about what font i am using and the style of the font for the opening credits.
What are themes? Why are they important to identify for the audience?
A lot of thrillers would have a reoccurring theme to their film. A theme are the main subject or reoccurring subject in a film, their are many different types of themes. The audience needs to know what the theme of the film is for example psychological thriller. psychological is the theme since it maybe the most reoccurring factor in that film. Theme are not only good way to find out what type of thriller it may also tell you what the narrative could be like.
Themes and genres – discuss how themes are dependent on genres and why
Different types of themes would depend on the genre they are linked for example psychological thriller is a good example since most psychological type films are mostly linked with thrillers. And thrillers are a genre. Another example would be Romantic comedy since you would see romance as the main genre with comedy being the theme.
Common themes in thrillers and why (examples)
There are many common films within thrillers so hear a selection of a few films with a recurring theme in the film.
Man on a Ledge (2012)
Themes
Action
Vengeance
Crime
Portrayal
Stigmata (1999)
Themes
Supernatural
Horror
Vengeance
Death
Religion
Lust
Sins
Ramson (1996)
Themes
Crime
Vengeance
Death
Action
Drama
The girl with dragon tattoo (2011)
Themes
Death
Crime
Revenge
drama
Mystery
Spying
The Number 23
Themes
Psychophysically
Crime
Death
Drama
Betrayal
The Ghost Writer (2010)
Politics
Psychophysically
Crime
Death
Nightcrawler
Crime
Psychologically
Death
Impact of themes on audiences
Different themes will depend on the genre of that the film or what type of narrative the film has. The audience would chose a film however they won’t be able to identify what themes until they start watching the film. The film may contains reoccurring themes such as Vengeance or death then it’s the viewer’s choice about that film. Most of themes will provoke different responses depending of the different themes that occurs in the film. For example death would have a negative impact on the audience especially when it’s a main character and could also affect the audience psychologically. Also the audience could identify what themes that match each genre however that’s wrong since different themes can apply to other genre if used in the correct way.
Conclusion: what themes will you use in your thriller and why?
Doing research on Narrative themes has helped what different themes that I could use within my final film. However before i could make some final decisions about what themes i could use i would also should choose a type of genre for the opening as-well. The themes I will be planning to use would be Betrayal, death since those two are suitable with the thriller theme also that these two would go with each other because most thrillers would have these elements with the film as it makes the film more interesting and tense. Also these the most conventional themes that occurs within the thriller genre.
What is narrative and why is it important to audiences?
Narrative mainly means story or the plot and account of events of what's happening a piece of media that could be either a film or literature. Narrative is really important especially to the audience because not only do they want to watch a good film with a great story-line they expect a lot of from a film no matter what type of genre. The film must make sense and the story has to be perfect that's why a lot of films are quite popular since a lot of people have recommended the film to other people because its good or great piece of film work.
Creating meaning in texts: what four elements allows the audience to find meaning
There are four elements which would help the audience the elements of structure
Characters
Characters are needed to represent the meaning of the story. for the audience to understand the narrative character need to fit with what's happening with the storyline. This is done by what clothes that character wearing, when the character reacts to another character decision. This will allow the audience to understand what that character playing weather she an antagonist or protagonist.
Connotation and denotation
Connotation and denotations is another way that the audience understands what's happening during a storyline. an example of a connotation and denotations in a thriller would be the costumes because the audience would understand whose the protagonist and antagonist and a reaction from the audience if they only found out what's happening in the film.
Genre
Genre helps create meaning by helping the audience to understand what type of film category it belongs to. The audience already have expectations on what could happened during the film since it belongs to a certain kind of genre.
Structure
A structure of a film creates meaning because the audience would understand what's happening during the film. A structure allows a film to follow an order of what's happening and what's probably or should happened next. Moreover will not make the film confusing to the audience, most films would have a Start, middle and a End
There are many theory's behind a good narrative ranging for, what types of characters that are in the story to the themes within a story line. In the next couple of paragraphs i will be talking about several theorist who come up with really good theory's about narratives
Propp (characters): who was he and what did he say. Refer to examples
Vladimir Propp born in 1895 had a theory about narrative however his field of speciality was in Folk tales however you can infer what he saying about most narratives. Most story-line would have seven different types of character within the story-line.
