Fonts in SF films

Off topic discussion zone.

Moderators: winston, another_commander, Cody

Post Reply
User avatar
Disembodied
Jedi Spam Assassin
Jedi Spam Assassin
Posts: 6885
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:54 pm
Location: Carter's Snort

Fonts in SF films

Post by Disembodied »

Yes, fonts. And signage/semiotics. Typeset in the Future answers all your SF font-based needs - for example

https://typesetinthefuture.com/2014/12/01/alien/

which gives a close-up look at the whole variety of warning labels and identification tags from the Nostromo, as well as some surprising details about the ship's self-destruct keyboard ...
In her final recorded message before hypersleep, Ripley notes that she is the sole survivor of the Nostromo. What she forgets to mention is that she has not once in the past two hours encountered any Eurostile Bold Extended.
User avatar
Smivs
Retired Assassin
Retired Assassin
Posts: 8408
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:31 am
Location: Lost in space
Contact:

Re: Fonts in SF films

Post by Smivs »

That guy really needs to get a life!
Commander Smivs, the friendliest Gourd this side of Riedquat.
User avatar
Disembodied
Jedi Spam Assassin
Jedi Spam Assassin
Posts: 6885
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:54 pm
Location: Carter's Snort

Re: Fonts in SF films

Post by Disembodied »

I for one welcome this valuable service ... where else can you get a close-up of the Semiotic Standard For All Commercial Trans-Stellar Utility Lifter And Heavy Element Transport Spacecraft?
User avatar
ffutures
---- E L I T E ----
---- E L I T E ----
Posts: 2158
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2013 12:34 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: Fonts in SF films

Post by ffutures »

I know people who are into fonts and typography and will love this.
Fritz
---- E L I T E ----
---- E L I T E ----
Posts: 591
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2015 2:30 pm
Location: Bavaria, Germany
Contact:

Re: Fonts in SF films

Post by Fritz »

I'm not into fonts, and I can't believe I've actually read the article...
"You wouldn't kill me just for a few credits, would you?" – "No, I'll do it just for the fun!"
User avatar
Wildeblood
---- E L I T E ----
---- E L I T E ----
Posts: 2407
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:07 am
Location: Western Australia

Re: Fonts in SF films

Post by Wildeblood »

Disembodied wrote:
Yes, fonts. And signage/semiotics. Typeset in the Future answers all your SF font-based needs - for example

https://typesetinthefuture.com/2014/12/01/alien/

which gives a close-up look at the whole variety of warning labels and identification tags from the Nostromo, as well as some surprising details about the ship's self-destruct keyboard ...
In her final recorded message before hypersleep, Ripley notes that she is the sole survivor of the Nostromo. What she forgets to mention is that she has not once in the past two hours encountered any Eurostile Bold Extended.
What an odd coincidence you would publicize that site the same day its hosting plan expires and it all goes 404.
"Would somebody stop that bloody music!"
User avatar
Disembodied
Jedi Spam Assassin
Jedi Spam Assassin
Posts: 6885
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:54 pm
Location: Carter's Snort

Re: Fonts in SF films

Post by Disembodied »

Wildeblood wrote:
What an odd coincidence you would publicize that site the same day its hosting plan expires and it all goes 404.
Whatchoo talkin' about, Wildeblood? It's all still up and running for me ... I've just read the "How to make your text look futuristic" article - available (to me, at least) here:

https://typesetinthefuture.com/2016/02/18/futuristic/
User avatar
Cody
Sharp Shooter Spam Assassin
Sharp Shooter Spam Assassin
Posts: 16081
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2009 9:31 pm
Location: The Lizard's Claw
Contact:

Re: Fonts in SF films

Post by Cody »

Disembodied wrote:
"How to make your text look futuristic"
I think this was the problem I had trying to read that Stross novel - too 'futuristic' for easy reading.
I would advise stilts for the quagmires, and camels for the snowy hills
And any survivors, their debts I will certainly pay. There's always a way!
User avatar
Disembodied
Jedi Spam Assassin
Jedi Spam Assassin
Posts: 6885
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:54 pm
Location: Carter's Snort

Re: Fonts in SF films

Post by Disembodied »

It might depend on the edition. The editions I have of his SF novels (e.g. Accelerando, Halting State etc.) use Bank Gothic for chapters and running heads, but the text is in something reliably readable like Sabon. These are all A-format paperbacks: maybe, now that he's got more successful and is getting published in the more prestigious B-format, someone has taken the opportunity to re-set them in some peculiar font.

Publishers are prone to dicking about with these things, especially now that more and more books are typeset by people who know how to use the software but not necessarily how to typeset a book. For example, I quite like the fantasy works of James Blaylock, but recently his publisher has taken to printing his more steampunk-esque novels in sepia ink - which is all very clever-clever, but does tend to make me think I'm starting to go blind.
User avatar
Wildeblood
---- E L I T E ----
---- E L I T E ----
Posts: 2407
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:07 am
Location: Western Australia

Re: Fonts in SF films

Post by Wildeblood »

Wildeblood wrote:
What an odd coincidence you would publicize that site the same day its hosting plan expires and it all goes 404.
I was wrong, the site is still there, but has some server misconfiguration "issues".

If you go to https://www.typesetinthefuture.com it works, but the URLs you've posted, to https://typesetinthefuture.com don't work. Site owner has not configured the server to respond to that domain.
"Would somebody stop that bloody music!"
User avatar
Disembodied
Jedi Spam Assassin
Jedi Spam Assassin
Posts: 6885
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:54 pm
Location: Carter's Snort

Re: Fonts in SF films

Post by Disembodied »

Wildeblood wrote:
If you go to https://www.typesetinthefuture.com it works, but the URLs you've posted, to https://typesetinthefuture.com don't work. Site owner has not configured the server to respond to that domain.
Odd - those URLs work fine for me (and they were copied and pasted out of the address bar). And if you google the site, it shows https://typesetinthefuture.com as the address. I attribute it to One Of Those Things ...
User avatar
Cody
Sharp Shooter Spam Assassin
Sharp Shooter Spam Assassin
Posts: 16081
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2009 9:31 pm
Location: The Lizard's Claw
Contact:

Re: Fonts in SF films

Post by Cody »

Sepia? That'll look good when the pages have yellowed with age - as you say, clever!


No problems with those links here, btw.
I would advise stilts for the quagmires, and camels for the snowy hills
And any survivors, their debts I will certainly pay. There's always a way!
Post Reply