i

Typography and Motion Graphics

In his latest book, Michael Betancourt explores the nature and role of
typography in motion graphics as a way to consider its distinction from
static design using the concept of the ‘reading-​image’ to model the ways
that motion typography dramatizes the process of reading and audience
recognition of language on-​screen. Using both classic and contemporary
title sequences—​including The Man With the Golden Arm (1955), Alien
(1979), Flubber (1998), Six Feet Under (2001), The Number 23 (2007),
and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)—​Betancourt develops an argu-
ment about what distinguishes motion graphics from graphic design.
Moving beyond title sequences, Betancourt also analyzes moving or
kinetic typography in logo designs, commercials, film trailers, and infor-
mation graphics, offering a striking theoretical model for understanding
typography in media.

Michael Betancourt is a research artist/​theorist concerned with digital

technology and capitalist ideology. His writing has been translated into
Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Persian, Portuguese, and
Spanish, and published in journals such as The Atlantic, Make Magazine,
CTheory, and Leonardo. He is the author of The _​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
Manifesto, and books such as The History of Motion Graphics, and The
Critique of Digital Capitalism, as well as three books on the semiotics
of motion graphics: Semiotics and Title Sequences, Synchronization and
Title Sequences, and Title Sequences as Paratexts. These publications
complement his movies, which have screened internationally at the
Black Maria Film Festival, Art Basel Miami Beach, Contemporary Art
Ruhr, Athens Video Art Festival, Festival des Cinemas Differents de
Paris, Anthology Film Archives, Millennium Film Workshop, the San
Francisco Cinematheque’s Crossroads, and Experiments in Cinema,
among many others.
ii

Routledge Studies in Media Theory & Practice

1 Semiotics and Title Sequences

Text-​Image Composites in Motion Graphics
Authored by Michael Betancourt

2 Synchronization and Title Sequences

Audio-​Visual Semiosis in Motion Graphics
Authored by Michael Betancourt

3 Title Sequences as Paratexts

Narrative Anticipation and Recapitulation
Authored by Michael Betancourt

4 The Screenwriters Taxonomy

A Collaborative Approach to Creative Storytelling
Authored by Eric R. Williams

5 Open Space New Media Documentary

A Toolkit for Theory and Practice
Patricia R. Zimmermann and Helen De Michiel

6 Film & TV Tax Incentives in the U.S.

Courting Hollywood
Authored by Glenda Cantrell and Daniel Wheatcroft

7 Typography and Motion Graphics

The ‘Reading-​Image’
Authored by Michael Betancourt
iii

Typography and
Motion Graphics
The ‘Reading-​Image’

Michael Betancourt
iv

First published 2019

by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Michael Betancourt
The right of Michael Betancourt to be identified as the author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without
intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-​0-​367-​02928-​9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-​0-​367-​02930-​2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Out of House Publishing
v

For Leah
vi
vi

Contents

List of Figures viii

Acknowledgments xii

Motion Typography 2
A History of Formalist Approaches 7
Legibility 11
The Technical Lineage 19
Typography and Titling 26

The ‘Reading-​Image’ 39
1 Kinetic Action 43
2 Graphic Expression 68
3 Chronic Progression 102
4 Conclusions 126
Motion versus Static Design 126
Reading/​Discourse 128
The Role of Kinesis 130
Constraints on Semiosis 133

Index 144
vi

Figures

Frontis Stills from Postcard Film © 1999 Michael Betancourt /​

Artists Rights Society (ARS). This movie creates
a ‘reading-​image’ (chronic progression) using a
combination of imaging technologies superimposed as
a palimpsest: photolithographic postcard of a beach
scene in New Jersey from 1896, 16 mm film shot on an
animation stand, digital video, and finally the electronic
compositing possibilities of the digital computer to
compress and expand time while merging footage from
various sources 1
0.1 “The Tyger” from Songs of Experience by William
Blake (1794) 4
0.2 “Typographus, Der Buchdrucker” (Typographer, The
Printer) from Das Ständebuch (The Book of Trades,
1568), illustration by Jost Amman (1539–​91) and text by
Hans Sachs (1494–​1576) 12
0.3 Promotional flyer for “A Secret Showing of
Underground Films Thurs Midnite The Place Theater,”
artist uncredited, San Francisco, c. 1968 16
0.4 Diagram of the two parallel variables in Barbara
Brownie’s study of motion typography, Transforming Type 18
0.5 All the title cards in the title sequence for The Big
Broadcast of 1937 (1936) 25
0.6 Selected stills from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010),
showing examples of integrated typography and graphics
within the diegesis 32
0.7 Stills stating “DU MUSST CALIGARI WERDEN”
(“YOU MUST BECOME CALIGARI”) from The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), showing extra-​diegetic
typography 34
ix

