Font Analysis

The Font of the name of the film, or the font used for the title sequence plays a big part in the overall representation of the film as it tries to not only relate to the film as a whole, but also relate to its target audience and it tries to capture all that in just the font.

Over all there are 2 types of fonts:

Serif Fonts – These are the formal and traditional fonts such as Times and Courier, and are usually used in newspapers or books. (The serif is the little stroke at the end of each letter as shown bellow in red)

 Sans serif fonts – these are fonts such as Arial and Comic Sans, and are usually less formal, and seen as more “friendly” because of their appearance because unlike serifs they are not as sharp but rather bold and soft. Sans serif fonts are generally used in magazines, comics etc.

Font Analysis of Pearl Harbor

The title Pearl Harbor is written in a font called Palatino which is a classic Serif font and a perfect example of how important the font you choose for your title is because the connotations of the way the title in Pearl Harbor is written relate exactly to the film itself. The fact that it’s all in capital serif font letters relate to the plot of the film and with the soldiers in the main picture. From the picture itself we can see officers high up in the army because of the meddles they are wearing, and the title relate perfectly well with this idea because the letters are all lines up next to each other and are all in capital therefore creating this illusion of order and everyone being equal and in line, just like in the army. Similarly the connotations of using a classic serif font suggest formality and create respect in a way, which is what this film tries to achieve, this also relates to the target audience who are most likely educated middle aged people, because if the font is trying to reach out to them then the only people familiar with this particular font would be those who usually come across it in newspapers and such. And so just through the use of serif letters and them all being in capital we have an idea of who the film is aimed at and also it manages to relate to the film as a whole.

Font Analysis of Rocky

The font used for the title of Rocky is Franklin Gothic Heavy and is a Sans Serif font therefore its aimed to be much less formal than that of Pearl Harbor. This idea is also re enforced through the placements of the letters as they almost seem as though they will jump out the frame as they are too big to fit in. This is done so that they relate to the character of rocky who himself is “bigger than life”, and so the title must portray this idea also. That’s why the letters are once again all in capital. However with Rocky, even thought the letters are all in capital and that could suggest power and toughness, the fact that its in sans serif softens their appears a bit and that is done with the purpose to try and relate to the character of Rocky once again who on the poster as we can see although has the appearance of being tough and bold just like the letters of the title, by holding the woman’s hand shows a softer side of him and that side is portrayed through the Sand Serif font.

Both these examples show us that the font you use is highly important as it sends out a message to the audience which lets them know if the film they are about to see is indeed aimed at them. The font sets up the mood because when you see big bold serif letters being used you would most likely expect the target audience to be male ready for action, and if a romantic comedy then appears it doesn’t relate to the film at all, and so looses its effect on the audience.