Forget the Film, Watch the Titles

Darius Ghanai interview

Wed, 15 May 2013 04:49:00 PDT

Germany's most prolific title designer, Darius Ghanai has designed over 50 title sequences and posters for critically acclaimed European films such as Good Bye Lenin!, Perfume and Palermo Shooting. On a crispy sunny morning in May, we visited the friendly designer in his former studio located in Berlin's Mitte district, close to where Good Bye Lenin! was shot. We talked for hours about title de...

Visual Arabia 2013

Thu, 02 May 2013 08:26:00 PDT

Influenced by the tradition and form of Arabic calligraphy, Juan Behren’s opening titles for Visual Arabia 2013 explore the beauty and mystique of this centuries old form of communication and art. Watch the Titles editor Rani Nugraha has a chat with the Computer Programmer turned Motion Designer about learning Arabic script, reigning in ideas, and the complexities of being ambitious.

N.A.S.A. The Spirit of Apollo

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 06:23:00 PDT

After having struggled with the opening titles for his documentary about the audiovisual collaboration N.A.S.A. The Spirit of Apollo, animator and director Syd Garon had somewhat of an epiphany when he saw Simon C Page's posters for The International Year Of Astronomy. Like a tailored suit, Page's stylishly minimal geometric shapes representing celestial bodies in orbit proved to be the perfect...

Onesize interview

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 08:04:00 PDT

Amsterdam-based motion design studio Onesize has built a solid reputation for themselves in recent years. This is partly due to their eye-catching and technologically advanced opening titles for two big design events in 2009, OFFF and Playgrounds. Back in 2010 we shot a video profile with Onesize founders Kasper Verweij and Rogier Hendriks in their, then, brand-new and freshly painted Amsterdam...

Playgrounds 2009

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 08:03:00 PDT

A series of stills depicting two hardened thugs in a bare-knuckle scrap, are rendered in three dimensions against a bleak, urban backdrop. For Holland’s Playgrounds Festival, Onesize used this metaphor of the creative process which too, often presents an internal battle of wills. As high impact meets slow motion for heightened drama, this sequence mesmerizes from start to finish.

FITC Amsterdam 2013

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:34:00 PDT

With an Enter-the-Void-esque design and concept artwork created by GMUNK, Dutch design studio Onesize took it a step further and produced and directed the hypnotic main titles for last month’s FITC edition taking place on our home turf in Amsterdam. We were privy to watching them debut on the big screen, and following the event we chatted up Rogier Hendriks of Onesize to find out more about thi...

Strike Back

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 05:15:00 PDT

Momoco created the opening titles for Sky1's military action series Strike Back. His concept, says designer Nic Benns, was “human, gritty, and informative.” But when HBO came on board as co-producer, the execs demanded a rebrand. Ergo, new titles. What changed? “They wanted sex,” Nic says. The (happy) end of this story is of course that this 'sexified' version of the titles was nominated for an...

Daniel Kleinman interview

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:31:00 PST

Our video interview with Bond designer Daniel Kleinman is back online, and now includes the official clips from the amazing Skyfall title sequence. A few days before the world premiere of Skyfall, our interview crew visited Daniel at Rattling Stick, the collective of (currently) 11 directors he co-founded in 2006. Rich with stories and anecdotes, Daniel takes us on a tour of his studio's office...

Top 10 Most Viewed in 2012

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 08:29:00 PST

We usually do popularity contests, but as we prep for a no doubt exciting year for title design, it's nice to see which title sequences topped the proverbial charts in 2012 here at Watch the Titles. The winner is a surprise for sure, a student who created an unofficial title sequence made for a school project.

ManvsMachine interview

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 07:37:00 PST

Title design and ident design are like fraternal twins, they don't share the exact same DNA, but they have got a whole lot in common. Which explains our unbridled admiration for ManvsMachine – a motion studio from the UK who have gained a lot of attention for their stunning and highly imaginative brand identities for a international tv networks such More4, SyFy, Nickelodeon, Chiller, and Kanal...

