(x) The Illusionist movie titles - custom typeface {Paul H (self)}
Okay, so i hate when people post type IDs withought images, but i forgot to sneak my digicam into the theater... so for any other typophiles who watched The Illusionist, what are the types used in the opening titles, particularly the swash caps in the opening titles.... they were simply gorgeous!







10.Sep.2006 8.48pm
Well, this reinforces why we both hate it when people post ID requests without images ;)
Sorry, Paul, I haven’t seen the film. I just couldn’t resist poking fun a bit. Maybe some else did smuggle a camera in to the showing.
- Mike Yanega
11.Sep.2006 3.14am
Go to the movies website and see if they have an example - a title font is shown in one of the trailers.
11.Sep.2006 6.21am
well it’s not trajan, that’s all over the website, and it’s not whatever font used in the trailer titles. perhaps it was custom lettering? the titles seemed to emulate old-time movie titles, so perhaps they had something special done just as they would have done in those days... i guess i’ll hafta wait and see if mark simonson is going to see this one. :P
11.Sep.2006 12.44pm
Sorry, I haven’t the faintest ideas of what you’re talking about since I have yet to see the movie. But, if I had to put money on it being hand done, no doubt it was done by Ross MacDonald.
11.Sep.2006 1.33pm
IMDb lists “PIC Agency” as the opening credits designers, they have a website at www.picagency.com. not much there (a brief glimpse of “The Illusionist” can be seen in their reel), but maybe they can let you know if you ask nicely.
11.Sep.2006 6.23pm
i was looking for this info on IMDb, guess i didn’t know where exactly to find this info. thnx for pointing me in the right direction.
11.Sep.2006 8.21pm
Somebody wrote to me asking about this, so I would like to know, too. (Haven’t seen the flick.)
12.Sep.2006 5.23am
if i send you $9, will you go see it, Mark? ;^p
i wanna hear your thoughts on the poster fonts they used in the film.
12.Sep.2006 8.35am
Thanks for the offer, Paul. It’s not the money, it’s finding the time. :-)
12.Sep.2006 8.56am
I would be happy to go to the movie Paul but I don’t have the type eye for recognition that Mark does so it would be a waste of $9 bucks (does that make it “Type Eye for the Recognition Guy”? :-)
ChrisL
13.Sep.2006 8.27am
i just heard back from pic agency and they let me know that the fonts used in the titles were created custom for the movie. hooray for custom type! but darn i wish those swash caps were available!!!
13.Sep.2006 9.08am
impressive.
makes me anticipate the film all the more.
11.Jan.2007 4.39pm
Hi folks,
I am getting married in a few months and want to use the type font from the illusionist on my wedding invitations. Does anyone know how I can get access to this font for my personal use? If it is custom made do you think I should contact picagency? This may not even be an option, but LOVED the font so much I want to marry it.
Thanks,
Elizabeth
11.Jan.2007 5.14pm
i don’t think marrying a font IS an option. (man think about THAT EULA!) anyway, i don’t think the font is available to the general public, although, i guess it doesn’t hurt to ask. i’d think that contacting picagency would be the best route to find out.
on a sarcastic note, you could just wait for fans to make a font out of the lettering now that the film is out on DVD. :^p
12.Jan.2007 8.26am
I just Googled Illusionist and can’t find the swash script you mentioned. Trajan is abound as usual. Does anybody have a visual yet?
ChrisL
12.Jan.2007 8.35am
it’s funny, i was thinking of this thread yesterday before it was revived, that i wanted to come back to it and post some screenshots, if i could get them. i’m planning on picking up the movie, so maybe over the weekend i’ll have a chance to post some samples. in the meantime, if anyone wants to beat me to the punch, it’s all yours.
12.Jan.2007 8.47am
12.Jan.2007 9.41am
I have the DVD but it won’t let me make screen grabs. The script reminds me of Nuptial but it’s a little different and I don’t recognize it. If anyone knows how to take a screen grab off of DVD player let me know and I’ll try.
If I have time later I’ll go to the Script ID guide and see if I can spot it. Too busy now.
12.Jan.2007 9.46am
Patty: If you can play the DVD on your computer, Pause the scene and then do a standard Print Screen (PC : Print Screen button, MAC: Option + Apple + 3). That should work.
12.Jan.2007 9.55am
That’s what I did try and I got an alert that “screen grabs are unavailable during DVD playback, please quite DVD player first” (which of course defeats the purpose).
OK, did a quick run thru of the Script ID and couldn’t come up with a match, it’s like a lighter slightly more elegant Nuptial.
Berthold Script might be closer actually but not exact.
12.Jan.2007 10.14am
patty, if i remember correctly, those are not even close. The script capitals have more of an art deco feel to them, if i’m not mistaken.
12.Jan.2007 10.21am
They are definitely lighter than either of those I mentioned, closer in weight to Liberty (but not in shape). I would not call them art deco. They are very pretty but some of the characters are a bit odd. Since they’re only used for the initials, it’s possible someone created just a cap set for this job.
I wish I could make a screen grab.
12.Jan.2007 1.38pm
The Mac OS X DVD player indeed doesn’t allow making screen grabs. I make mine with the VLC media player, just like Mark Simonson taught me.
