Font and Credit Study

What makes a font/credit style important in a film?

Having a specific font for a genre of movie can set the film up for the entire movie because the colour and the style of the credit gives off the impression of what type of atmosphere the movie is going to be. A good example of this is in 'The Exorcist' (1974), as the font colour is red and the style of the credit is right in the centre of the screen and the credits being very symmetrical and stiff. This makes the atmosphere of the film very unnerving and tense because the colour of red has connotations of death and danger, and with the credit being directly in the centre of the screen, it implies a sense of importance about the film, which can make the audience tense because it makes them wonder why there is an importance about this film.

1. Loverboy (1989)

• Colour of credits are bright - implies the show is very family friendly because bright colours imply warmth and fun.

• Font style is very cartoonish - large lettering and different sizes of letters highlight that this is a comedic and very exaggerated show.

• Credits positioned in different places - conveys the fact that the show's characters are all over the place like the credits.

2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

• Colour of font is bright red - highlights the connotation of blood, makes the audience feel uncomfortable and tense because they don't know why there is blood.

• Font of the credit makes it look like the credit is written in blood - makes the atmosphere tense because the audience don't know who's blood that is or why there is blood.

• Style of the credit is very bold, highlights that this show/movie is very exaggerated - makes the audience feel unnerved because the bold writing makes the blood more prominent, as if it will feature a lot in the film.

3. We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks

• Colour of the font is white, contrasts from the theme of the show because white has connotations with innocence and truth, whereas the show is about spreading lies.

• Font makes the credits look technological (technological meaning conservative and important) - makes the audience feel involved with the show because it's almost like they are watching from a computer.

• Credits are primarily centre of the screen, implies that this show has some importance to it - makes the audience feel comfortable because they feel privileged to know about the importance of the topic of the show.