"Next Voyage" Font

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by GSchnitzer, Oct 8, 2015.

  1. GSchnitzer

    GSchnitzer Co-Executive Producer In Memoriam

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2008
    Location:
    Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, Terra
    Is there anyone here knowledgeable about fonts (old 1960s fonts) who can identify this font used in the Star Trek previews through the first and second seasons?

    The cross at the top of the "A" and the squared off openings in the a, e, o, and r, are odd and might provide clues.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. ZapBrannigan

    ZapBrannigan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2013
    Location:
    New York State
    Are we sure this was part of the original NBC broadcast, and not just created for 1980s home video releases?

    It looks hand-made to me, like somebody cut those letters out of paper with a pair of scissors. If that's the case, there's no such font. And that would almost have to be an original (1960s) situation.
     
  3. Tosk

    Tosk Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2001
    Location:
    On the run.
    ^ I agree. The duplicates of certain letters are different to each other, so probably hand-made.
     
  4. GSchnitzer

    GSchnitzer Co-Executive Producer In Memoriam

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2008
    Location:
    Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, Terra
    Interesting.

    Well, there were "here are some scenes from next week's Star Trek" previews even when the episodes aired originally--and some of these previews use footage that wasn't actually in the episode. I'm not sure where someone would get that unused footage if these weren't done back contemporaneously with the series. But the notion that this graphic might have been appended later is interesting.

    I note that the "Star Trek Next Voyage" graphic for the third season previews use the regular blue Star Trek font. I wonder why the change if these were done years later.
     
  5. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2005
    The trailers themselves were cut under Bob Justman's supervision during the run of the show (I'm not sure who cut the trailers once he left the series), and were aired on NBC.

    We know from archival records that the opening text on the trailers originally read "NEXT WEEK" during seasons one and two, but was revised to "STAR TREK NEXT VOYAGE" in season three.

    See this film clip from the original trailer for "The Devil in the Dark," for example: https://www.flickr.com/photos/birdofthegalaxy/4294036557/

    This matches the episode's credits memo at UCLA.

    Presumably, the trailers were standardized to "STAR TREK NEXT VOYAGE" for weekly strip syndication following the show's cancellation.

    I have no idea about the font -- the credit memos do not say.
     
  6. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2012
    Location:
    Winston-Salem, NC
    At that time would it even still have been a "font"? Could have been hand drawn or cut from paper, as someone else suggested?
     
  7. Kor

    Kor Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2001
    Location:
    My mansion on Qo'noS
    ^ Well, the concept of a matched set of characters in a font or a typeface goes back to the Middle Ages.

    For use in a fan film, maybe somebody could trace those letters from a TOS screenshot and convert them into a vector graphic to insert over the new video? But I don't really know much about such things. :shrug:

    Kor
     
  8. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2012
    Location:
    Melakon's grave
    In the '60s, companies like Letraset making sheets of dry transfer letters that you could use to make signs or advertisements in newspapers. I used them shortly after that time working part-time at an ad agency. The studio was probably capable of even making their own in their print shop.
     
  9. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2005
    Location:
    Real Gone
    Most titles were done by outside companies like Pacific Title rather than at the studios themselves.
     
  10. ZapBrannigan

    ZapBrannigan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2013
    Location:
    New York State
    All I know is, I never saw the graphic posted at the top of this thread until the pre-recorded VHS tapes came out.

    I missed the first run on NBC, and the only trailer I ever saw in syndication was for "The Menagerie," and that only once. I remember how jarring it was when Spock's voice suddenly came on saying "Leonard Nimoy speaking!" and he said something like, don't miss the thrilling conclusion next week (which was really going to be tomorrow at that point).
     
  11. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2012
    Location:
    Winston-Salem, NC
    Yeah I figured I got the history wrong :ouch: I was thinking more in terms of not being a set font that would be available for broad use, but more of a custom-designed set of letters by the studio specifically for these promos.
     
  12. Ar-Pharazon

    Ar-Pharazon Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2005
    Location:
    Far North Chicago Suburbs
    I have thousands of fonts on my computer. Someone recreated the TOS "Star Trek" style, the movie style.

    I created a full set of letters based on the Kansas album font.

    This one could be out there under a different name than "Star Trek".
     
  13. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 24, 2006
    Location:
    Escaped from Delta Vega
    That is an interesting direction to take; the Letraset fonts from the 60s would be a good start--by finding current font developers known for creating their own "vintage" styles based on anything from that decade.

    It almost looks like a modified (italicized) version of the "Ad Lib" font.
     
  14. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    I'm guessing it's hand-drawn art.
    It's possible someone had a Letraset or Chartpak sheet made up. Those did occasionally include variations on some letters to make the text look hand-lettered.

    I actually still have a pile of Letraset sheets left over from art school in the 70s! Plus some in Eurostyle to make NCC numbers on kitbashes, before the ability to make our own decals came around.
     
  15. Ar-Pharazon

    Ar-Pharazon Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2005
    Location:
    Far North Chicago Suburbs
    If you use Font Creator Program, you could cut & paste the existing letters in, then extrapolate the rest of the alphabet.
     
  16. Ssosmcin

    Ssosmcin Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2002
    Location:
    ssosmcin
    I saw them during some reruns before the VHS tape release. The Connecticut station I was able to grab a signal from ran the series uncut and included the previews. When I got the tapes, I was thrilled they were on there because I only saw a handful of them on TV.
     
  17. ZapBrannigan

    ZapBrannigan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2013
    Location:
    New York State

    Could that Next Voyage graphic have been made for the syndication package? I wouldn't think so, but it's using a shot of the Enterprise that looks like second season footage to me, and if that's right, then NBC couldn't have used it on first year episodes.
     
  18. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2005
    It didn't say "next voyage" until season three.

    The trailers during seasons one and two originally said "next week."
     
  19. JoeRalat

    JoeRalat Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2002
    Location:
    New York
    Most likely the font was created as a graphic. Like the Movie title for star trek the motion picture. It was done and a black plate so it could be matted out. Remember you couldn't just at some text like in After Effects. Im sure it was based on a real font then changed.

    Your best best, is to use the image to trace it in Illustrator. If anyone has a HD Version I can do it in Illustrator.
     
  20. Michael

    Michael Good Bad Influence Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2007
    Location:
    Aloha Quadrant
    Interesting question! The font used seems to be Alor Italic, or at least one was the inspiration for the other. They are not an exact match, but they are too similar for it to be a coincidence. Unfortunately I can't find anything about the history of the Alor font, but I guess it's either an old commercial font or it's based on one.

    [​IMG]
    (Note: I had to edit the font a little bit to make it fit. I made it somewhat wider and tilted it a bit.)