Typography Creation

In order to create the title for the film opening I had to do some research on different styles of typography in which we could use to develop ideas. When looking at the different styles I also looked at the video game typography from 'Slender Man'. This is a short game which is set in a woods where the main protagonist (the player) is isolated and in danger. Not only this, the player in ‘Slender Man’ being watched by the antagonist. This is a very similar scenario to our film opening and therefore I wanted to create a style of typography which is simple like the games style.

When recreating the text I had to use some extra equipment other than photoshop. In order to obtain the hand written effect I had to use a tablet and a ruler to allow me to create the text. This proved to be very difficult as the tablet is very sensitive to small movements, due to this issue I had to regularly start again.

First of all I opened a new document in photoshop which was 1000 pixels wide and 1000 pixels in height, once I had completed this I made the background of the document black using the paint tool. By doing this it conforms to common film titles as the text is usually lighter than the background.  

After I had done this I began to write, this proved very difficult as the ruler regally moved and the pen would not place in the same area. I had to go over each of the lines in the letters to gain the same effect as my inspiration. I also had to use a thin brush to get a better effect.

This allows me to change the style of paint
 brush I am using.

This shows the black background and the individual lines I had
to create.

When creating the letters I made them individually, this allowed me to make sure that each letter was correct and up to the standards in which I require. Not only this but it was also easier for me to create the letters larger and shrink them to an appropriate size then to make them larger and more pixelated or incorrect. When I was done with each of the letters I would add some dots around the letter to create a chalk like effect, this makes the letters more interesting. This is the first letter in which I made:



I used this same technique to complete the other letters, however when completed the title looked very plain. In order to improve the title I wanted to incorporate something that would link the title and the film opening together. Therefore I moved some of the letters to create different effects, I also made some very simple idea sheets that I could use to make the text better. This is one of the sheets for the ‘K’ and the ‘O’, I wanted to link the text to an idea of possession and summoning. When creating the final outcome I used the one on the top right.



This is the style in which I created, I also changed the ‘E’ as well and the ‘NIN’ to make the text connect to the idea of possession and summoning. Each of these letters conveys an idea of reflection as the ‘E’ reflects down for the word ‘THE’ in to the work ‘BECKONING’. The ‘NIN’ has the two ‘Ns’ reflecting across the ‘I’. These little extra details makes the text more interesting and allows it to connote the idea of horror within the film. I have also used the small dots around the text to make it look as if someone had hand written in with chalk instead of using technology. However, this is not the final out come of the text as I wish to develop it further by adding a slight static effect or another distorted copy of the text.

I copied the text that I had already completed and made it in to another layer, this allows me to work on it separately without disturbing the rest of the text. I then went in to layer styles to play with the different styles I could create. First I reduced the opacity as I did not want it to stand out in front of the main text. I then selected the Bevel and Emboss style on the left to change the structure and shading of the text. Once I was happy with the simple change in effect I also included an inner shadow which helped to blur the background text further. This is the final text.