Font.

There are two main types of font which are used today; Serif and Sans Serif fonts.

Serif fonts (e.g Times and Courier) are more traditional-looking and are usually used in more formal types of text e.g newspapers. They generally look more old fashioned and 'classic' so are therefore used in texts which are aimed at an older, well educated, middle/upper class audience.

In comparison, Sans Serif fonts (e.g Arial and Comic Sans) are more informal, they look 'modern', 'friendly' and some might say simple or childlike. They are generally used in texts aimed at a younger, lower class audience than texts using a Serif font.

Font analysis.

The serif font PALATINO is used in the promotion text of the film Pearl Harbor. This shows that the film in question is aimed at a older, more educated audience. The structure of the text also shows us the nature and genre of the film itself; the text is all in capitals, making it look very straight and orderly, like soldiers in a line. This, and the picture of old-fashioned people in army uniforms shows us that the film will be about a war in the past; possibly the second world war.

On the other hand, the font used in the Rocky promotion (Franklin Gothic Heavy) is a Sans Serif font, which tells us that the film must be aimed at a younger, more casual audience than Pearl Harbor. The title is very bold and very big, which could have been used in order to portray the protagonist (Rocky) the title is very big; squeezed right to the edges of the picture almost as if it is trying to break out of the box, not unlike the strong and brave Rocky himself. In spite of it being big and bulky, the title is somehow less intimidating than the posh, formal-ness of the Serif font used in Pearl Harbor.




I love how the Sans Serif 'childlike' font used in the opening sequence of the film seven. I think this is really effective in a thriller opening as it builds up the suspenseful atmosphere through mystery and the uneasy feeling of ignorance created in the audience. For this reason, i would like to intertextualise the idea of childlike font into my own opening sequence.