Model kits and kilts.

ISO Design’s opening title sequence to “A History of Scotland” offers a gathering sense of self and of a scaled Scotland. Using a tilt-shift effect that simulates miniature scale model photography where a shallow depth of field is created by blurring areas of the composition either optically or in post, the title technique nicely captures the spirit of the pioneering Picts.

Art of the Title: Tell us a little bit about ISO Design.

Damien Smith: 10 years young Glasgow-based digital design studio. Started out concentrating on personal motion graphics projects for commissioners like OneDotZero and moved into TV in the late 90’s working with the BBC, MTV and Channel 4 in the UK.

We still do a lot of broadcast graphics and have expanded the studio to work on large scale interactive installations for clients like Mercedes Benz and multiplatform projects like the new Sony XMB and the BBC iPlayer.

ATS: How did you become involved with the project?

DS: We’ve worked closely with the BBC team responsible for History of Scotland over many years. This was the largest production ever undertaken by the BBC in this country and we worked closely on early concepts for reconstructions, in programme graphics and the titles.

ATS: Take us through the design process, how did you develop the concept for the piece?

DS: The design brief was simple – ” illustrate over 1000 years of Scottish history in a contemporary style”.

After early discussions with the producer and director, we kept coming back to one core idea . . Scotland’s history and it’s people is defined by it’s landscape; from the natural barrier the Highlands form to the rugged west coast and islands down through the central lowlands, this unique land form defined our history.

As with most projects three or four ideas were kicked around with the strongest developed into a storyboard. We all liked the idea of historical dates and type tagged or pinned into the landscape then blowing away in the wind, referencing the elemental nature of Scotland and the passing of time. We then gathered specially shot helicopter footage and added shallow focal planes into shot, that helped to build in a sense of scale and also caused attention to focus in on the type elements.

ATS: Describe the development process of the sequence.

DS: After the BBC approved the treatment we created an animatic showing text blowing away over a moving aerial shot with a shift tilt effect on the background footage. This very quickly showed we could not manually key frame the type elements, as there were far to many characters and this also lacked a random natural feel. We then started scripting in After Effects to animate the type from a resting position to a new position off screen. We also split type blocks into words or letters and the scripts randomised the position and rotation parameters as the type as it left screen. The whole thing gave much more of a natural organic feel. Travelling mattes for were then created for all the helicopter shots and the shift tilt effects produced using Mocha, and tracking moving shots in SynthEyes.

ATS: What was the most difficult aspect of this piece?

DS: Trying to squeeze it out of a BBC budget!

ATS: What recent work has taken you by surprise?

DS: The Radiohead graduation film of Glasgow School of Art student James Houston – Big Ideas (don’t get any). Pleased to say James regularly works out of our studio as a freelance director!

ATS: So what’s next for you?

DS: We have recently launched a creative social media platform in partnership with Channel 4, we are completing the titles for Peter Mullans new film NEDS and we are consulting on interactive installations for a new Zaha Hadid Museum.

Watery cobblestone logos and longitudinal linotype layer, lace and lash Prologue Films’ opening and end credit work for Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes.”

The sequence creative director Danny Yount, a self-taught Emmy-winning designer/director produced main titles for Six Feet Under and The Grid while at Digital Kitchen. He currently resides at Prologue Films and has created titles for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man and RockNRolla.

Art of the Title: Take us through your artistic process – how do you begin a project like Sherlock Holmes? What was your approach to the logos and the beginning and end titles?

Danny Yount: I got a call from director Guy Ritchie while he was in the middle stages of principal photography. He liked what we made for RockNRolla and asked us to consider something good for Sherlock Holmes. We were sent a script and got very excited about it after realizing the more edgy and fun interpretation of the classic character of Holmes. So Ilya Abulhanov and myself made a couple of ideas (examples 1a & 1b).

I was invited to fly out to present them at one of the sets in London and see some of the film, so I had a very strong sense after that of where they wanted to go visually. The brief I was given was to do a live action shoot that involved a lot of newspaper headlines from the late 1800’s, which would give a little history to the early beginnings of Holmes and Watson and lead into the first scene of the film following the last headline on top of a stack of newspapers laid at the doorstep. We also wanted to show part of the printing process of that time period using the linotype machine and wood block type headline compositions.

After going back and forth a bit we concluded that it be a macro shoot that was very graphic, so we rented some time at a printing museum and set up several still shoots to get all the material we needed for storyboards (example 2a, 2b & 2c). I also shot some test footage with the Canon 5D to do a style test (example 3a & 3b). They liked the presentation and told us they would get back to us.

