Snyder ,'Chosen'
[NAFDA] "There will be an occasional happy, so that it might be crushed under the boot of the writer." From Zorro to Angel (including Wonderfalls, The Inside and Drive), this is where Buffistas come to anoint themselves in the bloodbath. Oh, and help us get Terriers dvds!
And Amych - comparison was Ariel vs. Brush. As you suspected.
I'm dull but safe font guy. For print Times New Roman or Garamond. For screen Verdana. Obviously there are other choices and reasons for making them. I suppose I ought to get hold of an introduction to layout. Since I have NO good instincts in that area one that starts from the beginning and won't get me into any bad habits.
TB: get The Non-Designer's Design Book [link] -- it's a solid introduction to the basic design principles (things like getting things lined up and in proportion, keeping an eye on contrast, drawing attention to the right things), without requiring any particular artistic background or skill level. It's really good for what you're aiming at (and what I wish more people would shoot for!), which is to keep things clean and readable and not get in people's way.
I flipped through the first twenty or so pages of the book on amazon, and it certainly seems levelheaded.
Serendipitously, I started Graphic Design 1 last night, and we watched part of Helvetica and chatted about fonts and placement, etc. I'm more than a little in love with that movie and the people in it.
I loved that movie!
The Futon's Critic reveals how ME is addressing at least two of the concerns that people have had...
1. Some of the Actives/Dolls have roles they repeat. They specifically mention that one Active/Doll specializes in personal assignments. That would imply that others do not. Which means that some, at least, are not (just) prostitutes.
2. There is a time limit to being a Doll, five years. Which means that they are tiptoeing around the slavery issue. I presume that they have some method of guaranteeing the Actives/Dolls that they will be 'under' for five years, rather than forever, because otherwise who would sign up?
Those two rules help constrain some of the concerns. Not that there will not be exceptions, or that the issues will not be raised or not challenged, but it is starting to put boundaries...
CaBil,
1. They've taken that bit from the casting calls, which mentioned that one of the dolls (now introduced in episode 2) does personal assignments rather than, like, crime.
2. The five year thing is questioned even in the pilot. I wouldn't believe anything the Dollhouse people say. They're one part evil fuckers, one part misguided.
The thing does read creepy. Knowingly creepy. Also, fun. They're reshooting the pilot now so it might get jumbled about from what people have seen. Certainly the intro has been rewritten from when TFC saw it.
Ah, Little Virgil Webster and his poseable action figures. Want.
I have been pushing the Inside shamelessly since November and this ammunition helps.