15.Jan.2007 1.14am
I uploaded a bunch of the titles (I think I got all the unique caps) to a flickr set.
http://flickr.com/photos/30082777@N00/sets/72157594480477564/
I reacted immediately to them as well. Got out my macbook while the titles were still rolling and hopped on typophile… I had to explain to my wife that I’m a dork. Too bad its custom. Although thats nice to see someone is getting the work. Id like to see the whole alphabet.
Josh
15.Jan.2007 5.53am
Thanks Josh!
Well done!
Makes you wonder why they had to fall back to overused Trajan when they had something more fitting already done.
ChrisL
9.Feb.2007 6.42am
I stumbled on a font that IMHO shares a lot of the qualities of these initials: Byron Swash Light. Take a look.
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/redrooster/byron-rr/
9.Feb.2007 2.12pm
Snaps Pro from Ambrosia software is a great little tool that allows you to record
whatever the pixels on your screen are doing. It’s a great way to make instructional movies
or “screencasts” for software training: you have the option to show or hide the mouse. you can define the area to record. you can also record the playback area of a DVD, movies on YouTube, etc.
http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/
4.Mar.2007 8.09pm
Oh how disappointing. I just rented the movie and immediatley the font in the opening titles caught my eye. Just beautiful swashes. Of course I did an online search which is how I ended up here in this forum. I was really hoping it wasn’t going to be a custom type. I thank you for the useful information. It wasn’t a bad movie either ;)
4.Mar.2007 9.03pm
I thought it was a pretty bad movie...
5.Mar.2007 1.18pm
Speaking of bad movies...I was completely disappointed by Marie Antoinette. Gorgeous, Gorgeous, Gorgeous, but dead boring. The trailer is much better. The soundtrack is excellent though.
5.Mar.2007 1.55pm
Oh that’s on my Netflix queue.
The worst movie I’ve seen recently - perhaps ever - is Art School Confidential. I want that hour and a half of my life back. I’d read the bad reviews but nothing could have prepared me for how godawful it really was.
5.Mar.2007 2.51pm
Patty is was so bad I couldn’t finish it. I had to admit to myself that it wasn’t going to get any better. I really wanted it to get better, but it didn’t.
5.Mar.2007 3.25pm
Speaking of bad movies…I was completely disappointed by Marie Antoinette.
hmmm, i’ve read a couple unfavorable reviews online recently, so i feel i hafta defend the film a bit. perhaps there is not much of a plot, the film is definately but a feast for the eyes and ears. more atmospheric than plot-driven. more interesting in the concepts it brings up in conversations afterwards than perhaps sitting through. but this last part is more important than pure entertainment, IMO.
5.Mar.2007 3.49pm
The conversations could be had after just seeing the review. IMO.
The film deserved the oscar it received. It really was gorgeous. And yes, it is atmospheric, but I can only take so much atmosphere without a little gravity to keep me from floating out to space.
5.Mar.2007 3.54pm
heh. well different strokes for different folks. i could watch a parade of costumes all day and tire of explosions and conspiracies in 20 minutes.
5.Mar.2007 4.09pm
:^) I love beauty and can watch it. Crouching Tiger, Hero, Moulin Rouge. But they all had dialogue, plots and story. But, you are right. Different strokes for different folks.
5.Mar.2007 9.12pm
I just watched a GORGEOUS movie - highly recommend it! - Water. It was nominated for an Oscar this year - about a young girl in India who becomes a widow. Beautifully shot, great music, heartbreaking story.
6.Mar.2007 6.41am
The worst movie I’ve seen recently - perhaps ever - is Art School Confidential.
This movie was horrible, but not for trying. This is a movie that suffers from lack of organization and too much experimentation. It’s like watching 7 movies at once... The Cheesy Teen story, The romance, the slasher flick, the mystery thriller, The coming of age with plot twist, a low-standards comedy and the art house indie flick. And when you try to cram that much into a movie without any sort of control or organization you’re going to get a mess of a movie.
Another sucky movie that I watched recently was the remake of Wickerman... don’t ever see this movie, ever! It’s complete drivel and Nick Cage must have had a lobotomy right before he signed to do it.
One movie I’ve seen that I really enjoyed though was Brick. This is a great pulp-noir style movie with a modern approach. Plus, Joseph Gordon Levitt is kicking ass in movies these days.
6.Mar.2007 7.00am
Loved Brick, plus it has killer posters set in Giza/ :^)
6.Mar.2007 7.10am
Haha! Just noticed, I was censored. Had no clue Typophile kept itself clean.
6.Mar.2007 7.15am
Art School Confidential was also going for that Scorsese twist (Taxi Driver, King of Comedy) in which the villain becomes the cult hero in the end.
My biggest issue with it might have been the casting, the guy who played the kid was just awful. I think he’s the son of Anthony MInghella, the director.
Nick Cave has surely lost his mind, Ghostrider???
Anyone seen Zodiac yet? Dying to. Also wanna see The Lives of Others.
6.Mar.2007 7.24am
saw Zodiac last night. a bit of a let down. there’s no real denoument, so it goes out with a fizzle instead of a bang.
6.Mar.2007 7.28am
I agree, the casting was horrible, even John Malkovich sucked. The entire movie suffered from bloated producer syndrome and diarrhea of the camera. There were two actors that held their ground though. Joel Moore and Nick Swardson both were hilarious, especially Nick and his attempt at coming off as hetero.
Still, their performances and the cameo from Angelica Huston couldn’t save this movie from the trigger-happy firing squad it strolled in front of.