Several months went by and the film had taken shape more so they decided to lose the headlines sequence. So they went from wanting a full main title to having a short main title and an end credit sequence. They also wanted the end credits to be an anthem to the film – using highlights from the movie. Designers Henry Hobson, Simon Clowes and Lisa Bolan teamed up and made the storyboards (example 4). I decided to go into a different direction with mine (example 5). In retrospect I think they were a little dark though (ha).

Once they approved of the look we had about 4 weeks from start to finish, and we were also given a special effect sequence. It was a lot of work, even for a company our size. But we have a great group of talented and dedicated people who did what it took to get it done.

ATS: How large was the production team, and how closely do you work with them?

DY: We broke up into a 3 separate teams – with a total of about 14 people working around the clock. The end credit sequence required the most people by far, as there was so much detail in the illustration and transition work. The illustration took a long time to make. I’m not sure if Jorge slept very much. The main title and Hallucination VFX team was myself and Brett. The opening logos Jose and Todd.

I work very closely with everyone and I am always part of the process. I owe that to the client and I especially owe that to the younger designers who are building their own body of work and careers. I also learn a lot from them – they always bring in new ways of doing things. And they learn from me as I help them to avoid the same mistakes I made when I was their age.

ATS: In the opening logos, is there any part of the cobblestones that are real?

DY: Nope – just well crafted 3D. Jose and Todd are masters. The client originally wanted the logos formed out of pools of water but Chris Sanchez came up with the idea of making them out of the cobblestones, which they loved. Jose made an excellent shading system that nailed the look of the wet gritty surfaces and the weathered stones, which took a lot of love to shape into very uneven bricks.

That’s the trick with making good CG – you have to spend a lot of time modeling the imperfections or it will miss the mark. It will look stiff and look like a video game. Same with the camera work – you have to make cameras that feel heavy and are hard to throw around. The more of a human touch you can bring into CG the better it looks and feels.

They also wanted to have a carriage break frame and cut to the opening shot but I thought it would be more interesting to just wip the camera up to the first shot. Todd used camera projection techniques for it to marry properly. I also wanted leaves to blow across the surface but we just ran out of time.

ATS: The Illustrated Paper + Illustrated Times motif that permeates both the opening and closing title sequences – period sketches speckled with patterns in the clues and fine detail in the patterns. What tools did you use to accomplish this?

DY: A lot of human hands, a photocopier, ink footage and a few photoshop filters.

ATS: What is it to push for something more than the audience is used to? Do you wrestle with taking creative risks? How do you balance and/or meld doing something because it strikes you vs. doing something overtly reflective of the body of the film? When do you hold to a vision and when do your experiment?

DY: I always experiment and I always push. That is what client wants and it is what I am being paid to do. But if I ignore the brief then anything I do becomes worthless to them. Or if I design something that is too abstract and self-inflated then it becomes meaningless no matter how beautiful it is. It has to communicate and it has to be interesting and stimulating – in that order. It is funny though that we call these “creative risks” – I think the only risk you take is when you ignore the client. And if you are going to do that then you better also have their version or you may get fired from the assignment. It’s a matter of trust – that’s all. And once that is established most smart clients will give you freedom.

ATS: What are some of the lessons in title design that you’ve used in your process? Did you learn anything new on Sherlock Holmes?

DY: It has to work perfectly with the film. I’m a guitarist so I like to look at it like a solo break – I get my short time in the spotlight but I have to use it to make the song better. If I play sloppy it makes it worse. If I play too fast and show off it might get interesting but it is inappropriate.

ATS: What gets you thinking differently? What new technologies are you embracing?

DY: Travel and people and nature. I’m interested in some of the newer apps like Houdini and Nuke. I would also like to buy myself a Canon 7d sometime soon.

ATS: What brings you the most satisfaction? Seeing the final piece onscreen? Or is it the process that brings you joy?

DY: Both. I love the process – I get to learn so many things and get to sharpen my skills, but I also get very “locked in” to what I’m doing. There’s a level of commitment to the process that makes you go very deep and explore every aspect – it becomes apparent to you that you are created for that very thing. And when you realize that you pour yourself into every part of the process of exploration. It is only something that those who have been there can understand. We are created to create. When we realize what we are good at and pursue it with all we have it becomes very rewarding intellectually as well as spiritually.

