每日口說挑戰你有發現嗎？電影海報都是這個字體！(How one typeface took over movie posters)

Hey folks, Ken here. If you love movies as much as I do, then you’d enjoy today’s episode. When we watch movies, especially during the trailers, the titles come in different types of styles which are called typefaces and fonts. For example, imagine the titles in the Avenger movie trailers compared with the titles from Shrek movie trailers, pretty different right? Fonts are selected individually for each movie to match and represent the style of the film. However, among all movies, there’s one particular font that has been the most popular, that is the Trajan typeface.

You can see Trajan in the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Double Jeopardy, Letters from Iwo Jima, and a lot of other movies, it’s basically everywhere. So, how did that happen? Why is Trajan used in so many movies? Yves Peters is a graphic designer who has specialized in typography since 2006. He scanned through tens of thousands of posters and noticed that the use of Trajan rose significantly in the last couple of decades.

But why? In 1989, designer Carol Twombly adapted inscriptions from the Roman emperor Trajan's column into a digital typeface. The typeface was made for Adobe, so it was a part of the software that a lot of people use to make posters, and then it gradually appeared in movies. It's originally used for epic movies, movies about people that overcome difficulties, like the big war epics and so on, but then it slowly became a standard movie font. Eventually, Trajan was overused because people wanted to produce posters quickly, and a lot of B-Rated movies also used Trajan to make it look good.

The rise and fall of Trajan illustrate the downside of a digital typeface. The convenience of swapping fonts is a huge shift from the old movie poster days when hand-painted typefaces or "lettering" was an art that was specific to each movie. These visual clichés make it possible to communicate tone and plot details to an audience very efficiently, which works just like a sudden reflex or an intuition.

Folks, what are your favorite movies? See if you can find the typical typefaces for your favorite movie genres, leave a comment down below and let me know.


[Sentence of the Day]

In 1989, designer Carol Twombly adapted inscriptions from Roman emperor Trajan's column into a digital typeface.
1989 年，設計師 Carol Twombly 根據羅馬皇帝的圖拉真凱旋柱上的銘文改寫出數位字體。

[Vocabulary]

1. adapt
to change something to suit different conditions or uses

Ex: David is busy adapting J.K. Rowling's latest novel for television.
大衛正忙著把J.K.羅琳的最新小說改編成電視劇。

2. inscription
words that are written or cut in something

Ex: The inscriptions on the gravestones were worn away.
墓碑上的碑文已經消蝕了。

3. typeface
letters and numbers in a particular design, used in printing or on a computer screen

Ex: The commonly seen Times New Roman font belongs to the serif typeface.
一般常見的Times New Roman屬於serif襯線體中的一種字體類別。

＊字體typeface／字型font

Alright, that’s all the time we have for today.
Nowadays we type more than we write.
So, it’s a talent for those who have beautiful handwriting.
Perhaps, in the midst of the pandemic.
You can find some time to practice your handwriting skills.
Which is also a time-killing hobby free of charge.

This is Ken Miao and I’ll see you guys again next week. Bye!

In 1989, designer Carol Twombly adapted inscriptions from Roman emperor Trajan's column into a digital typeface.

In 1989, designer Carol Twombly adapted inscriptions from Roman emperor Trajan's column into a digital typeface.

In 1989, designer Carol Twombly adapted(/əˈdæpt/改寫v.) inscriptions(/ɪnˈskrɪp.ʃən/銘文n.) from Roman(/ˈroʊ.mən/古羅馬的) emperor(/ˈem.pɚ.ɚ/皇帝) Trajan's(/treɪdʒən/) column(/ˈkɑː.ləm/石柱) into a digital(/ˈdɪdʒ.ə.t̬əl/數位的) typeface(/ˈtaɪp.feɪs/字體n.).
1989 年，設計師 Carol Twombly 將古羅馬皇帝Trajan 凱旋柱上的銘文改造為數位的字體。

Hey folks, Ken here. If you love movies as much as I do, then you’d enjoy today’s episode. When we watch movies, especially during the trailers(預告片), the titles(標題) come in different types of styles which are called typefaces and fonts(/fɑːnt/字型n.). For example, imagine the titles in the Avenger movie trailers compared with the titles from Shrek movie trailers, pretty different right? Fonts are selected individually for each movie to match and represent(代表v.) the style of the film. However, among all movies, there’s one particular font that has been the most popular, that is the Trajan typeface. You can see Trajan in the Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon(臥虎藏龍), Double Jeopardy(致命追緝令), Letters from Iwo Jima(來自硫磺島的信), and a lot of other movies, it’s basically everywhere.

