Is it geeky that I like title sequences to films and television shows? Perhaps, but the creativity and thought that goes into these short animation sequences is fascinating. In some cases the titles have shown more creative flair than the actual film they precede.
The Bond title sequence for ‘Live And Let Die’ from the 70′s has to be the earliest memory I have of animated graphics at the beginning of a film. The build up to the Bond movies always kept me captivated and glued to the screen.
There have been many great sequences created over the years. Saul Bass‘s ‘The Man With The Golden Arm‘ or ‘North By North West‘ are a few of the obvious choices. Or Iginio Lardani‘s ‘A Fist Full of Dollars‘ and ‘The Good, The Bad And The Ugly‘ will go down in history as classics. Kyle Cooper‘s titles for the movie ‘Seven‘, was a landmark for visual culture in the 90′s and one that influenced many designers that followed.
I’d like to pick out a few of my favourite modern animated title sequences. ‘Catch Me If You Can‘ by Kuntzel + Deygas has to be one of my favourites and one of the most notable sequences created in the last ten years. This sequence has a modern and simple feel with a Saul Bass-esque sixties twist.
Momoco, a design studio from Soho, just keep delivering the most fantastic sequences. Think of the television shows Misfits and Luther. Their work has a distinct style that captures the attention of the viewer. Momoco always seems to be spot on with their choice in sound track to accompany their work. The choice of music for any sequence is very important. This sets the mood for both the title sequence and the film/show that follows.
This sequence for Misfits was nominated in 2010 for a BAFTA in the ‘Best Titles’ category. The titles designer, Miki Kato, created the branding and rushes the audience though an edgy weathered world, subtly showing the characters’ superpowers via their shadows. The sequence also recaps their supernatural origins as a dysfunctional superhero ‘team’.
The next sequence is a painterly, fragmented portrait of the main character of the BBC show, Luther. Momoco painted 20 scenes before compositing and animating them in After Effects with production images of the actor Idris Elba. The credits are also hand made – imperfect, stamped lettering. This ticks all three crucial boxes for me; great television show, highly creative title sequence and an amazing sound track to match.
The Channel 4 show Fresh Meat is another sequence by Momoco, but this time using filmed footage with animation added afterwards to bring the rooms to life.
What better way to end the sequences by changing things up a bit with an enchanting and highly creative end sequence by Jamie Caliri. Caliri created this sequence for the dark Hollywood fairytale ‘Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events‘. Enjoy
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