logo Sign In

Preserving the "Italian" Original Trilogy (Released) — Page 3

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Getting closer:

This is actually a mix of Gill Sans (for most of the text), plus a few letters from Johnston ITC (in this case the "J", "a", "t", "r", "B", "K", "G", "V", "q" and the "?"). Spacing has been adjusted (166% of space between words), as well as character widths (the "g" is now 80% wide... and should probably made slightly fatter now).

I think that's pretty close, and the last differences (like the arc of the "J", the lower length of the "q" or the "t" crossbar) can be fixed manually. And once it's filtered a bit (to look more like an optical composite) it should look close enough.

Author
Time

Leonardo said:

What about "News Gothic No. 2 "?

Not at all ;)

Author
Time

I'm looking at every Sans-serif there is... My eyes are going "Total Recall"...

Author
Time
 (Edited)

I think the combination of Gill Sans and Johnston isn't too far-fetched:

https://www.typotheque.com/articles/re-evaluation_of_gill_sans/

And keep in mind, the digital fonts of today don't have to be 100% identical to those classic typefaces! I'm pretty sure you won't find anything closer than these.

Edit:

I've posted a few shots here: http://typophile.com/node/102810

Maybe someone can help us out.

Author
Time

Yeah, I think you nailed it. The two typefaces are closely related anyway. It's not like we're mixing Verdana with Comic Sans.
Now what I wanna do is actually combine Gill and Johnston to create a customized typeface that can be used in the future if the need arises.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Yeah, I found a program called FontForge. Let's see now. *cracks knuckles*

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Well done Laserschwert, I think you found the trick !

Just for my personal culture : do someone know how were the font used before digital font/computer ?

Author
Time

Leo, are we doing a summer screening then? ;)

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Leonardo said:

Ok, I joined Gill & Johnston and created "Gill Johnston Custom"

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3Wlp4clLq4dY2lKX0poZ0FIek0/edit

I fixed the "J" and "y" myself.

It probably still needs fixing, but I think it's a step in the right direction.

Very nice! Thanks!

Although I don't think it was necessary to fix the "y", as it was correct in "Johnston" (I just forgot to list it in my post).

Edit:

I noticed a few minor problems with the font:

The vertical stroke of the Johnston "J" is shorter than those of Gill Sans (I think all Johnston capitals are "shorter" than the Gill Sans verticals, including "b" and "d"). If "J" is the only capital you've used from Johnston, that's the only one that needs to be fixed.

The "t" still doesn't look right to me. I think the crossbar still has to be even shorter on the right side.

Do you think we should make the "g" narrower in the font? If you do, make sure to make the vertical strokes fatter again after scaling the letter down.

Apart from these I think this will work wonderfully!

BTW, since Johnston/Gill are basically "the font of Britain", might it be safe to assume that the subtitles for the international versions of SW were made in the UK?

Author
Time

Laserschwert said:

Very nice! Thanks!

Although I don't think it was necessary to fix the "y", as it was correct in "Johnston" (I just forgot to list it in my post).

I used the Johnston "y", and customized it a bit.

 

I noticed a few minor problems with the font:

The vertical stroke of the Johnston "J" is shorter than those of Gill Sans (I think all Johnston capitals are "shorter" than the Gill Sans verticals, including "b" and "d"). If "J" is the only capital you've used from Johnston, that's the only one that needs to be fixed.

The "t" still doesn't look right to me. I think the crossbar still has to be even shorter on the right side.

Do you think we should make the "g" narrower in the font? If you do, make sure to make the vertical strokes fatter again after scaling the letter down.

I will fix all of these. As for substitutions, I used your post 51 above as reference.

Apart from these I think this will work wonderfully!

I think so too. It's a custom job, and it's all work that needs only to be done once, that's what I like about it.

BTW, since Johnston/Gill are basically "the font of Britain", might it be safe to assume that the subtitles for the international versions of SW were made in the UK?

It's a possibility.

Author
Time

thxita said:

Leo, are we doing a summer screening then? ;)

You're doing winter, in Russia, if you don't shut your trap! ;)

Author
Time

I've updated the font, same link as above. How does it look now? I've fixed the height of the Johnston glyphs, slimmed down the "g" and tweaked the "u" a bit.

Author
Time

Looking good now, apart from the "u"... it definitely has a stem/serif on the lower right end, so you should just change it back.

Author
Time

Changed it back to Johnston and updated the file. I'm currently de-warping the video from the screening to get the correct perspective that will allow me a more precise placing of the subtitles.

Author
Time

Here's how it looks in AfterEffects (although when placed like in the snapshots, the text won't be centered):

Author
Time

Laserschwert said:

Here's how it looks in AfterEffects (although when placed like in the snapshots, the text won't be centered):

Looking nice already, about the centering do you think the perspective/optical warping of the handheld camera can account for that?

Author
Time

Leonardo said:

Looking nice already, about the centering do you think the perspective/optical warping of the handheld camera can account for that?

Nope. If you look at the positioning it's pretty much the same... "messo una tale taglia" spans Greedo's shoulders, "di" pretty much touches the corner of the wall and "ogni" ends right below the guys's cheek in the background.

Author
Time

Yeah, you're right. BTW I just saw your request on typophile. That "hrant" character was really helpful, wasn't he?

Author
Time

The only thing I can't vouch for is the color of the subtitles. The reels were old and colors you can imagine being quite alterated.

About the perspective, I was sitting on the far left corner but if you use greedo's position it shouldn't be such a problem, as other suggested 

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Well, they have to be white, right? I mean, I saw that clip over and over again and the colors looked fine to me, Star Wars isn't faded. ESB was completely maroon, but Star Wars was pretty much intact. Tatooine looks like Tatooine, the sky was blue, the stormtroopers were white... The only difference with Harmy's restoration is that his despecialized simulates the use of a 70's projector bulb, that gives the picture a warm tint, which the Ravenna print didn't have (at least judging from that clip). The main clue is the color of Greedo's head.