Typography in Film Title Sequence Design Li Yu Iowa State University
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2008 Typography in film title sequence design Li Yu Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Art and Design Commons Recommended Citation Yu, Li, "Typography in film title sequence design" (2008). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 11366. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11366 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Typography in film title sequence design by Li Yu A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF FINE ARTS Major: Graphic Design Program of Study Committee: Sunghyun Kang, Major Professor Lisa Fontaine Suman Lee Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2008 Copyright © Li Yu, 2008. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................iv LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................................. vii ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 The Visual and Cultural Context of Film Title Sequences............................................. 1 1.2 Objectives and Research Questions................................................................................ 4 CHAPTER 2. A HISTORICAL LOOK AT FILM TITLE SEQUENCES .............................. 6 2.1 Early Development of Film Titles: 1860s – late 1920s .................................................. 6 2.2 The Classical Era: 1930s – late1940s ............................................................................. 9 2.3 Postwar Era: 1950s –1960s........................................................................................... 13 2.4 Contemporary Film Titles: 1970s-present .................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 3. TYPOGRAPHY DEVELOPMENT................................................................ 22 3.1 A General Historic Review of Typography.................................................................. 22 3.1.1 From the origins of writing to Gutenberg: 3150 B.C. – A.D. 1450....................... 22 3.1.2 Typography from Gutenberg to the nineteenth century: A.D. 1450 – 1800.......... 24 3.1.3 The industrial revolution and Modernism: A.D. 1800 – 1960s ............................. 24 3.1.4 Information Age: 1970 – present ........................................................................... 25 3.2 Typeface Conveys a Special Message .......................................................................... 29 3.2.1 The second level of communication ...................................................................... 30 3.2.2 Typography aspects ............................................................................................... 30 3.2.3 Typeface persona in history................................................................................... 33 3.2.4 Semantic quality and differential scaling............................................................... 34 3.2.5 The practitioners’ lore............................................................................................ 36 CHAPTER 4. TYPOGRAPHY ON SCREEN ....................................................................... 37 4.1 Basic Design Issues....................................................................................................... 39 4.1.1 Choice of font ........................................................................................................ 39 4.1.2 Image resolution..................................................................................................... 39 4.1.3 Color ...................................................................................................................... 40 iii 4.2 Designing Over Space................................................................................................... 41 4.2.1 Visual perceptions.................................................................................................. 41 4.2.2 Frame and aspect ratio ........................................................................................... 52 4.2.3 Design structure: pictorial composition................................................................. 54 4.3 Designing Over Time.................................................................................................... 56 4.3.1 Frames, shots, scenes and sequences ..................................................................... 56 4.3.2 Computer animation............................................................................................... 56 4.3.3 Other types of animation........................................................................................ 57 CHAPTER 5. METHODOLOGY: TYPOGRAPHY AND FILM TITLES........................... 59 5.1 Methodology................................................................................................................. 59 5.2 Film Genres................................................................................................................... 62 5.3 Typeface Variations: A New Typographic Classification System ............................... 63 5.3.1 Manual ................................................................................................................... 70 5.3.2 Non-manual............................................................................................................ 73 5.4 The Effect Phenomenon................................................................................................ 78 5.4.1 Motion and transformation .................................................................................... 78 5.4.2 Three-D effects ...................................................................................................... 81 5.4.3 A tool-set driven classification system of animation effects ................................. 87 5.5 Typefaces and Animation Effects in Title Sequences .................................................. 91 5.6 Statistics of Typeface Usage in Film Titles ................................................................ 107 5.6.1 The matrix............................................................................................................ 107 5.7 A Case Study of Title Sequence Design..................................................................... 114 5.7.1 Typefaces ............................................................................................................. 115 5.7.2 Animation effects................................................................................................. 117 5.7.3 An example of “misuses” of typefaces ................................................................ 120 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION.............................................................................................. 122 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 127 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1. The stunning opening credits of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)............................... 1 Figure 2.1.1. Nosferatu (1922), a movie featuring “mise en scene.”........................................ 7 Figure 2.1.2. Title card from The Knockout (1914) directed by Charles Avery....................... 9 Figure 2.2.1. Screen shot from the title sequence in Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940)............ 10 Figure 2.2.2. Screen shot from the film title sequence of King Kong (1933)......................... 12 Figure 2.2.3. Screen shot from the title sequence of Annie Oakley (1935). ........................... 13 Figure 2.3.1. The rose and animated flame in the title sequence of Carmen Jones (1954).... 16 Figure 2.3.2. Screen shot from the opening credits of The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). ......................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 2.3.3. Screen shot from the opening sequence of the James Bond film series............ 18 Figure 3.1.1.1. The earliest written clay tablets (c. 3150 B.C.). ............................................. 22 Figure 3.1.1.2. Calligraphic writing in the ancient Roman font of the same name. ............... 23 Figure 3.1.1.3. The earliest known example of the Monoline Sans-serif. .............................. 23 Figure 3.1.2. The capital “P” shows a decorative style. ......................................................... 24 Figure 3.1.4.1. Modernism typefaces in film titles, screen shot from the title sequence of Come Live With Me (1941)............................................................................. 26 Figure 3.1.4.2. A spread from Raygun, a typical Postmodernism style magazine. ................ 28 Figure 3.2.2.1. Wijnhold’s Aspects of typography................................................................. 31 Figure 4.1.3.1.