Typography in Video

Richard Nilsen, in his article entitled SIGN LANGUAGE: Typography is an art form of its own - and it's all around us defines typography as “the physical expression of printed words.” But, it does not end there—typefaces have a voice and a distinct personality. In fact, as Eva Brumberger in her article entitled The Rhetoric of Typography: Effects on Reading Time, Reading Comprehension and Perception of Ethos indicates, typography is unique in that it has both a visual as well as a verbal component in documents. Brumberger alludes to quote from a 1996 work of Robert Bringhurst where he remarks that typography is a means “by which the meanings of a text (or the absence of meaning) can be clarified, honored, and shared, or knowingly disguised.” Thus, typography can help bring out the meaning or purpose of a text, or hinder or skew the meaning of the text, either knowingly or unknowingly. Nowhere is the ability of typography to bring purpose and voice to a text more evident than in videos. Videos, due to their inherently visual nature, take the visual element of verbal communication to the next level.

Below is a review of two videos that I viewed on YouTube that focus on typography:

1. Typography: Sky by sphereboy

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fsQTDfVYsPk

This video is a dramatization of a poem entitled “Renaissance” or “Renascence” by Edna St. Vincent Millay. There are no visual images or objects in the video, so the entire dramatization is performed using only text and music. The excerpt from the poem used in this video is:

“But, sure, the sky is big, I said;
Miles and miles above my head;
So here upon my back I’ll lie
And look my fill into the sky.
And so I looked, and, after all,
The sky was not so very tall.
The sky, I said, must somewhere stop,
And—sure enough!—I see the top!
The sky, I thought, is not so grand;
I ’most could touch it with my hand!
And reaching up my hand to try,
I screamed to feel it touch the sky.
I screamed, and—lo!—Infinity
Came down and settled over me;
Forced back my scream into my chest,
Bent back my arm upon my breast,
And, pressing of the Undefined
The definition on my mind”

The excerpt starts out in a very peaceful manner, but as the verse progresses, it is obvious that the tempo is rising until the crescendo is reached when the poet has a mystical experience of infinity settling over her. Both the music, and the expressive typography which is in sync with the tempo of the music, reflect the rising drama of this verse in this brilliant video. The typeface used is a Sans Serif typeface, similar to Arial. As this video is dramatizing a famous poem, the creator of the video was clearly interested in the chosen font being legible and readable. The letters were clean and uncluttered. It did not appear that the typeface changed during the course of the video, but there were several variations of the typeface in use. For example, in the first line of the excerpt from the poem, the word “big” comes in in a higher font than the remaining words, thereby visually expressing the meaning of the word with that variation. Another interesting variation in the typeface that provided visual interest was the blurring of the words “fill” and “into.” A visual representation of the drama and the volume behind the words “screamed” and “infinity” was accomplished through typography, in this case by amplifying each of those words into numerous identical words. My favorite variation of the typeface was the shattered letterforms used at the crescendo of the piece. The text in this part of the video is in a higher font, the letters appear shattered, and there is some background noise from previous text on the screen as opposed to the stark white background prevalent in most of the remainder of the video. Towards the end of the video, when the mood of the poem changes once again as reflected by the meaning of the words and the music, the typeface returns to its original font against a white background, thereby clarifying the mood and tempo of the text.

I thought this video was an excellent example of how typography alone (without the aid of visual images, therefore, proving the visual nature of typography) set to music can create the drama and the mood intended by the poet.

2. The Victim’s Tale by mamamasonic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyX8SFrJGqA

This video is similar to a visual poem. It reflects spoken text in that the words are revealed sequentially, and not all at once as in a written static text. There is no sound to this video and the tone and mood are set entirely by the meaning of the words, the typography, and the visual background. The lack of sound contributes to the extent that it creates a somber and serious mood. This video relates a depressing tale of the scene around a person who is deceased. The meaning of the words creates the mood which seems to be marked by loneliness and quelled hopes for a bright future. The role of the typography, in this case, is to bring out the purpose of the text, or at least, not to detract from the seriousness of the text by being too frivolous. The chosen typeface is a Sans Serif typeface, similar to Arial. The same typeface is used throughout to unify the sequentially appearing lines of the poem. There are no typeface variations or any bells and whistles associated with the letterforms at any point in the video. The story is in the text and, therefore, excellent legibility is required. The straight clean lines of the Sans Serif typeface provide excellent legibility and readability against the somber gray or black background. The plainness of the typeface and the use of only neutral colors in the video enhance the purpose of the text. No aspect of this video is intended to be fast-paced or fun in nature.

Based on watching several videos on typography on YouTube, it appeared to me that some of the typography techniques used in video cannot be used in other static media such as print. Much of the expressiveness of the typeface evident in videos is a result of not only the choice of typeface and the font and other variations to the typeface, but also of animation. For example, in the both cases that I reviewed above, it was the animation of the text (variations in typeface in the first case, and sequential appearance of letters in the second case) that contributed to the overall tone of the message. However, other elements of typography, such as the basic choice of an appropriate typeface/s for the text in question and the variations to that typeface/s, are universal irrespective of the media.