design in film

Okay first of all I’d like to acknowledge that I have not been doing this since 2018, so about 3 years have gone by since I’ve published anything here. This is enough time to realize I’d like to write more, look at more titles and analyze more typefaces. More, more and more... So let me jump right into it.

This year I would like to start with a banger series from last year. 62 million views in the first month. Costume and production design deserving an Emmy nomination. And a new title designer crush. 

All that is The Queen’s Gambit.

The Queen’s Gambit end title sequence

I truly could write about this show for paragraphs and paragraphs on without ever finding an end. If I was in school I would write a dissertation on the whole thing. But for now I'm only going to concentrate on the type.

The deliberate positioning of the title card with a simple dark teal type on the black background in the beginning of each episode is an opening worth your attention. Everything about this series is incredibly thought through and well designed. Any of the articles written in the aftermath of the series going viral (forgive my gen-z language) have already stated and reiterated in every way possible that having a title card and not a sequence is a way for the creators to bring the audience straight to Beth, the main character, and let the viewer dive right into the time capsulated world of chess, fashion and addiction. I could go on and argue about the importance and impact of the opening sequence on many shows and provide a multitude of examples but I won’t argue here with the creator's choices. Partially because I actually see a line of logic in it and partially because I want to concentrate on something else here.

A type choice.

Opening title card 

Given the fact that it is a new show and not enough people have done investigation into the typeface choices yet, I had to rely on the storehouse of all questions and answers - Reddit. The few who have inquired, and when I say few I really mean it, have pointed me to Prohibition.

After a letter by letter examination my eyes and I have come upon the same conclusion that it is in fact a typeface by Matox Shuler from Fort Foundry.

Prohibition typeface sample

This edgy sans serif is the perfect display typeface that one might see on industrial union posters, if one lived in the beginning of twentieth century. However, placed in the context of a TV series that takes place in the 1960-70s and was created in 2020, one might wonder if it actually works here. The intent however is clear to me - visualizing reasoning and arithmetics. As Saskia Marka points out in her interview with the Art of the Title, the concept behind the end sequence was to make it abstract and with a hint of geometrics that allude to chess, but to leave the interpretation to the eye of the beholder. And the type is that sprinkle on top of the ice cream to this concept. The modern, sharp look of Prohibition is serving exactly that purpose.

A screenshot from the end title sequence

who:

Title Design Studio: Antibody. Illustrations: Ken Taylor. Series Music by: Laura Karpan, Raphael Saadiq

what:

HBO’s new series based on the 2016 book is a wonderful depiction of the evil, wild and fiction 1950′s Jim Crow period in America. 

why:

"The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club.”

I'm afraid I am about to break this rule and talk at length about the Fight Club. 

I will tell you that this film is one of a kind and uncanny, and that it visually explores the moral ambiguity and violence of a human character. The cinematic mastery accomplished by David Fincher is beyond words and the script is full of wit, sarcasm and moral expressions that made this movie a classic.

Promotional poster for the Fight Club 

Besides the obvious however, there is also typography. Not something you think of first when you think of Fight Club, but it is there and it is... quite interesting. Created by the late P. Scott Makela  this edgy and unique sans-serif was inspired by rave flyers of the time and perfectly reflects the nature of the movie. This typeface like many others created during the ‘90s evokes strange feeling of being in the underground skinhead club somewhere in the sketchy areas of London at around 2 in the morning. Makela is responsible for many post-modern typefaces that resemble the underground culture of urban youth of that time. a great example of such typefaces created by him would be  Dead History. Given his history and creative battle against clean corporate look so highly promoted by his design predecessors, like Paul Rand and Massimo Vignelli, choosing him to design the typeface for this movie was beyond a good call.

P. Scott Makela’s Dead History typefaces sample

Another important element seems to be the tracking and kerning that is happening in the opening sequence.

Screenshots of the typefaces utilized in the title sequence specifically illustrating the kerning and leading choice.

Since there are no recorded interviews with Makela on “how/why” of this typeface, we can only guess that there is a direct connection to the context of the movie. The tight look could be going back to the neurons tied together and all the ligatures in the way recreate the connection of brain cells. Beyond the obvious reference to the grunge typefaces of David Carson and Harriet Goren, there is also an interesting aspect of foreseeing the type that will be commonly used through many movies in the 2000s. The sleek, clean, edgy style that people will get inspired by enough to implement it in every action based movie from that point on. 

So this is the end of a brief debrief of the Fight Club typography and the title sequence overall!

P.S.

Sickos titles

who:

production studio: Mill+; creators/EPs: Laura Grey, Laura Mckenzie, Mary Winn Heider; director/EP: Matt Miller;

Title sequence creative director/lead designer: Anzie Yoon ji Lee; art director: Matthew Darnell; designer/animator: Josh Van Praag, Joe Lawrence, Matthew Darnell, Adrian Navarro, Tracey Khan.

what:

a web series, set in a world of medical school training and simulations, the series focuses on an all-sorts mix of actors and artists who make a living pretending to be ill

why:

Welcome to the first article of TypeonWednesdays! 

These articles will discuss the fonts used in your favorite and not-so-favorite TV shows and movies. Brace yourself for many great discoveries of fonts across the film universe.

While thinking much of how to write this article and what information to include, one thing I knew right away was which show I wanted to start with. This might seem like an odd choice considering the nature of the typeface but consider the influence of this TV show on the lives of many, especially people who grew up in the 90s, and you will understand my choice.

