Type in Motion 1

The reason I chose the opening sequence for Panic Room is because of its simplicity [of the idea]. Technically, this is an extremely complex feat: motion tracking, reflections, texturing, lighting, etc.. The idea, however, is to make text look like it's a part of a scene. Now, this is not a new idea. We've seen practical effects, where people actually create type in a scene out of food or written in a newspaper or license plate. This is unique because the text is not made to look like it is a part of an object in a scene. The text is an entity of its own. The scale is also something that I like. Generally, with this sort of typography in movies, there is a sense of believability. [I could believe that a license plate could have that on it. Or, I could believe that the tag on the shirt said that.] But, the scale of the text, when combined with the wide establishing shots, makes for something that we could never see in real life: suspended massive typography that perfectly melts into the scene as if it is there. Generally, in video, we stay away from serif fonts that have little baby serifs. They used a font with little serifs, but it seems to work because the text is so big. [And, because it is intended for a huge screen.] From the reflections on windows to panning perfectly with the shot this text really sells the idea of it being a part of the scene, and has made its mark on opening film sequences, forever.