Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

Typography as Narrative Parameter of Cinematic Art

Received: 8 May 2023     Accepted: 25 May 2023     Published: 28 December 2023
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Abstract

This article investigates the role of typography in cinema and its impact on the cinematic experience. From the early days of photography and cinema, typography has been used to present words on the screen, enhancing the believability of visual storytelling. As technology evolved, typography continued to serve diverse purposes in films, such as facilitating dialogue, narration, and conveying essential information. Cinema theorists, designers, and semioticians argue that typography in cinema serves specific narrative, aesthetic, and functional objectives. This study draws on semiotic theory, historical context, and insights from design and typography studies to analyze the significance of typography in cinematic storytelling. The article also explores the works of influential theorists, including Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault, who contributed to understanding the relationship between text and image. Typography has played a crucial role in cinema since the early days of silent films. It has been used not only for informational purposes such as opening titles, subtitles, and end credits but also as a narrative tool to enhance storytelling through visual means. Narrative typography in films adds expressive qualities, conveys tone and emotions, and can manipulate viewer attention. On the other hand, the typography of opening titles serves informational and aesthetic needs by providing detailed information about the film's production. Early experiments with motion typography paved the way for its creative use and expressive potential. Typography continued to evolve while pushed the boundaries of cinematic narrative. However, cinema, like any art form, has gone through phases of complexity and regression, with experimentation leading to new hybrid forms of processing text and images. The exploration of typography in cinema, influenced by linguistic syntax and visual processing, continues to shape cinematic language and storytelling. By focusing on the embedded, narrative or non-narrative text that becomes virtual, this study aims to uncover the additional meanings conveyed through typography and its role in enhancing the cinematic narrative.

Published in American Journal of Art and Design (Volume 8, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajad.20230804.12
Page(s) 107-112
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Typography, Cinematic Narration, Semiotics, Graphic Design

References
[1] Barthes, R., & Howard, R. (1984). The Responsibility of Forms: Critical Essays on Music, Art, and Representation (English and French Edition) (1st ed.). Hill & Wang Pub.
[2] Betancourt, M. (2017). Semiotics and Title Sequences: Text-Image Composites in Motion Graphics (1st ed.). Routledge.
[3] Bowser, E. (1990). The Transformation of Cinema, 1907–1915 (History of the American Cinema) (1st ed.). Charles Scribner & Sons.
[4] Chion, M., & Gorbman, C. (2017). Words on Screen (Film and Culture Series). Columbia University Press.
[5] Dahlhaus, C., & Robinson, J. B. (1983). Foundations of Music History (Annotated ed.). Cambridge University Press.
[6] Ford, S., Forlizzi, J., & Ishizaki, S. (1997). Kinetic typography. CHI ’97 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems Looking to the Future - CHI’ 97, 269–270. https://doi.org/10.1145/1120212.1120387
[7] Elliott, K. (2003). Rethinking the Novel/Film Debate (Reissue ed.). Cambridge University Press.
[8] Gombrich, E. H. (1961). Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation. Princeton University Press.
[9] King, E. (2004). Taking Credit: Film Title Sequences, 1955–1965. Victoria & Albert Royal College of Art.
[10] Koffka, K. (1935). Principles of Gestalt Psychology (International Library of Psychology) by Kurt Koffka (1935–12-06). Routledge & Kegan Paul PLC.
[11] McLuhan, M., & Lapham, L. H. (1994). Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (Reprint ed.). The MIT Press.
[12] Metz, C., & Taylor, M. (1990). Film Language: A Semiotics of the Cinema (Univ of Chicago ed.). University of Chicago Press.
[13] Monaco, J. (2000). How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, Multimedia: Language, History, Theory (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
[14] Orit, H. (2009). Anagram, Gestalt, Game in Maya Deren: Reconfiguring the Image in Post-war.
[15] Zagala, A. (2010, December 15). The Edges of Film. Senses of Cinema. http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2002/feature-articles/titles/
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Kremida, E., Laskari, I., Siakas, S. (2023). Typography as Narrative Parameter of Cinematic Art. American Journal of Art and Design, 8(4), 107-112. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20230804.12

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    ACS Style

    Kremida, E.; Laskari, I.; Siakas, S. Typography as Narrative Parameter of Cinematic Art. Am. J. Art Des. 2023, 8(4), 107-112. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20230804.12

