Font Analysis

I decided to analyse some existing thriller opening sequences as part of my research in order to observe the type of fonts they use and how they may/may not conform to the thriller genre. I also looked at thriller DVD cover to see whether they kept to a house-style and used the same or similar fonts.

Opening Sequences:

'Se7en' Opening Credits:

The font featured in this opening sequence is quite child like. It is almost as if it has been hand written and is relatively small. I believe this has been done to keep the emphasis on the fast paced cut between shots which are informing what the film will be like. The font is also in white and is small to stand out against the clips. This is a sequence I've seen with one of the smallest fonts. The font is also quite jumpy and looks quite old which creates an eerie effect for the audience, especially as it accompanied by gory images in the background. This is therefore typical of the thriller genre as it creates suspense for the audience and already contains clues/messages in the sequence of what is to come in the film. It also suggests that a child may be involved through the child-like font. The non-diagetic music playing is also quite scary in the sense that has an eerie sound to it, which accompanies the credits and thus creates an effective opening sequence.

'Panic Room' Opening Sequence:

The font featured in this opening sequence for the thriller 'Panic Room' is very bold. The fact that it is all in capitals reinforces this and shows how the credits are of importance. Although all of the credits are generally big in size, some of them are smaller to give emphasis on the names e.g. 'MUSIC BY' is smaller compared to the name 'HOWARD SHORE' at 1.17.  The credits are also displayed against a natural backdrop of a city. The music is also very intense and heightens tension which coincides with the credits to create an effect on the audience such as suspense.

'Vacancy' Opening Sequence:

This is the opening sequence for the film 'Vacancy'. I chose this film to analyse as the opening sequence predominately consists of text, so therefore I thought it would be good to look at its font. The font mainly consists of the colours yellow, red and black. The font itself is very big and bold and takes up the whole of the  screen through the fancy links between each name i.e. the names follow a path which display each name in a creative and unique way. The font firstly appears as flawless, but then the name 'Vacancy' has some lines drawn into it making it appear broken and therefore indicates danger and conforms to the thriller genre. The rest of the names are also in this format too. An interesting and unique feature I picked out in this sequence is also the fact that when each name appears, some letters continue drawing a straight line as if it is portraying blood dripping as demonstrated from 0.51-0.54. At this precise moment 'Kate Beckinsale's name has the letters K and B expanding as if it were blood. This foreshadows what is later to happen in the film and the audience get a feel that the characters are going to experience something horrific.

DVD Covers:

'Phonebooth':

This is the DVD cover for the thriller 'Phonebooth'. The font is very bold and stands out as an attractive feature, but isn't the main feature of the cover. The word 'PHONE' is written in captials compared to the word 'booth' which is written in lowercase. This suggests that the word 'PHONE' is of more importance and asserts the storyline and matches the image on the front of a man trapped within a phonebooth. The font is also in white with a slight touch of blue which matches the images on the cover, as they mainly consist of tones of blue and natural daylight as they are stills taken from the actual film.

'Not Forgotten':

I've decided to analyse the font for this DVD cover because I found it very appealing. Instantly, it caught my attention because the name of the film is written as though it is a knife with sharp points. The letters are portrayed as sharp knives through the letters F and T, which suggests that the film will have elements of murder and death. As I've already mentioned in my research, knives are a typical piece of iconography associated with the thriller, so therefore this DVD cover conforms to the genre.

'Orphan':

This is the DVD cover for the thriller 'Orphan'. Instantly by looking at the font style you can see that it looks like it has been written by a child and therefore you can presume that the film will be based around a protagonist who is an orphan. The name is also written in red which suggests that this orphan is associated with blood somehow and could possibly represent danger, as reinforced by the statement located underneath which says: "There's something wrong with Esther," which shows how she isn't normal.

Overall, I can conclude that the majority of fonts within the thriller genre are often bold, big and childlike with connotations of knives and blood as a way of representing the iconography of the genre. This shows how the iconography impacts upon the fonts because they need to enforce the genre and make sure that they conform to it so that the audience do not get confused and so that there is no distortion. It is necessary to match the genre in order to appeal to a mass audience and ensure that they perceive the genre correctly.