List of Figures ix
1.1 Stills showing the animated entrance [Top], kinetic
motions [Middle], and exit [Bottom] of the main title
card for Psycho (1960), designed by Saul Bass 50
1.2 Stills from Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969) by
Marv Newland 53
1.3 Selected stills from the title sequence for The Number 23
(2007), designed by Peter Frankfurt, showing animation
of text and substitution of numbers for letters 56
1.4 Examples of numerology from the title sequence for The
Number 23 (2007), designed by Peter Frankfurt 57
1.5 Stills from Fluxfilm #29: Word Movie (1966) by
Paul Sharits 57
1.6 Four consecutive frames from the titles for Blinkety
Blank (1955) by Norman McLaren, showing the word
“OBOE” blink, disappear, and then return 60
1.7 The extrusion of “Uncola” and movement through the
letter “U” in “Bubbles,” designed by Robert Abel (1975) 64
2.1 Stills from the ‘nightlife’ sequence in N. Y., N. Y. (1958)
by Francis Thompson 72
2.2 Stills showing optical distortions in [Top] Francis
Thompson, N.Y., N.Y. (1958); [Middle] Ira Cohen, The
Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda (1968); [Bottom] Nick
Hooker, Corporate Cannibal (2008) 74
2.3 J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Walker Evans, “Times Square /​Broadway Composition,”
1930, photograph, 24.8 × 21.7 cm (9 3/​4 × 8 9/​16 in.) 76
2.4 [Top] Stills from the end of Rhythmus 21 (Film ist
Rhythmus, 1921/​23) by Hans Richter, showing the
influence of his film in [Bottom] all the title cards for The
Man With The Golden Arm (1955), designed by Saul Bass 79
2.5 Cross-​shaped mask from the opening to
Stella Maris (1919) 80
2.6 All the title cards in Arabesque (1966), designed by
Maurice Binder 82
2.7 Selected stills from Poemfield No. 2 (1966–​1971) by Stan
VanDerBeek and Kenneth Knowlton, produced at Bell
Labs in Murray Hill, NJ 84
2.8 Selected stills from Monster Movie (2005) by
Takeshi Murata 85
2.9 “Tu seras parmi les victims” (“You will be among the
victims”), Surrealist collage poem by André Breton,
c. 1924 [Left: original French text including typeface
choices; Right: English translation] 87
x

x List of Figures
2.10 Selected stills from film and tv program titles containing
white lines: [row 1] The James Dean Story (1958); [row 2]
Surprise Package (1960); [row 3] The Pink Panther
(1964); [row 4] The Twilight Zone (1959); [row 5] Boris
Karloff’s Thriller (1960); [row 6] The Outer Limits (1961);
[row 7] Mission Impossible (1964); [row 8] Time Tunnel
(1967); [row 9] The Brady Bunch (1969) 90
2.11 Skeuomorphic alphabets: [Top] Der Menschenalphabet
by Peter Flötner (1534); [Bottom] The Man of Letters,
or Pierrot’s Alphabet, unknown designer, published by
Bowles & Carver (1794) 92
2.12 Selected stills from the skeuomorphic main title
animation in Danse Macabre (1921), designed by F. A.
A. Dahme 93
2.13 Animated title cards from Abbott and Costello Meet
Frankenstein (1948), designed by Walter Lantz, showing
the skeuomorphic main title animation 94
2.14 Graphic typography in film trailers: [Top] Sh! The
Octopus (1938); [Bottom] Dracula (1931, for the rerelease
in 1951) 97
2.15 Selected stills from the title sequence for Flubber (1997),
designed by Kyle Cooper 98
3.1 Stills showing the text transformations in the logo
resolve ident for WTOP-​TV, Washington, DC, produced
by Scanimate (1975) 103
3.2 Selected stills from the title sequence for The Number
23 (2007), designed by Peter Frankfurt, showing the
emergent “23” 104
3.3 Asemic composition, 2013_​010 July 17, 2013 by Michael
Betancourt /​Artists Rights Society 106
3.4 Selected stills from Primiti Too Taa (1988) by Ed Ackerman 110
3.5 Selected stills from Primiti Too Taa (1988) by Ed
Ackerman, showing onomatopoetic typography 111
3.6 All the title cards in Humorous Phases of Funny Faces
(1906) by J. Stuart Blackton 114
3.7 Selected title cards from Alien (1979), designed by
Richard Greenberg 115
3.8 All the title cards in Rumba (1935) 116
3.9 Stills from the title sequence for Six Feet Under (2001),
designed by Danny Yount, showing the first [Top] and
last [Middle] credits, and the title card for the main title
[Bottom] 117
C.1 Diagram of the two parallel variables in Barbara
Brownie’s study of motion typography, Transforming Type 135
xi

List of Figures xi
C.2 Stills stating “DU MUSST CALIGARI WERDEN”
(“YOU MUST BECOME CALIGARI”) from The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), showing extra-​diegetic
typography 136
C.3 Still frame showing the film title as a live action element
in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) 139
C.4 [Left] Studio logos embedded in live action footage
from the opening to Sherlock Holmes (2009); [Right]
typography animated and integrated into the live action
in Sucker Punch (2011) 139
C.5 Selected title cards from The Life of Brian (1979) 140
xi
newgenprepdf

