While we won’t be developing any title sequences in this course, title design is an entire industry within the world of motion graphics. And it is important to watch and analyze them to see how their creators use design to focus a viewer’s attention.
I’m sure each of you has seen a show where the title sequence just pulls you right into the content of what you are watching. Design plays a huge role in that.
Think of all the ways we have learned to use contrast to direct the attention of a viewer/reader/user:
- Value
- Size/Scale
- Density/Detail
- Space
- Direction
- Color
- Texture
- Depth
When you watch a title sequence, think about how the creators utilized the above techniques to focus your attention. Remember the Rule of Thirds? Every single scene within these title sequences relies on the Rule of Thirds to focus attention on imagery or text. Make a note of when you see that in action.
Here are a few of my favorite examples of title design from tv and film.
***WARNING: Some of the following videos may contain brief depictions of violence or nudity.***
Ghost in the Shell
“Ghost in the Shell” had a profound impact on me when I first saw it as a teenager in 1996. The sophistication of the imagery coupled with the heavy philosophical themes of the story really opened my eyes to what was possible with animation. It remains a poignant and highly-relevant film to this day.
The film tells the story of a cyborg police officer’s hunt for a mysterious computer hacker. The title sequence portrays her “birth” from within a giant laboratory. Cold, machine-like text shuffles around between the scenes before forming the credits. The haunting chants and tribal drums create a surreal atmosphere as the main character is assembled and then “wakes up” to start her day.
Click/tap the image to view the trailer.
Se7en
The titles for “Se7en” are “a short story told in fragments and vignettes, following the hands of an unknown man — presumably the antagonist, John Doe — as he makes entries in his diary alongside clippings from books, self-developed photographs, and found images and objects, giving the audience an intimate look into the mind of a serial killer obsessed with religion and, more to the point, attrition,” according to the website Art of the Title.
Creating the sequence involved intense planning and storyboarding by creator Kyle Cooper and the film’s director David Fincher. Hand-drawn typography was combined with the typeface Helvetica and then degraded and smeared during the film transfer process. Some of the text was cut up and reassembled by hand. Even though the use of computer software to create effects and to edit film was well-established at the time, Cooper edited and assembled the majority of the sequence by hand.
“People think that there’s computer graphics in there, but having to deliver the thing as a traditional film optical and trying to encourage the guy working the optical printer to not throw away things that are accidents that we actually wanted in there, with fish hooks and razor blades going through the roll-up machine — it was just an interesting time,” reflects Cooper. “You can plan for everything and say we’re going to do something that looks effortless, but that’s not really realistic — it takes on a life of its own.”
Click/tap the image to view the trailer and read more.
True Detective
“Visually, we were inspired by photographic double exposures. Fragmented portraits, created by using human figures as windows into partial landscapes, served as a great way to show characters that are marginalized or internally divided. It made sense for the titles to feature portraits of the lead characters built out of the place they lived. This became a graphic way of doing what the show does in the drama: reveal character through location,” said Creative Director Patrick Clair.
In this Emmy-award-winning sequence, ghost-like imagery is conjured from footage and still images of the show’s characters and the polluted, desolate landscapes they inhabit. Fire plays a prominent theme, as does religion, in carrying the narrative through the title sequence.
Click/tap the image to view the trailer and read an interview with Patrick Clair.
Alien
“Alien” is a masterful and terrifying piece of storytelling. This film, and its equally-amazing sequel “Aliens,” hold a special place for me because through these movies I was introduced to the work of one of my favorite visual artists, H.R. Giger. Giger (1940-2014) designed the alien “xenomorph” creature as well as many of the film’s most iconic set pieces. His ‘biomechanical’ art direction style gave the film a deeply unsettling atmosphere.
That atmosphere is reflected in the film’s title sequence. As the camera pans across a dark planet, fragmented letters fade into view. The music swells and tension builds until the full title is revealed amid a cacophony of otherworldly sound.
The sequence is simple, yet effective. It mirrors the story of the film. Similar to how the titular creature picks off the hapless crew members and forces them into an increasingly desperate situation, the title sequence forces the viewer to endure the dark tension as the full title comes into view piece-by-piece.
Click/tap the image to view the trailer and read more.
Luke Cage
I’m a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and their title sequences are great.
“Luke Cage” focuses on a man who was given superhuman strength and durability by a secret lab experiment and becomes a fugitive. The show features him coming into his own as a ‘street-level’ superhero and an inspiration to his community while also trying to make sense of his past.
The imagery of the title sequence shows iconic locations from the setting of the show, Harlem, NY, projected onto a 3D model of Luke Cage. By projecting these images onto the character’s skin, the creators tell the tale of a hero who literally embodies the highest ideals and aspirations of his community as he fights for what he believes in.
Click/tap the image to view the trailer
