Movies with Visualized Design

[Ink Asylum]

Inspired by the Scott Pilgrim trailer with the abundance of sound effects visually represented on screen I'm writing a blog post about this kind of stylistic choice in movies, where text and graphics appear to be a part of an otherwise realistic scene.

It happens a lot in credit sequences, but rarely shows up during the rest of a film. Outside of Scott Pilgrim I've only been able to come up with two examples where it's done well.

Stranger Than Fiction: A good chunk of the first half of the movie shows Harold Crick going about his daily life, his penchant for counting and measuring the world around him represented by brilliant graphics that pop out of nowhere and move in relation to the camera viewing angle, as if a part of reality.

Fight Club: When the narrator is describing his love of IKEA a panned shot of his apartment shows product names and descriptions floating above his furniture, making it look like pages from the catalog.

Beyond that I haven't been able to remember another movie that used similar effects outside the credits. Have I missed anything obvious?

[Suave Peanut]

Zombieland?

[Ink Asylum]

I was wondering if that had it, but I have yet to see Zombieland. I'll have to check it out.

[Nuggsy]

Man On Fire had this with some of the dialogue.

This is a technique that you see used much more often in experimental filmmaking. In regards to this type of film, it can be used to draw you eye, recontextualize an element, or simply make the viewer engage the film on a different level. I'm drawing a blank on any filmmakers who have used this technique exclusively, but if you start looking into typography video and experimental film you should be able to come up with a handful of names.

[Zanzibar]

That Pulp Fiction typography one between Jules and Brett was freakin' amazing. Just saw it on Youtube again.

[Ink Asylum]

Yeah, I love those typography animations, which have become a fad in commercials as well lately.

[Nuggsy]

Also - I'm not sure if you want to make the assertion that it's "visualized design". That seems to paint with a very broad brush. If you go that route, you could include things such as Tony Stark's visor in Iron Man - all of those elements were visual "design" elements that were composited into the final shot; it opens up too broad a context and fits in more comfortably with visual effects than what I think you're shooting for.

[Ink Asylum]

I've been trying to think up a good term for it. "Enhanced Reality"? "Visualized Labels"?

[BigJonno]

The subtitles for Night Watch had a lot of clever touches along these lines, playing with font, colour, animation and positioning.

[Vandabo]

Didn't The DaVinci Code have some stuff like that while he was thinking through the riddles and whatnot? I seem to remember that being one of the few parts I liked about that movie.

[johnperkins21]

Are you ruling out the original Batman series and only focusing on movies?

[Ink Asylum]

I'll probably reference the old Batman, since both it and Scott Pilgrim were based on comics.

[inmostlight]

The subtitles for Night Watch had a lot of clever touches along these lines, playing with font, colour, animation and positioning.

Yes, this. I was extremely disappointed that the Blu-Ray version of Day Watch did not have the stylized captions, despite them appearing when it played here in theaters. I can only guess that they removed them due to "extra" scenes added for the home version where they were never made in the first place.

I think The Spirit also had some scenes with the sound effects appearing as text, but under no circumstances should anybody watch The Spirit.

[Ink Asylum]

Ugh. The Spirit. I tried to watch that movie, for the style and my love of the original comics, but my girlfriend and I couldn't get more than a half hour into it. Thankfully it was a Netflix rental.

Frank Miller has a great sense of noir style but just don't let him have full control over a film, especially the dialog.

[Spectre-7]

Yeah, I love those typography animations, which have become a fad in commercials as well lately.

If you're looking for more of those, they're usually labeled Motion Graphics, which seems like it should be a more encompassing term.

Edit: Although it looks like Kinetic Typography is also being thrown around.

[Karmakin]

A Beautiful Mind had them (but again, that was a crap movie. Yes, I said it)

[Ink Asylum]

I saw A Beautiful Mind a really long time ago but don't remember any. Where was it in the movie?

[Rogue_hunter]

If you're looking for more of those, they're usually labeled Motion Graphics, which seems like it should be a more encompassing term.

Edit: Although it looks like Kinetic Typography is also being thrown around.

As a whole it's motion graphics. Kinetic typography is just a buzz word, wheras motion graphics is an actual field, mostly advertising.
I'm so sad that my school only has an intro class, but the instructor kicks ass at it.

[muddi900]

Fringe does this a lot, but they use the most boring font possible.

[Philonious]

The new Splinter Cell does it!

[Karmakin]

When he was writing the numbers into the window I believe. It's been a long time since I saw it.

[Disgustipated]

Kill Bill, definitely some of my favorite stylized visualizations.

[KamaItachi]

Fight Club did this quite well. Ed Norton walking through his Ikea catalogue-esque apartment.