What the Font?

Times New Roman. Arial. Helvetica. Comic Sans. Baskerville.

Serifs. Sans Serifs. Bolded. Italicized. 

Fonts are all over the place. Literally. There are thousands of fonts out there. Some are loved, others are hated by the masses *cough* Comic Sans *cough*

I have always been a huge supporter of custom and lesser-known fonts. They make everything from titles to lower thirds stand out. Sites like DaFont and FontSquirrel are fantastic resources to discover rad fonts.

My personal favorite font to use in my projects is Goodfish. I don't know why I like it so much, but it has kind of become my go-to lower third look. It's pretty casual, yet still looks professional enough for what I'm trying to accomplish.

That's something I love about fonts: there is one for every occasion. If you need a goofy, comic-like one for your quirky film then there's a font for that. If you need a slanty, old-fashioned style font for your historical film then there's a font for that. All you need to do is do a little digging and discovering. I personally have spent over an hour on DaFont, downloading a hundred fonts and adding them to my computer. The only thing one needs to watch out for is that some of the authors of the fonts have strict rules on when to use them. A few ask that you do not alter them, or even make a profit from them (i.e. don't use them in your film if you want to submit it to contests or festivals).

Imagine if Comic Sans was the only font in the world. Terrifying, isn't it?

Lots of people look right past it, but fonts can make or break a project. Take a look at the movie poster for some your favorite films. They all have unique and different titles that tell you a bit about the film before you even see it. Make an impression with a cool font!