Acknowledgments

The ‘reading-​image’ emerged from many disparate conversations over

several years, and would not have been possible without the discussions
and assistance from many people who contributed observations,
suggested references or works, and discussed the ideation. The aid of
my colleagues Dominique Elliott, John Colette, James Gladman, Austin
Shaw, Minho Shin, and Woon (“Duff ”) Yong; as well as my graduate
students Jordan Adams, Noël Anderson, Moira (“MoMo”) Burke, Joel
Desmond, Dominica Jordan, Muge Mahmutcavusoglu, Amanda Quist,
Eryn Reiple, and Matt Van Rys has proven essential to its development.
Special thanks go to my brother, John Betancourt, for his assistance
with locating many of the title sequences that inform this study, and to
Louise Sandhaus for her help with the commercials.
1

Frontis Stills from Postcard Film © 1999 Michael Betancourt /​Artists Rights

Society (ARS). This movie creates a ‘reading-​image’ (chronic progres-
sion) using a combination of imaging technologies superimposed as a
palimpsest: photolithographic postcard of a beach scene in New Jersey
from 1896, 16 mm film shot on an animation stand, digital video, and
finally the electronic compositing possibilities of the digital computer to
compress and expand time while merging footage from various sources
2


Motion Typography

Formal aesthetic criteria provide only a partial understanding of how

movement and typography interact; the present study emerges from
the question, “How is typography in motion graphics different from
graphic design?” Reflecting on this ontological question leads to a con-
sideration of the role that kinesis (movement on-​screen) has for typ-
ography and graphic elements as a corollary to their lexical structure.
Animated typography creates a profusion of new meanings linked to
its semiosis, which the ‘reading-​image’ identifies as a dramatization
of the recognition process being visualized on-​screen (what has been
described as an affect1 of Schriftfilme [textfilm]2—​motion pictures in
which text becomes image-​in-​motion). This excess to lexical meaning
complements the familiar role of written language: movement is an
enunciative action the audience interprets fluently based on their past
experiences with static and motion typography, and which reflects
their established lexical and interpretive proficiency with rendering
visual perceptions into the categories of graphics, imagery, and
typography.
Specific to motion graphics, if not a necessary and sufficient condi-
tion of its definition, motion typography is a prominent and common
feature.3 Although the formal morphology and structure of static
design appears in the various uses and applications of on-​screen typo/​
graphics, this convergence is a symptom of the challenges it offers for
static design. Motion graphics are not just graphic design plus anima-
tion.4 Instead, motion graphics are primarily concerned with the new
semiosis that structured time offers to design, arrangement, and pres-
entation on-​screen. The differences that actual, literal time and motion
make for design are, ultimately, conclusive.
Contemporary digital animation software generates a broad spec-
trum of animations for typography, including the shape-​changing of
individual letterforms in animorphs, as well as the visual effects (VFX)
compositing of typography within live action footage.5 Books on the
production techniques for motion typography reveal a consistent
3

Motion Typography 3
approach to the dynamics offered by animation. The aesthetics and
traditions established by earlier technologies remain apparent in the
self-​similarity of all motion typography, whatever their mode of pro-
duction: as the technical restraints on animated typography have
gradually vanished with the invention of newer, more precise, and cost-​
effective technologies, the same processes and interpretive engagements
remain, despite the changes. The ‘reading-​image’ emerges from this
history in three variations that are defined by different, discrete roles
for kinesis—​time and movement within the visual composition of the
screen. Understanding motion typography through this set of closely
knit theoretical dimensions reveals kinetic action, graphic expression,
and chronic progression as distinct modes linked to specific engagements
with on-​screen motion.
Although motion typography appears in advertising films, TV
commercials, interactive software, web page designs and the brief logo
animations, “bumpers” or idents used in broadcasting (in addition to
title sequences), all these examples of animated typography are not uni-
formly available for critical consideration. The proliferation of kinetic
media—​computer screens, televisions, billboards, and even e-​books—​
testifies to the vastly lowered production costs for historically expensive,
highly complex, and labor-​intensive animation processes; however, even
the most expensive animations and compositing are typically ephem-
eral, neither designed to be memorable nor much remembered. Unlike
other kinds of motion picture, such as feature films, motion graphics
tend to disappear as quickly as their topicality and novelty fade: this
aspect of motion typography complicates simple research activities—​
i.e. collection—​beyond its familiar appearance in title sequences. Since
there are far more instances of motion typography in use than appear
in title designs, the examples in this analysis were drawn from a wide
range of sources in video art, experimental film, and commercial title
sequences—​not because of any particular priority, but because the
works discussed have remained readily accessible over time. This issue
of access coupled with their role as exemplars of “type” justifies the
selections based on their utility for identifying the principles under
consideration. Special consideration was given to designs made before
digital animation technology was available, thus revealing the independ-
ence of the ‘reading-​image’ from digital processing and technology.
Carefully curating this limited, archival approach gives the resulting
analysis a breadth beyond simply a consideration of the “hot” designs
of the contemporary moment; thus, the selection reflects the capacity
of each example to demonstrate the historical scope developed from
a much broader analysis of the ‘reading-​image’ than what is presented
herein. This discussion is summative. These selections illustrate how
motion graphics in the United States developed in the network of
4

Figure 0.1 “The Tyger” from Songs of Experience by William Blake (1794)