As far as seeing it on the screen – you forget all the pain you have been through. It is a cliché I know but it is like giving birth. You forget the hardship and long hours and stressed relationships and you walk away with a satisfaction that you did your best. And everyone you worked with is better as a result if you handled the job well.

ATS: Following on from that, how does that satisfaction manifest itself to you?

DY: It makes me grow as an individual by learning from mistakes as well as successes. It is very humbling to be able to do for a living what I love.

ATS: So what excites you outside of the design field?

DY: My family and riding my dirt bike and photography. I also love speaking at conferences – I meet so many cool people and get to see new places.

ATS: What’s next for you?

DY: I’m working on IronMan 2 and things are looking good so far.

“‘This is society’s underbelly, the bottom feeders,’ director Kathryn Bigelow sums up. ‘It’s a world of hustlers, of night crawlers…this is about people who have dark needs that have to be satisfied. They’re living at an intensity that the world of the day does not promise or hold.’ To portray [that] world, Bigelow decided early on that “the photography had to be the looking-glass through which you want to enter…there’s an excitement that the darkness holds.’”

“‘A variety of camera systems of camera systems where used to achieve the look,’ says James Muro, who in addition to operating the Steadicam did a lot of hand-held work using an Aaton and a tiny Robings SL, a 35mm camera that weighs about six pounds with film. Reserving the Steadicam for the more conventional shots…Muro relied on the Robings for the more fluid POVs. Coupling it with the Helmet Integrated Display unit developed by Lightstorm Technologies…Muro was able to hold the camera anywhere while maintaining a viewfinder image in his helmet device. This enabled him ‘to literally put the camera where the actor’s head would be.’”

“This is a very fun little shot, though not simple in any way. Done in low mode, at a relatively quick pace, this shot displays the great importance of good dynamic balance. With the fast paced pans and turns around the set, if the sled had not been balanced properly, it would have rolled very dramatically with each turn.”

“This would be one of the more famous opening sequences in the world of Steadicam. An almost 5 minute take, executed to near perfection. McConkey’s skill can really be seen in the final few seconds of the shot where the motion slows way down and ends in a lock-off with perfect headroom, horizon, and no wiggle.”

“The full opening sequence continues for almost 13 minutes but the first 7 minutes contain the best examples of the Steadicam work by McConkey. Within the full 13 minutes, there are 8 well hidden cuts, mostly in either whip pans or something crossing full frame.

This shot, and the sequence as a whole, are excellent examples of a director’s vision, and understanding of the tool. Add to that vision, a great amount of trust and collaborative respect for an operator, and you get a shot that people talk about for years to come.”

“An amazing opening sequence. Starting on a crane, moving through a couple dutch rolls and tilts down to the ground, entering the club, and tracking the action for nearly 3 minutes.”

“This is an excellent opening POV sequence. Such a long opener requires an incredible amount of coordination. Take note of the many cues and actions that move the camera in and out of the rooms and hallways.”

“An excellent single shot in a movie that, unfortunately did not get a lot of attention. This opening sequence is fantastic. The set is a large part of a spacecraft and the camera goes all through it – upstairs, down corridors, through doorways and more.

If you watch closely, slight zooms are used to close and retreat larger distances without forcing the camera operator to break into a run, or crowd the actors, or backpedal quickly.”

For our first post in 2010 we revisit the “How We Built Britain” titles with an interview with their creator Gareth Edwards. This was requested by some readers, facilitated by others and now available to all and feels like the perfect way to begin this new decade. Edwards, a truly multi-talented designer/visual effects artist/director has worked for the BBC on numerous productions including “Seven Wonders of the Industrial World” and “Attila the Hun,” this year completes his first feature film, “Monsters.”

A tangle of utility in both architecture and typography offers a fascinatingly structured title sequence for the BBC’s “How We Built Britain” that bespeaks an acquisitive England. The artificial monuments of type seem proportionally sound, the final title card an achievement of engineering.

Art of the Title: Tell us a little bit about where you are with your career.

Gareth Edwards: I kind of got into graphic design by accident. I always grew up wanting to be a filmmaker. But when I went to film school (about 15 years ago) it was very clear that computers were going to be the future of filmmaking. So I bought one, learned the software, and got completely sidetracked in a career doing visual effects, title sequences etc. Over the last few years I was able to use this skill to bribe companies like the BBC into letting me direct TV shows, by promising to add lots more production value through creating my own digital effects. I’m currently finishing the post-production on my first feature film called ‘Monsters,’ a sci-fi road movie set in Central America made for Vertigo Films in the UK.