◆ crouch /kraʊtʃ/ v. 蹲下，蹲伏；蜷縮
She saw him coming and crouched (down) behind a bush. 看見他來了，她便蜷伏在一簇灌木叢後面。

◆ jeopardy /ˈdʒep.ɚ.di/ n. 危險
The lives of thousands of birds are in jeopardy as a result of the oil spill. 石油洩漏使成千上萬隻鳥兒的生命受到威脅。

So, how did that happen? Why is Trajan used in so many movies? Yves Peters is a graphic(/ˈɡræf.ɪk/形象的,繪畫的) designer who has specialized in typography(/taɪˈpɑː.ɡrə.fi/排印,版式n.) since 2006. He scanned through tens of thousands of posters(海報n.) and noticed that the use of Trajan rose(rise增加v.) significantly in the last couple of decades(數十年). But why? In 1989, designer Carol Twombly adapted inscriptions from the Roman emperor Trajan's column into a digital typeface. The typeface was made for Adobe, so it was a part of the software that a lot of people use to make posters, and then it gradually(逐漸adv.) appeared(出現v.) in movies. It's originally used for epic(/ˈep.ɪk/史詩般的) movies, movies about people that overcome difficulties, like the big war epics(史詩n.) and so on, but then it slowly became a standard movie font. Eventually, Trajan was overused because people wanted to produce posters quickly, and a lot of B-Rated movies(= Low-budget film低成本影片) also used Trajan to make it look good. The rise and fall(起落) of Trajan illustrate(/ˈɪl.ə.streɪt/說明v.) the downside(不利因素n.) of a digital typeface. The convenience of swapping(對換的) fonts is a huge shift(轉移,改變n.) from the old movie poster days when hand-painted(手繪的) typefaces or "lettering(印字,刻字n.)" was an art that was specific to each movie. These visual(視覺的) clichés(老梗n.) make it possible to communicate tone(基調,風格) and plot(情節n.) details to an audience very efficiently(有效地), which works just like a sudden reflex(反射n.) or an intuition(/ˌɪn.tuːˈɪʃ.ən/直覺n.). Folks, what are your favorite movies? See if you can find the typical typefaces for your favorite movie genres(題材n.), leave a comment down below and let me know.

1. adapt /əˈdæpt/ vt. 改編，改寫[（+for）]
to change something to suit different conditions or uses

David is busy adapting J.K. Rowling's latest novel for television.

2. inscription /ɪnˈskrɪp.ʃən/ n. 銘刻；銘文；碑文；（鑄幣等上的）刻印文字
words that are written or cut in something

The inscriptions on the gravestones(/ˈɡreɪv.stoʊn/墓碑)
were worn(wear磨損v.) away.

3. typeface /ˈtaɪp.feɪs/ n. 鉛字面；鉛字的字樣；字體；（總稱）（一種字體的）全部鉛字
letters and numbers in a particular design, used in printing or on a computer screen

The commonly seen Times New Roman font belongs to the serif(/ˈser.ɪf/印刷字體的襯線) typeface.
一般常見的Times New Roman屬於serif襯線體中的一種字體類別。

Alright, that’s all the time we have for today. Nowadays we type more than we write. So, it’s a talent for those who have beautiful handwriting. Perhaps, in the midst of the pandemic. You can find some time to practice your handwriting skills. Which is also a time-killing hobby free of charge.

☺In 1989, designer Carol Twombly adapted inscriptions from Roman emperor Trajan's column into a digital typeface.
1989 年，設計師 Carol Twombly 將羅馬皇帝圖拉真的凱旋柱銘文改製成數位字體。
【心得】從來沒有注意過電影字幕有字體的區別:p
■adapt [əˋdæpt] (vt.)改造、改裝、改建、改編、改寫[(+for)]
(vt.&vi.)(使)適應、適合[(+to)]
■inscription [ɪnˈskrɪpʃən] (n.C) 銘刻；銘文；碑文；(鑄幣等上的)刻印文字；(書或畫的)題詞、獻詞
■typeface [ˈtaɪpˌfes] (n.C) {印刷}鉛字面；鉛字的字樣/字體；(電腦上或印刷的)字體
■column [ˋkɑləm] (n.C)圓柱；圓柱狀物[(+of)]；(報紙、雜誌的)欄、段；(報紙、雜誌的)短評欄、專欄；(士兵的)縱隊；小分遣隊；(船艦、車輛等的)縱列；(詞或數字的)縱列；一隊、一列(移動的人或車輛)[(+of)]
■B movie= B film (ph. n.C)指低成本製作的商業電影、而非文藝電影(「B級片」一詞有時含有貶意、意指低成本或低品質的影片。不過近年許多電影批評家及史學家對B級片及其導演、認為這類影片價值未必低於A級片、因為每一種影片都在電影史和文化史中扮演重要角色、而B級片的攝製跟當時的經濟體制有關、其中也不乏佳作)

When watching a movie trailer, do you pay attention to typefaces? I don't! Actually it's the music and the images that can catch my eye.

學校的暑假作業…Day21
In 1989, designer Carol Twombly adapted inscriptions from Roman emperor Trajan's column into a digital typeface.

My favorite movie is "Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind" (2004). The title is in a font called "Futura Bold" according to Google. And about the font color, it has two parts, the orange "Eternal Sunshine", and the black "of the spotless mind". I think it's to emphasis the "Eternal Sunshine" part.

In 1989, designer Carol Twombly adapted inscriptions from Roman emperor Trajan's column into a digital typeface.