Friends is an iconic show with a brilliant cast, outstanding writing and one of the first shows to introduce me to the use of design in film. Nothing in these series is an afterthought. There is a reason for purple walls, and for camera angles, beloved and iconic fashion choices, and many more design decisions that made this show loved and flawless.

But I’d like to discuss today the typeface choices. First and foremost… let’s just take a look at it:

Gabriel Weiss’ Friends Font! These epochal letterforms are hand-drawn and represent the essence of 90s TV design. Its affable and welcoming nature invites the viewer to see the show for all ages and all hearts.  It invites you to fall in love with characters, appreciate the humor and cry a little in the face of all the breakups and love stories.

Gabriel Weiss’ Friends Font sample

Type expert and curator of the Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography, Alexander Tochilovsky, has a site dedicated to the typography of famous 90s TV shows and expresses his opinion of the Friends title design in the following words:

"The hand-drawn aesthetic started to become  really popular in the 90s and the Friends logo is  a perfect example—but perhaps what’s more interesting is the logic behind it. Each of the colored dots between the seven letters can each be thought of as the different ‘friends’ within the show."

It is common for title designers to point out the nature of the show through the typeface choice, but Tochilovsky is correct to point out that often overlooked dots in between these iconic letters, as well as and any other graphic elements often incorporated in opening titles, are a thoughtful placement, which in this case are indicative of the number of the friends pictured in the show. One may argue that colors are also representative of the character and we can play a guess game and try to match the pairs to the characters, but I believe that wasn’t the intention of the designer. The goal was to introduce the forever beloved show to the viewer and through the sequence and type used indicate the nature of the show while attracting the right audience and playing on the relationships of the characters.

And just to remind you what the rest of the opening sequence looks like I leave this link here:

And though the famous opening sequence will be recognized by many for ages to come, as an admirer of the show and an amateur title designer I can’t forget the end credits. Essential to any show, those might follow the structure of the opening credits or  might follow a different visual look, which is a case with Friends.

The end credits use a humanist typeface Lydian, designed by Warren Chappell for ATF in 1938, and close in its form to the opening credits. It once again emphasizes the character of the show as well as the time period it first appeared on the screen.

Lydian typeface sample.

Lydian appears as playful yet distinctive on the screen, all qualities that the show itself possess. Lydian is the humanist serifs, a kind of a Roman typeface, where the letters created through the holding of a pen at a consistent angle that creates a certain distinguishable rhythm. It is somewhat surprising to see this typeface appear on the screen considering it’s most commonly used in a large volume texts (books and magazines). Its organic and script-like form once again reinforces the nature of the show and the 90s design leniency towards harmonious, natural and amicable letterforms.

That’s all I got on fonts in this wonderful TV show.

Till next time my friends! 

THE SECRET WORLD OF ANNIE ATKINS, GRAPHIC DESIGNER FOR FILMS

By Summer Wilson

https://www.ross-macdonald.com/movie-props/

Discovering a new book or a TV series or podcast is always exciting. It’s a feeling of being thrown into the sea of new knowledge. That ’s how I feel about discovering 99%invisible - incredible website full of articles and podcasts that uncovers the world that we might not see from the first sight.

The episode that caught my attention at first was dedicated to Graphic Design in Film and TV. 

“Anything with lettering on it, anything with type on it and anything with illustration on it. Anything is on paper”

“As graphic designers in film, we really have two main priorities when we start designing props:

The first is to set the period and the second is to set the location so when the audience starts watching they immediately know where the story is being told and when it's taking place.”

"Another thing the graphic design should do in is to tell the story at hand with graphics;  for example, you see a sign in the background of the NYC subway that says “walk don’t run” you can bet any second characters are going to start running.”

The host Roman Mars interviews a graphic designer Annie Atkins know for her work on The Tudors and The Grand Budapest Hotel. She uncovers how she got her new job and what kind of research goes into the production process. “6-8 weeks pre-filming production time” and then “you live on the set because last minute changes happen all the time.” That sounds like a dream to me. Working closely with the production designer and the director, she works to answer to two most important things: time period and location. Both play an essential role in how things will appear on the screen, but she says that at the end it’s a call of the creative visionaries of the movie: whether to take historically accurate route or “what-audience-will-think-it-should-look-like” and "what-film’s-aesthetic-ask-for” route.

The main goal and intention of graphics and illustrations, created for the screen, is to move the story forward and assist the viewer in making sense of what is happening on the screen. Every piece is created to help the actors to create a wholesome performance as well, but it’s important to make them as inconspicuous as possible. The graphics should not take away the attention from the main story, they should add to the story yet appear invisible. The greatness of graphic design in the film is measured by that invisibility.

I think we generally are unaware of the importance and even just presence of graphic design in movies or TV shows. But it is everywhere and it is significant to every episode and every scene. as any graphic design its intention is to help to communicate certain ideas or concept, deliver a message or tell a story, and in film, these intentions could translate quite literally sometimes. Although its importance has been underestimated, I can’t help but wonder how the role of the designer will change as we shift into a more technical age. Since film often transforms us into a different era, place or even a different world, how will the knowledge of graphic design be transformed with it? 

Here are links to the podcast (also available through iPhone podcasts) and the website of Ms. Annie Atkins herself:

Hero Props: Graphic Design in Film & Television

Art of Title - the web archive that has the most of extensive collection of title designs from across years and the globe, has been publishing series dedicated to women title designers. Proud to share the fourth part of this series: http://www.artofthetitle.com/feature/10-women-of-title-design-part-four/