ATS: How did you become involved with How We Built Britain?

GE: I was waiting to begin my next directing project and had a bit of a work gap. I knew the people in BBC Arts through my time doing visual effects with them. The producer called me about the show and it had been a while since I had created a title sequence, so I felt like it could be fun.

ATS: Take us through the design process, how did you develop the concept for the piece?

GE: I remember going to a meeting with the various people at the BBC and pitched about eight different ideas (all of which I quite liked). I was trying to find a simple visual metaphor for their show. By the end, I could tell they didn’t like any of them and I thought ‘well, that’s that then, I guess I won’t be doing this’. Then as the meeting was nearly over and I had a better handle on what they wanted I said ‘Well, we could just do the obvious thing.’ ‘What’s that?’… ‘We could just do the title ‘How We Built Britain’ … as buildings… across Britain,’ I was a bit embarrassed as I said it as it felt a bit clichéd, but they loved it!

ATS: Describe the development process of the sequence.

GE: Once we had agreed on the concept, everything else fell into place very easily. None of the footage was specifically shot for the titles, so I spent a day sitting through all their helicopter footage that they had filmed for the series, looking for shots where I might be able to add giant letters. I then did a very rough edit and tracked the footage adding a simple ‘Arial’ font as an example of where each letter would go. They really liked what they saw and didn’t want me to change anything, including the font! (Although I have nothing against Arial either).

ATS: What equipment (hardware/software) did you use?

GE: I created the 3D letters in 3ds Max. My 3D skills back then were pretty average, so I just modeled and textured as best I could. I used Photoshop for textures (taken from other buildings found in the rushes). Everything was comped in After Effects, which didn’t require much work other than grading, rotoscoping, etc. The 3D was tracked using Boujou (just the version where you push a button, as I’m no expert tracker either).

ATS: What was the most difficult aspect of this piece?

GE: I guess the tracking was hardest. Some of the elements do slide around in some of the shots and I had to go in by hand and squash and stretch elements to make it less noticeable. What’s funny is that I think when people know something can’t be real, they are much better at spotting it. But there is a shot in there where I replaced and added an entire mountain range (the first car POV of the ‘I’) to help it cut with the following shot. The tracking on that isn’t great either, but because you assume it’s real, nobody ever notices.

ATS: What did you learn on this design?

GE: That it’s good to be open minded and listen to your producers (sometimes). They know their project much better than you ever will. I think if I had gone with any of my original designs, I might have created something that I would have liked, but would not have been as good for the show. I also learned that some people care more a lot more about fonts than me!

ATS: What recent work has taken you by surprise?

GE: I haven’t really been following motion graphics as much as I used to. I can’t help feeling that what we went through a few years back with the birth of digital animation/graphic design, was a bit like in the sixties with the birth of rock n’ roll. There was suddenly this new frontier that everyone dived into and came up with lots of really cool work. I think it’s such a fast moving, incestuous industry, that it is very hard to create anything timeless. As a result, I don’t really find myself sitting and watching any of my old favourite graphic design DVDs, but I’m always sitting and watching my old favourite films, which I think says a lot – that a great story will stay with you much longer than a great design. But on very rare occasions something comes along that manages to combine both, and it is those pieces of work that will outlive us all.

ATS: So what’s next for you?

GE: I’m just finishing the post production on my first film ‘Monsters,’ which I need to get much better at explaining in just one sentence. It’s kind of a monster movie, but set years after most monster movies end, when people aren’t running and screaming anymore, but life just goes on as normal with these ‘things’ in part of the world. We shot it all very guerrilla style in Central America. Apart from our two main characters, everyone else in it are real people just going about their real lives, with all the sci-fi elements being added in digitally afterwards. As a result I think we’ve created a very believable world with some really subtle performances. I can’t wait for it to be finished and start showing people… and not an Arial font in sight! Actually, maybe a few on some road signs here and there, but just for realism!

“We created the feature main title for the new animated movie “Superman/Batman: Public Enemies” for Warner Video and DC Animation that tips the hat to Saul Bass. The project is a 2:17 long animated piece that captures the spirit of classic 1960’s film titles. Bold and slightly abstract, the animated twists and turns are geometric references to the power of comic heroes as pop culture icons and a playful lead-in for the graphic novel-style drama to unfold.”