Analysing fonts (Se7en)
Friday, October 23, 2015The movie Se7en uses a couple of fonts in the opening sequence.
We'll call these font A...
...and font B...
There's a good use of colour for these titles. Since most of the clips shown are dark, the credits stand out because they're a much lighter colour. They also make sure to overlay the titles on the areas that are darkest on the clip, ensuring they stand out as much as possible. This draws the viewers attention.
The fonts are also quite typical of horrors/thrillers. They appear old, battered and rough, using texture to appear this way. They're also very disjointed and uneven. This 'unclean' look of the fonts could cause some 'visual discomfort' for the viewer.
Font A, being a font typical of typewriters, could show anonymity - something often associated with horror. This contrasts with the use of Font B, which is handwritten and more personal.
Font B is my favourite font in this case. The use of handwritten font is not something you see very often, so it's atypical of film titles, which makes it interesting to the viewer. Using this font brings up the question, who's handwriting is this? Is this the handwriting of the guy we're seeing in the opening? These questions help develop context for the character, as the viewer automatically associates the handwriting with the character shown.
What's also interesting is the kind of handwriting it is. It's badly written, and appears very childish. Since the viewer probably realises this isn't a film for children, about children, it can give this 'uncanny' and uncomfortable feeling, as, if an adult writes in this way, it's often associated with mental illness or instability - another common theme in horror.
The editing of the titles are very jumpy and erratic, which can back up this point. This could foreshadow chaos, or show that the character thinks chaotically.
Here's the full opening:
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