Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545081
S P I D E R - N O I R G R A P H I C S | P E R S P E C T I V E 8 3 that it was possible to use them to create some custom lettering, derived from original lead-type print. (The archived newspapers' body text is a bit too small to accurately reproduce, but the headlines were often beautifully rendered and easy to imitate.) Our clearances department confirmed that this approach would be acceptable, and it provided us with a pipeline directly to 1933. I built a matrix of typefaces that commonly existed in lead type in years prior to 1933, then set about locating tolerably-styled approximations on FontSpring. We ultimately spent just under $1,000 on fonts; money (and arm-twisting) well spent, and I owe Art Department coordinator and budget- tracker Alysia Allen a debt of gratitude for her forbearance. Ma'am, Won't You Step Into My Office? In many film noirs, the femme fatale walks into the private eye's office and lies to him… or does she? It happens here, too, and one of the standout sets of our series is Ben Reilly's office, inspired in part by the famous Spade & Archer detective's office in The Maltese Falcon. My task was to design lettering for the hallway, doors and windows of "Ben Reilly, Private Investigator." Looking closely not only at the Spade & Archer logo but also our tremendous research (check out Shorpy.com and its incredible high-resolution negative scans if you haven't already), no font could do justice to the hand- lettering on windows and door glass of the period, often in gold with black outlines (perfect for both color and black-and-white). I created a series of ideas using photos from the late teens and 1920s, and the chosen winner was inspired by Spade & Archer without treading too closely. (How crushed I was later to see the series' teaser poster art, which replaced my design with a contemporary- looking chamfered-terminal font that had been squeezed to appear condensed. Why didn't they call me?) The painters did a great job of replicating the gold and black lettering using friskets, and the outcome was strikingly beautiful, but most importantly, of its time. Inside the detective's office, the setting sun streams a long shadow onto the floor, with the detective's name strained and stretched-out, figured in light and darkness. To achieve this seminal film noir shot on screen, we ended up making nearly a dozen full-scale vinyl letter appliques on sheets of clear acrylic, each one differently sized and laid out, to allow the cinematographer to find just the perfect angle. I like to think all the unused panels were recycled…? Extra! Designing the Daily Bugle Of all the fictional newspapers in the history of popular culture, there are certainly two we've all heard of, comic book fans or not. One is in Metropolis, frequented by a man of steel, and the other is New York City's Daily Bugle, found originally in the pages of comic books featuring a certain Web-Head. (For licensing reasons, the character's name in our show is The Spider. Not whatever you're thinking.) C. THE OFFICE OF B. REILLY, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: GOLD-AND-BLACK PAINTED LETTERING AS IT APPEARED ON THE SET DOOR RECALLS SUCH FILM NOIR CLASSICS AS THE MALTESE FALCON. PRODUCTION STILL. C