St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design

Abstract

The parallel development of cinema and graphic design throughout the XXth century naturally led to their intersection and symbiosis, thus making it possible to develop today’s film credits into a specific type of design. Yet there is no academic research into the formation of film titles and film graphics as a separate area of graphic design in either Russian or Iranian art. The authors chose the titles of Iranian films as the object of study. They attempted to define the term “cinema graphics” as an independent field of graphic design.
The absence of elaborate definitions of cinema graphics and the eclecticism of related terms — motion graphics, animation graphics and kinetic typography — is noted; the common features and differences of cinema graphics and graphic design are considered. A proposition is made to define cinema graphics as artistic activities for the creation of titles and other visual material for film production using animation techniques and sound design since graphics, sound and movement are the three elements through which the visual language of the show preceding the film representation is created. The authors also suggest considering cinema graphics as an independent field of graphic design, due to the differences in format between these two kinds of project activity: graphic design is static and uses a two-dimensional fixed surface while cinema graphics is a dynamic art form and creates a moving text in real time.
The authors also lay an emphasis on the emotional-figurative shaping of film credits as a way of encoding utilitarian and practical functions, as well as a tool for creating emotional impressions, which, according to the designer’s intent, the consumer of film products (i. e. the viewer) should experience: balance, hierarchy, accent, color and integrity.