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    AMA Style

    Kremida E, Laskari I, Siakas S. Typography as Narrative Parameter of Cinematic Art. Am J Art Des. 2023;8(4):107-112. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20230804.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajad.20230804.12,
      author = {Eleni Kremida and Iro Laskari and Spyridon Siakas},
      title = {Typography as Narrative Parameter of Cinematic Art},
      journal = {American Journal of Art and Design},
      volume = {8},
      number = {4},
      pages = {107-112},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajad.20230804.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20230804.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajad.20230804.12},
      abstract = {This article investigates the role of typography in cinema and its impact on the cinematic experience. From the early days of photography and cinema, typography has been used to present words on the screen, enhancing the believability of visual storytelling. As technology evolved, typography continued to serve diverse purposes in films, such as facilitating dialogue, narration, and conveying essential information. Cinema theorists, designers, and semioticians argue that typography in cinema serves specific narrative, aesthetic, and functional objectives. This study draws on semiotic theory, historical context, and insights from design and typography studies to analyze the significance of typography in cinematic storytelling. The article also explores the works of influential theorists, including Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault, who contributed to understanding the relationship between text and image. Typography has played a crucial role in cinema since the early days of silent films. It has been used not only for informational purposes such as opening titles, subtitles, and end credits but also as a narrative tool to enhance storytelling through visual means. Narrative typography in films adds expressive qualities, conveys tone and emotions, and can manipulate viewer attention. On the other hand, the typography of opening titles serves informational and aesthetic needs by providing detailed information about the film's production. Early experiments with motion typography paved the way for its creative use and expressive potential. Typography continued to evolve while pushed the boundaries of cinematic narrative. However, cinema, like any art form, has gone through phases of complexity and regression, with experimentation leading to new hybrid forms of processing text and images. The exploration of typography in cinema, influenced by linguistic syntax and visual processing, continues to shape cinematic language and storytelling. By focusing on the embedded, narrative or non-narrative text that becomes virtual, this study aims to uncover the additional meanings conveyed through typography and its role in enhancing the cinematic narrative.
    },
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Typography as Narrative Parameter of Cinematic Art
    AU  - Eleni Kremida
    AU  - Iro Laskari
    AU  - Spyridon Siakas
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    T2  - American Journal of Art and Design
    JF  - American Journal of Art and Design
    JO  - American Journal of Art and Design
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20230804.12
    AB  - This article investigates the role of typography in cinema and its impact on the cinematic experience. From the early days of photography and cinema, typography has been used to present words on the screen, enhancing the believability of visual storytelling. As technology evolved, typography continued to serve diverse purposes in films, such as facilitating dialogue, narration, and conveying essential information. Cinema theorists, designers, and semioticians argue that typography in cinema serves specific narrative, aesthetic, and functional objectives. This study draws on semiotic theory, historical context, and insights from design and typography studies to analyze the significance of typography in cinematic storytelling. The article also explores the works of influential theorists, including Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault, who contributed to understanding the relationship between text and image. Typography has played a crucial role in cinema since the early days of silent films. It has been used not only for informational purposes such as opening titles, subtitles, and end credits but also as a narrative tool to enhance storytelling through visual means. Narrative typography in films adds expressive qualities, conveys tone and emotions, and can manipulate viewer attention. On the other hand, the typography of opening titles serves informational and aesthetic needs by providing detailed information about the film's production. Early experiments with motion typography paved the way for its creative use and expressive potential. Typography continued to evolve while pushed the boundaries of cinematic narrative. However, cinema, like any art form, has gone through phases of complexity and regression, with experimentation leading to new hybrid forms of processing text and images. The exploration of typography in cinema, influenced by linguistic syntax and visual processing, continues to shape cinematic language and storytelling. By focusing on the embedded, narrative or non-narrative text that becomes virtual, this study aims to uncover the additional meanings conveyed through typography and its role in enhancing the cinematic narrative.
    
    VL  - 8
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Author Information
  • Department of Graphic Arts, Multimedia, Hellenic Open University, Patra, Greece

  • Department of Graphic Arts, Multimedia, Hellenic Open University, Patra, Greece

  • Department of Graphic Arts, Multimedia, Hellenic Open University, Patra, Greece; Department of Graphic Design and Visual Communication, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

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