The Borrowers

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 02:55:00 PST

Forget child prodigy wizards with lightening shaped birthmarks and hipster glasses. Children’s books of yesteryear used to be a touch more quaint. Mary Norton’s 1952 children’s novel, “The Borrowers” was a 159 page literary hit for a knee high demographic in the UK and has since sparked numerous movie adaptations. For this recent made-for-tv adaptation of The Borrowers, Clemens Wirth created a...

Dr. No

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 05:04:00 PST

When you see a man in a tuxedo holding a gun, you immediately identify him as James Bond. When you see the first few seconds of the gun barrel sequence, you know that a Bond movie is about to start. Sexy silhouettes? John Barry's 007 Theme? Bond! It was Maurice Binder who designed the titles for the first Bond movie Dr. No in 1962, creating all the elements that became iconic for the Bond unive...

Silent Hill Revelation

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 06:23:00 PST

Spoiling you with another big feature this week! The end titles of Silent Hill: Revelation. Whatever you thought about the movie, I'm sure you'll agree that this is one HELL of a title sequence. Directed by French motion designer Kook Ewo, with 3D animation and visual effects provided by Chez Eddy, the end titles is designed to keep you spellbound in your seat up until after the end credits. Th...

Playgrounds 2012

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 09:15:00 PST

You can't really tell, but the Opening Titles of this year's Playgrounds Digital Arts Fest in The Netherlands are, in fact, an exquisite corpse. And by that I mean the 20th century Surrealist technique, also known as 'cadavre exquis', where creators consecutively work on a piece of art in collaboration. Three designers working on the forefront of 3D visuals each created a segment of the festiva...

Kook Ewo interview

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 06:43:00 PST

In 2010 we visited Paris to interview two of the hottest Parisian title designers for the Watch the Titles double DVD. Our meeting with Kook resulted in this 10-minute mini-documentary in which the designer takes us through the process of creating the titles for Splice and Silent Hill. "It's not about pushing your style into the movie of another."
Next week we will feature Kook Ewo's brand-new ...

Asterix and Obelix - God Save Britannia

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 06:59:00 PDT

Sometimes it's better to team up than to compete. Two upcoming French motion designers-directors Jean-Baptiste Lefournier and Camille Bovier Lapierre joined forces to compete in a pitch for the title sequence for one France's biggest blockbuster movies of the year, Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia. Lefournier shares his process, including the Monty Python-esque early concept. A Watch the ...

Pablo The Movie

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 09:56:00 PDT

Finally! A proper documentary about one of the last living legends of title design, Mr. Pablo Ferro. Simply named 'Pablo,' this charming biopic blends live action with motion graphics and animation to tell the story of Pablo Ferro, whose life and persona are just as intriguing as his body of work. Watch our interview with Pablo director Richard Goldgewicht, mixed with clips from the documentary...

Band Of Outsiders

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 06:56:00 PDT

French Fridays updates with the Main Title of another classic of French cinema, Godard's Band Of Outsiders - a low budget crime flick that was strongly influenced by American B-movies in the heist genre. The fast sequence of jump-cuts used in the first part of the opening titles produce an almost stroboscopic effect. Laure Magalie takes a closer look at this 'petite piece' of French motion art.

Beauty is Embarrassing

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 06:28:00 PDT

Director and self-proclaimed "fan boy" Neil Berkeley seized the opportunity to shine 10,000 mega watts of recognition on the formidable artist and set designer of Pee-Wee's Playhouse Wayne White with the documentary Beauty is Embarrassing. With his opening titles as well as with his end credits, Berkeley pays glowing tribute to Wayne White's "wacky" world.

OFFF Barcelona 2012

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 07:32:00 PDT

The OFFF Festival's annual opening titles have become somewhat of a landmark event in their own right. Every self-respecting motion designer who wasn't at the event, is looking out for these titles to debut online. It's that big of a deal. It's an even bigger deal to be invited to actually design the OFFF titles. In 2012, the honor went to two creative collectives; Upperfirst from Sweden and th...