Western AHHH Credits

After debating whether to choose Western or Sci-Fi, we decided to do Western, as it would be really unique. Western peaked in popularity during the '50s with directors like John Ford, four times Oscar winner, and considered by some the greatest director of all time, making a whole filmography based on Westerns. As an "old" genre, some formalities are maybe a little bit old-fashioned, but I'm pretty sure we can make it work. So, because of this, in this blog post I'll research some examples of iconic title screens used in Western films. But before this, a little history research on "Western fonts."

The type of font related to Western is called "Tuscan." Its origins can be traced back to the 4th century, but its popularization sees its origin in American Wood Typing. The time that the 6-line cut of Hamilton’s No 14 (Antique Tuscan Expanded) was manufactured is not clear, but it is probably around 1800.

This type of font started playing a key role in America's visual culture during the 19th century. Due to its popularity, several styles for Tuscan fonts were developed during this time period. Westerns are usually set during the mid-19th century, which makes sense for them to use these types of fonts as they were part of American culture during this time, trying to represent it as close to reality as possible.

Antique Tuscan: semiornamental  

Antique Shade Tuscan: 

More ornamental antique tuscans

Ornamental Tuscan 

Now some movie samples!!

Rio Bravo

A font with a vibrant yellow and red that contrasts with the a little bit desaturated establishing shot in the back is used for both credits and title screen. This looks like an antique light shade Tuscan, not really ornamental, which makes sense, because a really ornamental font will take all the attention off the shot that is behind.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Once again, title screen and opening credits go together; this time they don't have a shot behind. They use a font with serifs, getting closer to an ornamental Tuscan. The signs used for the credits make reference to the origins of Tuscans in wood typing, making it more representative of the Western aesthetic.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

A way more ornamental font is used for these credits and title screen. It really follows that Western image that lies in the collective unconscious.

For our film opening, as we only have two minutes, I believe the most appropriate thing to do is put the credits on the shots rather than making separate graphics for them, as we want to show other types of techniques during the film. As the examples show, for not dragging the whole attention off the shot, a semi-ornamental Tuscan would be appropriate for this task.

I found this website that has several samples of fonts that match this description. Click here to see the website.

Examples: 

Research sites: https://woodtype.org/blogs/news/91-antique-tuscans-in-america