Research: Opening credits and typography

What are opening credits?

Opening credits are text presented to the audience saying all the production roles and who was starring in the film and what roles they took in the production; this involves who directed it, who acted in it, who edited it and any other roles. Opening credits are where people who took part in the production of the film get credited for their work. This can be used to promote the film as people may recognise famous actors, actresses, directors and so on; encouraging them to watch the film.  This is often accompanied by sound which is used to create tension amongst the audience. The opening credits should give some inside of what the film is about but not too much; this keeps the  audience guessing. The audience may be introduced to a character in the opening credits but question who exactly they are. Opening credits should allow the audience to familiarise themselves with the film and the characters but not give away too much information so that I encourages them to watch the full film.

What is typography?

Typography is the style writing is presented to the audience. This involves font, size and colour of text. Thrillers normally use edgy font. They also use black an red colouring to signify blood and danger. This creates anxiety amongst the audience and allows them to prepare for the fear they expect to feel throughout the film.

The opening credit for 'Se7en' uses chilling typography on its opening credits. This allows the audience to clearly identify that the film is a thriller right from the beginning. The typography makes the audience feel slightly uncomfortable which informs them that they might find the film slightly disturbing. From learning about typography I am now able to think about what to use in my own thriller. I know that I would like to use black and red and font that resembles blood.