Typeface: The Movie

 Official Typeface:The Movie poster

I just had the opportunity to watch a documentary, scary I know, called "Typeface" and with all honesty, it was quite interesting. Also it helped that it didn't have a feature length film time stamp on it, it was only an hour long.

The basis of the film was at a museum and print shop in a small rural town, Two Rivers, Wisconsin where you learn about traditional technique used in wood type before the computer and digital graphic design. It follows a guy named Jim, who wants to bring tourists and industry to the town by having this museum dedicated to wood type beginnings because it's a dying art history that not many people know about.

This museum isn't an average museum that's all stiff, proper, and intangible. There is an opportunity to actually touch the old wood type letters that are stored in drawers, as if it was the days where this was a running print factory. A visitor can even witness some print production. Honestly,it doesn't look like a museum at all, it definitely looks like an operating print factory.

I think it's a great opportunity to visit this place because if you're like me, don't make fun of me, but I'm 24 and have always wondered how people made those wonderful posters without a computer in the olden days. By watching this documentary film, I have learned that process and I'm really still amazed. I even asked my classmate, "So is this how the cowboys made wanted posters?" The answer was yes.

Example of a Wood type printed poster

If you don't know what is so cool about wood type, I would say discover it like I did, watch the film, but here's a little something so you aren't left wondering as I was. "Wood type were letterforms and illustrations dating back to the first known Chinese wood block print. The usual procedure was to draw the letter on wood, which was pasted to the wood. Then cut around the letter with a knife, taking out the parts to be left blank." Sourced: http://www.woodtype.org/museum_information_about.shtml

Totally an awesome film and worth the watch so you're not left wondering "How were posters made before the computer."

♣ Michael