Role: Art Direction, Concepting, Graphic Design, Animation

Opening title and end credits for short psychological thriller directed by Council Brandon. After sharing references with Council and discussing the intentions for the graphic packaging of the film, I suggested her the idea of adding on the film title card the opening credits list, all in one frame.  For a director, a short film can be seen as a business card for the director and the crew when showcased in festivals. That is what motivated this concept of title card integrating cast and crew, almost like a film poster. Once the director and producer validated the idea I started designing, my intentions was to work on generating multiple levels of contrasts. One contrast between the title card esthetic and the film’s genre and one strong contrast in the design itself. To be at odd with the darkness of thriller / horror, I wanted to make something sexy, sensual  and evocative in an effort to bring a visual dichotomy. 

I used the condensed serif type Editorial  filling up the screen with outlines only. There is a romanticism about it that mirrors the romance from the story.  To create a strong difference of impressions I’ve pared the serif’s epic-ness with a sharp grotesque type Montreal Neue.
For suspens sake, we decided on having that rust color progressively shifting to this flesh fuchsia tones. A whole bunch of effects and tweaks have been used to bring this analogue, texturized and vibrant defining esthetic to life. The font combination carries through the end card and rolling credits. We brought back the title at the end with a color variation, acting like a graphic third act as well. The numbers added sporadically around the title are a reference to the yellow numbered cards used by the police to document the photos taken in crime scenes.  

Synopsis  
Written by Mia Fowler Seth Herschkowitz

Leland, an eccentric young man who works at a storage facility, is led down a dangerous rabbit hole by Jordan, the beautiful customer he grows obsessed with.
Their fantasy romance entangles him in a series of local murders and the hunt for the killer.

Serif Types: Editorial
Grotesque Types: Montreal Neue