> Why did Hustwit limit the expression of opinions on Helvetica to talking heads

I wouldn't call the interviewees talking heads. When have you ever heard from most of these guys beyond the odd magazine article or design conference? Part of the value of the film is that it gives graphic designers and type designers a voice on film. That is very rare.

> The titles are set in Helvetica, but designed and executed in an almost insufferably dull fashion.

I found the titles perfectly appropriate. Helvetica is important for its neutrality (or dullness for some) and ubiquity. To do something different just for the sake of being different ignores the soul of Helvetica.

> music is blows Dimetrodons

I'm interested. What sort of music says Helvetica to you? Hustwit's choices were personal, but carefully considered, and I think they fit the subject well.

I wouldn’t call the interviewees talking heads. When have you ever heard from most of these guys beyond the odd magazine article or design conference? Part of the value of the film is that it gives graphic designers and type designers a voice on film. That is very rare.

"Talking head" is a popular term used to describe anybody interviewed on a screen for any purpose. Wiktionary defines it as, "(idiomatic) A pundit who discusses issues of the day, especially one on TV." http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/talking_head

My use of the rem is broader than that. At least as broad as it is long.

The problem with Helvetica is that it only gives a handful of designers and type designers a voice on film. That's disappointing. It isn't broad enuff.

I found the titles perfectly appropriate. Helvetica is important for its neutrality (or dullness for some) and ubiquity. To do something different just for the sake of being different ignores the soul of Helvetica.

Your view and interpretation of what Helvetica is and the uses it can be put to is a bit conservative in my estimation. I advocate doing something different with it (for the film's titles) not merely for the sake off being different, but to reduce the yawn factor. Helvetica's soul can survive any assault, mild or extreme.

I’m interested. What sort of music says Helvetica to you? Hustwit’s choices were personal, but carefully considered, and I think they fit the subject well.

The music Hustwit chose was unimaginative and had a dulling effect. Fitting the subject is one thing, sending the audience to sleep is something else.

There is more to documentary filmmaking than appropriateness, if you follow the significance of that. For example, by doing something unexpected and pushing the interpretation at the edges a flimmaker can throw a new perspective on the subject. It all has to do with catching the audience off-guard and taking a fresh look at things.

j a m e s

Helvetica is so generic a typeface it can be contrasted with almost anything in any setting. That's kind of the whole point of my review and my take on the film as well as the type itself.

Typophiles seem to have a black & white view of the type itself. I have been saying for almost a year now that Helvetica in bold weights really isn't so bad. Certainly it's more robust and malleable in bold or heavy guise, altogether less ugly, more palatable, and a lot more chuckable in the the hands of graphic designers and typographers who use it.

Alternative music candidates
Philip Glass -- Glassworks [Rubrid Facades Floe, Islands], Akenaten,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Glass
Steve Reich -- Tehilim, Drumming, Six Pianos, Music for 18 Musicians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Reich
John Adams -- Short Ride in a Fast Macine, Shaker Loops
n.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams_(composer)
Eric Satie -- gymnopaedie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Satie
Bill Evans --
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Evans

But also try:
Grace Jones -- Slave to the Rhythm (get it yet?)
Miles Davis
The Art of Noise
Weather Report
Johanne Sebastian Bach

j a m e s

See and Philip Glass would put me to sleep. So it is all subjective. ;^)

What about the other music candidates? Any of those appeal to you? Satie is anything but sleep-inducing. Bach is pretty exciting. Miles mesmerizes.

One thing is for sure, Helveeta the font is quite generic and goes with just about anything, yet Hustwit's film is remarkably one-dimensional. Surely he could have come up with a lot more in the way of opinions and context. Only the bigwigs in the type business and a few prominent graphic designers like Carson and Brody are included, along with a few isolated draftsmen connected with the original font's creation.

Narrow, narrow, too narrow even for pretend consideration.

j a m e s

As long as you agree that this is your own opinion then we're cool. Because I disagree (to some extent) on all points.

Sure. Some of the others are good enough to great enough. But I don't think it would have fit the tone set forth by the rest of the film.

I think sales and seats prove that plenty of people disagree.

I loved the film. As Stephen says it gives graphic designers and type designers a voice. It is a nice history of the past 50 years of graphic design, with lively discussions of some leading participants.

For me the only problem was all that damn Helvetica :)

I especially appreciated the way Erik Spiekermann nailed the problem with Helvetica: that it's "fat in the middle" and so demands a whole lot of space.

James, I submit that all of your music selections (all of which I enjoy!) have a similar tone to what is on the soundtrack, only they are older and more well-known. It seems to show that your objection to the music is highly subjective.

@Tiffany: As long as you agree that this is your own opinion then we’re cool. Because I disagree (to some extent) on all points.

There are no facts, only opinions and points of view on the world. Agree to disagree for the sake of tolerance and we can live together peacably.

I think sales and seats prove that plenty of people disagree.

Popular doesn't always equal high quality. The substantial number of peeple who went to see the film may have gone to see it because they didn't know much about Helvetica. To type experts with all our knowledge of fonts like Helvetica, the film offers little that is genuinely new.

@Stephen: It seems to show that your objection to the music is highly subjective.

Yes, and there is such a thing as good taste and connoisseurship. What I found withering about the music used in the film was its lack of balls.

j a m e s

I submit that all of your music selections (all of which I enjoy!) have a similar tone to what is on the soundtrack, only they are older and more well-known. It seems to show that your objection to the music is highly subjective.

Absolute nonsense and not true at all. Your view is founded on a distinct inability to appreciate the qualitative superiority of my music selections over the music used in the Helvetica film.

It seems to show that your objection to the music is highly subjective.

Nope. My objection to the music in the film is nowhere near as subjective as you like to pretend. It's based on a thorough appreciation great music versus the stuff used in Helvetica. As usual you are trying to win a debate with erroneous suggestions and by misconstruing the points of your oponent. Once again you are out of gasoline and unable to concede and play the game with full deck of cards. Your deck is missing several cards and your dice is loaded in favor of the result you want.

j a m e s

I thought it was a great film. On the other hand, without Spiekermann it would have been as James describes.

hhp