Trends in Titling For Video DSLR Films

For a few weeks now I wanted to write a blog post talking about trends in titling for films made by the new breed of Video DSLR filmmakers who create their art with such cameras as the Canon 7D, 5D Mark II and EOS Rebel T2i/550D. I thought I'd start with perhaps my favorite filmmaker working in this genre, Philip Bloom, and take a look at his choice of fonts, colors and text placement.

First, let's take a look at some of his most recent works:

 Here are a few things that strike me:

1) Simplicity Is King and White Text Rules
I am by no means a font expert but in general Philip's choice of fonts seem to be very simple and basic, very few were serif fonts with feet and most were what I would consider "curvy." White was his most used color.

Very few of his films seem to have been art directed when it came to the titles. However, his commercial for Greenpeace is an exception, it shows some really cool and creative type design, almost a "high tech" treatment using the color orange for subtitles and below that dictionary definitions shown in small white text. "A Day at the Races" is another example of very creative titling.

2) If Nothing Else, White Text on Black
This is the classic cinema look, very simple, elegant and I think it sets a great tone for the viewer, letting them know to expect a film and not a home video.

3) lowercase
The use of all lowercase lettering seems to be a favorite technique of Philip's.

4) Hug The Corners
Rather than place his title text dead center - somewhere in the corners is selected most often. This probably has something to do with where the most uncluttered part of the poster image happens to be.

What are some of your favorite titling work seen in Video DSLR films? I'd be curious to see if they follow this same trend or perhaps go in a completely different direction.