Hero- The protagonist in the story
Villain- The antagonist in the story
Donor- Helps the protagonist by giving him/her a magical object
Dispatcher- The character who sends off the hero on his quest
False Hero- Perceived to be the protagonist however he isn't and probably is wrong
Helper- who helps the hero throughout the quest
The Princess the person who often need to be rescued and most of the time is used
Her Father- the father of the princess and the reward of the hero also the main target to villain.
Most Narratives/story-line will not have these characters as these wont fit in with the story-line with that particular story-line since the theory was more specialized in folk tales however the next part theory was more about the structure of a story-line, Propps theory on structure was split up into several parts.
Complication where the hero is planning to stop a villain.
Transference where the hero reacts what happened with the Donor a
Struggle The villain would have to be overcome
Return The hero returns to place of origin however he's not recognised as a hero
Reconciliation. The Anti hero is proved to be wrong and the real hero is celebrated
Most narratives are similar to what props theory is however again prop's theory is more usually specialized with folk tales and may not be relevant to most narratives within the thriller genre.
Todorov (eq=diseq=new eq) :who was he and what did he say? Refer to examples
Tzvetan Todorov born in 1939 world renown historian and philosopher. He had a theory on how a narrative but unlike with prop's theory it was more generalized and related with other genres. Todorov theory was more off that there was a start middle and ending to a story-line. Start or the Equilibrium is where the story starts and everything going well. Then theirs the middle or disequilibrium when everything start taken for the turn for the worst and new equilibrium when has been sorted and/or fixed.
Todroev theory had more sense since most story-lines would fit more with most narrative since most films that have been made fits what most films have done past compared to propps theory.
An example of Todreov theory would be Taken
The reason why because there is an Equilibrium, disequilibrium and a new equilibrium. The Equilibrium is where everything was going ok for the main character The disequilibrium would be when his daughter gets kidnapped and the New equilibrium would be he rescue his daughter.
Scream is one of
the most influential and conventional thrillers. The way it has been put
together to what happens during the opening scene and the film making it one of
the most iconic thrillers within the genre. From the use of its mise on scene
to use of cinematography, all of these micro elements has made scream one of
the best openings to a film.
At the beginning
of the opening scene after the title sequence we already hear non diegetic sound
which is off scream. This initially makes the audience may be confusion because
the movie just jumped straight into the action and this already shows how conventional
scream is as a thriller since it starting to confuse the audience at the beginning and is not
building up to it with like other genres. As the scene develops we see a girl
who keeps repeatedly picking up the phone to an antagonist who kept calling her,
the main purpose of the antagonist calling her is to interrogate her. The victim looked like a stereotypical victim since she’s wearing clothing that
has light colours which connote that she is innocent and or the protagonist. Also
she has blonde hair which in like most thrillers women in blonde hair and are
looking innocent usually killed first and is conventional with most thrillers,
because there have been a lot thrillers in the past where girls in blonde hair
have been the most common victims and damsel in distress. As the scene continues
another thing I noticed during this part of the opening section is that the
main iconography is the phone, however occurs mostly
during this part of the film when she kept repeatedly hanging up and having to
answer the call again every time the antagonist called back and the coversation they are having to each other. The conversation between the victim and the antoganist This is telling us
that the phone conversation is pretty important for the scene and is also foreshadowing
what’s going to happen next.
Continuing with
the opening sequence the antagonist threatened the victim with her life.
