Exploring Opening fonts

In todays calss, I did some research on what kinds of fonts I wanted to use for my opening.

Inspiration

Zodiac (2007)
I found this opening sequence quite interesting as it informs the audience of the context whilst hiding cast and production names within a newspaper

Se7en

Whilst it's plot revolves around catching aserial killer, the font used in the opening of se7en is quite childish. The animation of these credits can be described as unstable, reflecting the nature of the serial killer.

The " Plaern wan" logo

Plearn wan is a famous market located in the South of Thailand. It is made to replicate the 60s-70s era when Western ideals and films set root in the country.As "trench coat detectives" are seen as a western idea debuting in films such as The Maltese Falcon (1941) The font clearly resonates with the idea of integrating Western and Eastern cultures.



Apart from these I also found fonts online on dafont.com

I aimed for typewriter-esque fonts because they connotate heavily with the theme of crime investigation, often being used in police procedures.  It also looks quite worn out, just like the meaning of the word "righteousness" in our society

-1942 Typewriter

This font bears a fairly rusty appearance  and almost ressembles the blood marks that has been left after a murder has occurred. The plot of my film revolves around a series of murders and this font can be used to foreshadow upcoming events.

-Veteran Typewriter

Veteran Type writer is quite bold yet very type writer-like with it's mildly worn out appearance. This can be effectively used as a credit heading eg: "Directed By"

-Mom's Typewriter

Unlike the other fonts that I have selected, "moms typewriter" has a more concentrated and saturated texture as if it was made by an actual typewriter. This gives the credit a more exquisite feeling.

-Old Newspaper types

This font resembles ones used in newspaper headlines (one appears in my opening reporting the murder of an oligarch.) If used, it can also act as a reference to an opening to the movie Zodiac (2007).

-Traveling Typewriter

I like this font because it has a very unique yet unequal texture. Whilst some letters are bold, the others are very thin. It is also easy to read for the audience.

-Another Typewriter

The appearance of this font is quite normal, making the film more relatable to the audience, rather than being perceived as a 40s style fictional crime thriller. Negatively, this may make the film seem less thrilling/exciting.

Taking influence from Se7en I wanted to animate my credit texts as the opening progresses. I want to use this to portray the psychological state of the protagonist after he realizes he can sympathize with his suspect but cannot do anything about it.

In the end, I used a combination of the Veteran Typewriter  and 1942 Report.

18/1/2017-Prop Hunt

In this lesson, I made a list summarizing the props I needed for filming

-Trench coat
-Hand cuffs (preferably realistic)
-Beige Fedora/trilby
-Handkerchief
-Pocket Knife
-Watch

-A piece of meat
-Chopping board
-Knife
-Salt and Pepper
-2 Phones

-Red roses/other flowers
-Fake blood



DIY (to be made myself)
-News papers
-Police reports and documents
-family photos
-A folder to put in police documents
-family painting

Paper work

Location finalizations

After drawing up a brief sketch in this post regarding the filming locations, I went and found the actual locations. Here are some photos and comparisons with the concept sketches

1. The office
Shoot location: Mom's working room

This room is quite conventional to the genre of thrillers as it's colour palette is very restricted, remaining with colors of more lifeless hues such as dark brown and green. The room's furnishing also gives off a professional impression that can show the audience that the protagonist is a middle class and high ranking Detective.

2.interrogation room
Shoot location: Multipurpose room at a Condo

I think this room is quite interesting because the way it is decorated is differing in both corners. It can be used to show the personality and power of each characters during the interrogation scene.
On the other hand, it did not fully follow the original room I had in my storyboard and the decorations made it look unconventional, especially because of the painting at the back. Positively, if the painting is positioned on the detective's side of the interrogation, it can foreshow his inner fragility and his idealistic perception of society to the audience

3. The detective's house/kitchen
shoot location: a room at my condo

The dining area (the kitchen where we will film is on the left!)

The kitchen area

Where the cooking takes place. The Spice rack may act as a good establishing sot for the film. 

I deliberately chose to use the condo unit as a house setting because it creates meaning and also allows the film to become more relatable to the audience (Particularly in countries where condo's and apartments are rising in popularity). This is because in today's Thai society, the idea of living in a Condominium has become more endorsed due to things such as property costs, living space and the changes in people's ways of life.
Furthermore, these high rise rooms show the idea of isolation and helplessness. In the film, the Detective arrives at the condo to find both his wife and son murdered and feels guilty as he wasn't able to protect them.

The fish tank mentioned .

Bonus picture: one of the fish tank inhabitants!!

In the original opening, a fish tank was to be included in order to convey the idea of creating your own miniature world according to your needs. Within a fish tank, the environment is more easily controlled and manipulated, unlike the real world where there will always be things that remain uncontrollable, such as injustice. It reflect's on the protagonist's strong desire of restoring justice and righteousness onto society, but is stopped as he can't control everything.

4. The "flashback scene" pool+balcony 

*this picture was taken in the evening to ensure that most of the settings can be seen, the real footage will be filmed at night.

The view will give the flashback scene a high amount of significance as it emphasises the Detective's love for his wife and family.  Instead of observing the Skyscraper-esque city views below him, he accepts his future wife's confession of love, showing that she means more than the world to him.

16/01/2017 class notes: The difference between "shoot" and "script" locations

Shoot Location: Where the film is shot in real life 

Script Location: The  location in the film 

For example, this scene is filmed in a small office but in the opening, it is an interrogation room.

Location plans

Today I outlined a brief plan of the locations that I will be filming at.  Here is my sketch:

 

1. The Detective's work place:

Shoot Location: Mom's working room

2. Corridor to the interrogation room

Shoot location: Unknown/unconfirmed

 

3. The Interrogation Room

Shoot location: Unknown

4. The detective's house

Shoot location: My house (a condominium)

11/1/2017 Are we all one or are we alone?

I found a facebook post about a japanese boxer (Genki Sudo) who held up a sign saying "we are all one" instead of his national flag.

 I then though if you remove some letters from it, you get 

"we are alone" 

reflecting the idea of separating from a union. 

It immediately came to my mind that this could be used as the film's title/ as a part of the mise-en-scene as the plot starts with the detective losing his family, the thing that unites them together and makes them "all one". He then isolates himself from everyone else, having to go through waves of grief.

This can also act as a metaphor for society. Every social class is not united but separated. Under some situations (eg: Strikes), the classes go against each other while others are unwilling to lend a helping hand. Though under world scale threats , they may unite becoming all one to cease the threat.