The research shows that the graphics present in the films are not always active in the narrative. Many of the elements present do not have a real role in the story, most of the time they only serve to enrich the context in which the actions take place. The designer has the task of belonging to the film, trying to design coherent props and context elements that evoke the same world, imaginary or real. The works must convey realism in order not to break the “tacit narrative pact”, their realization must be perceived with a high degree of verisimilitude The context graphics props must therefore be discreet, trying to blend in with the context of the film, they must not stand out among the props but they must help the scenography to create the world to be reproduced. The graphic designer must be temporally oriented, devising objects consistent with the reference period, always considering that the viewer’s previous experience would unconsciously point out an anachronistic or in any case inappropriate element, producing a judgment of neglect on the film, such as poorly maintained or even incorrect. For this order of reasons, careful research and analysis of any graphic design characteristic of that time and place is essential, trying to circumscribe a well-defined style. The context graphics in a film are of particular importance and must be weighed even in cases where the context is fictional. In this case, the works must be able to adapt perfectly to imaginary worlds, supernatural elements and alien planets. Fantasy films can present a singularity, in fact they have such imaginative settings but sometimes they evoke past historical periods, consequently the style and the world of appearance in these cases is clear and well defined. If there were printed books in The Lord of the Rings, rather than handwritten, the viewer would be surprised despite the fact that Tolkien’s world has been completely imagined and described by the author. The context, even if imaginative, is still known, and must respect established canons, any type of eccentric or unlikely intervention would be a stretch, if not for a well-defined stylistic choice by the director.

The concept of narrative archetypes is a fundamental tool for understanding the purposes and functions of the characters in a story. From this theory it is easy to understand, analyzing the role of a given character, if this is fully expressing its value. The protagonist is called Hero by Christopher Vogler, a well-known American screenwriter, who in his great contribution to the world of storytelling, takes up the theories on narrative patterns in the myths of Joseph Campbell, in turn inspired by the archetypes of the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, and adapts them to a narrative scheme in which most of the characters, but not only, can be traced back to an archetype. Archetypes can be considered as personified symbols of various human qualities, and stories can be read as metaphors of the general human situation, with characters embodying universal archetypal qualities, understandable to both the group and the individual. If each archetype is responsible for embodying a certain function, within the narrative, the role of the herald, or messenger, becomes clear and explicit already from its nomenclature. Sticking to the literal definition of the term, the messenger can be defined as a narrative release of the whole story, as a concrete stimulus for the beginning of the journey that interrupts the state of rest. Without the intervention of the herald, the story would not take hold and the film would have no sense of existing. The herald in cinema can manifest itself in many forms, physical and otherwise. Often it is a flesh and blood character who announces his task to the hero. A very famous example is the robots C3PO and R2D2 in Star Wars, which by delivering the message of Leia in A New Hope trigger the adventure of Luke Skywalker. What interests the graphic designer, however, is the “inanimate” version of the herald. It is interesting to note how often in the cinema the herald is actually not a character but an object that carries the message to the hero and sets off his mission. Many will remember the dazzling brightness of the golden ticket that opened the doors of the Chocolate Factory to little Charlie Bucket or the myriad of magical letters flying out of Harry Potter’s chimney to announce his admission to Hogwarts. In these cases the object is the product of a graphic designer and its usability and particular workmanship make it a structural element of the narrative.

Sometimes the graphic prop is so important to the story that it is considered a hero prop, which is a significant element for our hero, one that passes through his hands frequently or is often framed. This is the case, for example, of the famous ring from The Lord of the Rings: certainly the most important prop of the saga, the object of desire of the forces of evil and those of good, one of those rings that give the film its name. same. The object is interesting because it is not a simple ring, what differentiates it from other rings is precisely a graphic detail. The writing in “black speech” that surrounds it is a perfect example of how to give prominence and importance to this type of object. In this case, the genius of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien since his books had given the idea and form of a particular alphabet, the only “pure” application of which would have been that on the one ring. It was then the hand of the talented designer Daniel Reeve to transform Tolkien’s alphabet into the mythical calligraphic inscription on the ring: perhaps the most famous calligraphic lettering in the history of cinema made that object unforgettable, made it special and iconic, so much that reproductions of that writing have been used in many pieces of merchandise, artwork that have depopulated all over the world. The authorial hand of designer Daniel Reeve then translated into real fonts all the other alphabets of the saga of the middle earth, written in elven and personal calligraphy of each important character.