From an audience perspective we now see the body language and facial
expressions once the character on the phone reveals that he’s watching her, We now see her panicking because the man now starting terrorizing her on the phone and to start making threats. Her body language tells us that
she starting panic and she also shaking. Her facial expression is telling the
audience that she doesn’t know what’s going on and she terrified. Also the
sound also now picks up and more diegetic sounds such as background music is
used to the audience that things that As
the scene carry’s the popcorn that she was cooking earlier has now started to
burn and creating smoke giving the scene a low lighting effect. Less lighting now
signifies the fact that she is isolated from the rest of world because she
doesn’t know what is happening and she can’t speak to anyone on the outside
world. Also that she doesn’t know what the antagonist is and that she doesn’t know
what’s going to happen next because of the way he the antagonist is portrayed
because his mood keeps changing.
Further on the
opening scene we see fast pace editing until the point where the antagonist
reveals that her boyfriend is in the patio tied up this is where also see a lot
of close ups and reactions shots of the character as well while her boyfriend
is being killed in front of her. Cinematography is the most important about
this part of the scene is shows what is happening with the character as she’s being
tortured by the antagonist. Also lot of medium shots were also taken during the
frantic telephone conversation to stop the antagonist from killing her
boyfriend. The audience reaction is would be shock since that the film had been
building at to this moment very quickly. The emotions on the character face off
shock and terrified making the audience feel petrified because the next part of
the opening scene may mean that her boyfriend is about to die.
In the final part
of the opening scene we see the antagonist wanting to play a “game”. In fact
he’s still trying intimidate her by telling her not open the door and then
still threating her that he will kill her boyfriend if she doesn’t play along.
We see more cinematography with medium shots focusing on the damsel in distress
and the would be victim and with jump cuts in-between them. However the damsel
in distress loses the games after she answered wrongly therefore her boyfriend
dies more jump cuts showing the reaction of her boyfriend being killed by an
unknown assailant. The audience reactions would be scared and also disturbed by
the events in the opening scene.
Scream uses a lot
conventional micro elements that is seen in thrillers from the cinematography
to the mise on scene it uses. A lot can be taken away from this film however
the main point that I could use from a thriller is that try to be conventional
but unique. Scream uses a lot features that you might see in other thrillers
from the way in which the damsel in distress is portrayed to the events that
takes place and where the setting is located. Being different about some of
scream dose may my film opening unique however I should try to stick with the
convections that thrillers uses.
What is the role of the BBFC and why are they important to the film industry
As with most other types of media, most media are subject to censorship in particular films. This is to protect younger audiences from content which may be inappropriate or that may adverse effect on younger children. Most censorship is on the basis of that if you're planning to show this to an audience range would the film be too offensive or rude to show that target audience range. Most films are censored depending what type of content they have in the film. Most films will come under 6 bands. U, PG, 12, 12A, 15, 18, Films who don't make the criteria are mostly banned unless they censor or cut some of the content that is deemed inappropriate by the regulator.
The regulatory body of films is BBFC or the British board of Film classification. Their main job is to censor and certify films according to the content within in the film. They have to make sure that the film is for a suitable audience. BBFC has control on what films can be published and watched at the cinema. All UK films have to be certified by the BBFC before they can be shown to the public.
These are the current certification used in films and a the description of them as well
U
U or universal is for general viewing but some scenes are unsuitable for some children. The content that you would find in a U type film would be suitable for children the use of mild bad language at times where it's justified And there are not topics in which focus on heavy issues such as drugs, discrimination, sex or violoence. Unaccompanied children of any age are able to watch. but parents need to make sure that their children can watch it.
An example of a film that is rated U is Frozen
PG
PG or parental guidance is where its hard to judge if children are going to find it ok to watch however children over he age four may find it suitable to watch. However there should a positive moral framework and the film has to offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat and/or Horror. This means the film can focus on topics that are heavier topics and can use rude language but this has to be justified. Violence is allowed along with frightening scenes however it can not be intense and they should little as blood as possible and shouldn't make children uncomfortable they can be references to drugs, however, the film shouldn't be an emphasis on this subject.
An example of a film that is rated PG is Wreck-it Ralph
12
This is where content is not suitable for people under 12 since the content in these films may upset younger audiences also stronger language can be used such as swear words. Sexual references can be used only if this is references that are taught in school at that age. Films can have violence and the use of guns and knives can be used however these cannot influence the views of the audience. Also, more intense scenes are allowed in 12 with the occasional scene that is gory. Because of this content 12 and under cannot view this film.
