Here is my research and development for our thumbnail made by me & Audrey
Starting off with an overall overview of what crime documentary thumbnails look like on Netflix
Crime documentary thumbnails stick to several conventions. As it helps show what kind of audiences it's trying to target and are the key to pulling in viewers and letting them know what to expect from the documentary's theme and style. First of all we can see that most thumbnails follow the same convention which is by showcasing the face of the main character most likely the perpetrator or victim in a very close up camera angle (direct mode of address) which helps to imply how their emotions give off a sense of secrecy or intimidation. Most of these thumbnails also have a bold/dramatic typography in bright colours (white, yellow, red) in front of dark backgrounds this ensures that the viewers can easily read the text and help convey the message that the word that is emphasized is the main subject of the documentary. Most thumbnails also use a very dark colour palette with shades of grey, black, red, deep blue in order to convey mystery, danger and seriousness.
Here are two examples that mostly peaked our interest
Here are 2 documentaries in which the thumbnail really intrigued us which is "ice cold" and "what jennifer did". These 2 follow the typical convention of a crime documentary thumbnail, however "ice cold" uses a different approach which is by making it look like it came out of a newspaper and how it uses separate pieces to convey that this persons story has become well known in different news outlets and that this documentary will shine light on each persons perspective within her story allowing the viewers to not be deceived by other media outlets as they shine her on a different limelight. We liked how both documentaries have a ver stylistic choice in the picture and layout which is what stood out the most for us. However we believe that creating a thumbnail similar to "ice cold" would be quite difficult and time consuming as for "what jennifer did" it wouldn't be possible for us to do as the main story of our documentary is about 2 bestfriend's meaning we want to put 2 people as the main focus not just one.
But here is the thumbnail that we will most likely follow
Typography: The title "ICE COLD" is in big, bold, all-capitals font, a clean sans-serif typeface. White text on a dark background helps significantly in readability and gives that stark, cold feeling that agrees with the theme of the documentary. The subtitle "Murder, Coffee, and Jessica Wongso" follows in smaller font, indicating its the subheading from the main title. Typography that feels razor-sharp and stark brings out how dead serious this subject matter is.
Colour palette: Its palette is mainly shades of black, white, and gray to give that cold and sombre atmosphere. The grayscale brings in the documentary and archival feeling; it is as if we are looking at memories of the past. The blood splatters in red create a striking contrast and forthwith direct one's attention to the aspect of violence or crime. The red will add a sense of urgency and danger to the whole composition, which goes in tune with the murder theme.
Lighting and Mood: The general lighting is subduing, moody, and grainy, adding to the dark forbidding tones of the documentary. In addition to the muted lighting, the use of black-and-white photography may suggest a nostalgic, reflective feel; however, blood splatters thrown into this otherwise subdued palette introduce an element of disturbance, an indication that something truly nefarious lies beneath. Choices in lighting and mood create tension on the events that are about to unravel .
Imagery: The most prominent part of the thumbnail would be the two girls with layered photographs of them. The usage of photography would depict personal memories of when the two best friends were happy together, which would add emotional contrast to the darker elements in the thumbnail. Casual and carefree expressions in the photos, contrast with the violent connotation of blood splatter, which may indicate a tragic twist in their story. It is this conjunction of violence and innocence that stirs any viewer's mind to want to know the background information for the documentary.
This is another version of the "ice cold" documentary thumbnail. We as a team will mostly try to
make this kind of thumbnail because it aligns with the main plot we're going for which is 2 best friends and an online boyfriend. So by showcasing pictures of the 2 best friends together it gives off the impression that they're very close but the audience will question if they're that close what could possibly go wrong.
This thumbnail however gave us the idea of making a more digitised documentary as there aren't many that do this convention. So we mostly took ideas such as the typography and the effects from this movie.
Self Reflection: This was another tedious task that took me forever, but I actually had a good time. Finding research was relatively easy because most crime documentary follow the same convention so I just added what I liked and disliked for each thumbnail. But the development was a long process, not only did I have to research on typography but other small details like experimenting with effect and different colours, so this actually took the longest in my opinion. I had a ton of drafts to choose from cause we experimented with this right away in canva with no initial sketches which is why making drafts took forever, so next time I should just draw sketches first as it gives me a rough idea and not make me waste time on creating so many different variations. Another part which I struggled with was making sure that people actually liked the thumbnail so I asked feedback from many different which is why this also took up a chunk of time. But nonetheless Im happy with the results because I had feedback from the people around me and as well as my team mates.
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