06Neon sign title
a title that exists in the world as a glowing sign
Word written on a fogged window
A word written by a hand inside the scene, for suspense
10The prompt
Close-up from inside a parked car at night of a fogged-up side window, rain outside and blurry orange streetlights beyond the glass. Photoreal live-action suspense footage. 0–1s: a fingertip has already drawn a large letter H in the condensation and starts the next letter. 1–4s: the finger finishes writing 【HELP】 in big shaky capital letters, the glass clear where it passed, the streetlights showing through the strokes. 4–8s: the hand pulls away out of frame and drops of water run down from the letters. Throughout: locked-off close-up, the word reads correctly from inside the car, one continuous take, no subtitles.
Tip
Start mid-word so something reads from the first frame (the H is there at 0 s), and shoot from the writer's side so the word isn't mirrored. The whole word reads by about 4 s.
More in this family
06
07Giant letters in the landscape
a title built into the landscape at monumental scale
19Projected text
words thrown by a projector across a wall and a face