An example of a film that is rated 12 is unknown (2011)
12A
This is where a film is not recommended for children under 12 because it may feature unsuitable content however children under the age of 12 should be accompanied by an adult to see the film. However, this is up to the parent’s decision. 12A rating is a relative a brand new rating that was introduced in 2002 after a lot of controversy after the BBFC couldn't decide on what age rating they should give spiderman. Moreover, they opinions on both side of the argument on what the film rating should be. However they gave the rating of the film at 12 first since a lot of people were upset that it was going to be a 15 however BBFC decided to create a new cartography as a compromise since the spiderman was been out for years and is effectively an institution and freely available for people younger than 12 to read.
An example of a film that is rated 12A would be Spiderman
15
This is where content may have content that is deemed inappropriate for children under the age of 15 since it may contain controversial elements. Such as discrimination violence, drugs and violence and frequent use of bad language However drugs, violence, and drugs cannot be promoted and injury and pain cannot be dwelled on either.
An example of a film that is rated a 15 is The Purge
18
This is where that the film cannot be categorized since may be inappropriate to teenagers and young adults, therefore, its classified as an 18. Most content that is related violence and illegal acts can be shown however not cause must harm to public health and morals. Also sexual content must be kept to the minute and you cannot show scenes of sexual intercourse or sexualised violence and it connect be portrayed as erotic, endorse sexual acts this includes rape however you are allowed to incinerate that it might have happened.
An example of a film that is rated 18 is Kill Bill
What age certificates do thrillers tend to get and why (relate to content)?
Most thrillers tend to be 15 or 18 because of the content and themes within most thrillers. This could be because of the language they use of violence, sexual content, rape and horror sequences that may not be suitable for people under 15 or 18 depending on the film or could be deemed too frightening to children and young teenagers. An example of a thriller film being rated a 15 is Scream. The use of violence and gore throughout the film deemed the film to be inappropriate for younger audiences
What age certificate would you give your thriller?
My thriller will be 15 since we won’t have sexual content and horror sequences in the film. We are planning to use various themes such as murder and blood to show what's happening to a character at the beginning. The opening scene may be intense for the younger audience and they will be the use of bad language and violence and it won’t be suitable for under 15s because of the content.
Conclusion: what have you learned about certificates and what you need to consider for your own thrillers in terms of what is appropriate for the different age groups.
The BBFC has strict ratings about what film get which age certificates. Most thriller is usually 15 and sometimes 18 or 12A. When i am create my film opening i have to make sure that my film is Suitable for 15 and not 18. I should follow the guidelines that the BBFC has set. It's important to understand what are the boundaries for various age certificates and why they are there. There is various reason why they have set these grade boundaries and what should film companies content should contain if they aiming for an particular age group
Film openings are essential for thrillers as these give narrative or a back-story on what happening and/or what going to happen during the story. Most thrillers like "The phone booth" openings might jump in straight to some action or some might build up to it. Most openings might trigger an reaction from the audience that might be shock or despair depending on the sub genre of the film. a great example of this is Unknown in which there was an accident during the opening scenes of film which shocked some people.
Main Purpose of an film opening
The main purpose of a film opening is to introduce you to the film and can take on one of many routes either introducing some of the main characters, adding bit of back story or introduce what happening during the film. and also to the audience what could be expected of the narrative on the film. An example of a really good film opening is Hannah which i also would be discussing in the analysis as-well. since that starts up in a non-chronology order also shows what what one of the main characters is.
Common convections
There are many common convection used in thrillers depending on what's type of thriller theme it is and the narrative during the opening scene. Most thrillers openings usually get an audience reaction. This could be achieved by a surprises at a beginning of the film to disturbing narrative at the beginning of the film an example of this would be "Scream" since they is a someone screaming at the beginning of the film which provoke an reaction from the audience. Also lighting is another common convection in opening of thrillers since there is it mostly low key lighting and back lighting during opening scenes obscuring some things that we cant see during the opening. An example would be "The watchmen" I also analysed the watchmen as well. Most recent thrillers like black swan (2010) opening also give a lot of back-story during the beginning of their films,Sometimes you might see in older thrillers like the stepfather has openings is that some of the credits are at the beginning of the films. In modern thrillers may have less credits and/or just the title of the thriller for example Hannah (2011) which just has a few credits and the title of the film. Other common convections that you may see in the beginning of a thriller film are
Reactions shots
Close up
Death
Burning
Shock
Curiosity
Contrapuntal sounds
Clear antagonist and protagonist
Analysis
Below are analysis of thriller openings.
Hannah (2011)
At the beginning of the opening we see a series of clips of
landscapes and rugged terrain what appears to be Alaska and there is some off
screen sounds but generally quiet. We also see at the beginning some credits at
the beginning of the screen. As the opening clip progress the audience see a girl
shooting an arrow at a deer. After quick chase the girl goes up to the deer who
has now fallen down and says “I just missed your heart” and the girl then
shoots the deer. Their is no clear narrative structure from the opening scene however the audience might want to know why a girl is having to kill a deer and this explained throughout the film how she got he. The
cinematography shows what’s happening between the girl and the deer. Also there are
a couple of jumps cut that are noticeable for example there is one right at the
end where the girl shoots the deer and it jumps to a title. The themes that
throughout the opening scene was mystery when the audience was trying to find
out what the girl was up to as well as death when the deer was shot.
Along came a spider (2001)
At the beginning of the opening scene you already see a close
up of the protagonist face suggesting something was going to happen or he’s
trying to stop something? 10 seconds in to the opening scene there’s a
establishing shot of a sign "Virginia Falls Dam" this is already
foreshadowing a disaster already. Also the background music perks up as soon as
the sign was shown suggesting to the audience there is something going to
happen. After that there was fast past editing showing how bad the situation
was now since they were rumbled as well as medium shots and close up of the
characters showing their reactions to the change of the situation. Also that
there is a lot of non-diegetic sound throughout the thriller opening as well as
on screen sound as well. The opening had a clear structure in which the audience
interprets what’s happening during the scene. The iconography at the opening
scene was the dam since it led to a death of the antagonist and a victim. There
were many themes in the opening scene including mystery because we didn’t know
what was happening at first. Action and death which are quite common themes in
most thrillers.
The Watchman
The opening of The watchman has no clear structure and also that there is no clear or there is limited narrative. There are many themes in the opening including Violence, Good vs Evils, death and vengeance. There are contrapuntal sound since that were not expected in a thriller opening. there was also digetic and non-digetic sounds used in the thriller opening. The cinematography was used to capture the emotion of the victim also there are several long shots to she skills of the men fighting during the opening. There are also use of low key lighting and under lighting throughout the scene making somewhat difficult what's happening when the two people are fighting also the main iconography used in the scene was a knife showing how badly both people want to kill each other as-well as the smiley-face badge on the victim dressing gown.
Conclusion
Most openings needs to fit what type of sub genre that film has, This may mean i need to choose what sub-genre i would be doing for the final project but also i need to think what themes that will be in my opening part of the film and how should i include this in the opening scene. Also have to choose what type camera angles and cinematography i uses that means i might use an establishing shot at the beginning also the cinematography i use must fit in with the film as-well. because of the way my film maybe structured i don't want the narrative to be clear until near the end of the opening scene also i should try to use background sounds and effects that works well with my opening scene as-well as trying to use lighting effectively as possible. Also when adding credits as well this could be like several credits throughout the opening scene or just have a few credits at the beginning with the title place at the end.
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Different thrillers would use different types typography depending on the thriller and theme of the film. An example would be the butterfly effect. Most of the title is a mixture off common words and capitals. However one of the "f" is larger than all the words this could be to highlight what could happen in film to do with the letter.Other thrillers may use may use full capitals to grab the audience attention, And others may use common words only to make the title or credits seem insignificant compared to everything else.
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