Art of the Title

Anatomy of a Murder

Art of the Title — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:25:26 +0000

"As a lawyer, I've had to learn that people aren't just good or just bad. People are many things."
—Paul Biegler

The opening title sequence of this 1959 crime drama is a classic piece of graphic design – giving the movie a strong, timeless indentity that still inspires filmmakers to this day, says Julien Vallée.

Back at the beginning of silent film, movie titles were only of interest to producers because of the legal and copyright information they contained about the film being shown. They eventually came to be used to present cast and crew member information as well. And it was the role of a lettering artist to design these slates.

Thanks to pioneers like Pablo Ferro, Maurice Binder or Saul Bass, these static informative slates were eventually transformed, giving birth to the discipline of film title sequence in the early 50s. The marriage of graphic design and moving images created this new way of introducing movies, which not only informed the audience of its crew, but also played a primordial role in giving each movie its own unique identity.

In the 1959 movie Anatomy of a Murder, Saul Bass literalised the film title by presenting each member of the crew next to disassembled body parts. He first starts by showing the entire body presenting the director Otto Preminger. Then each piece of the body is disassembled and presented like it is part of a puzzle. Using simple elements like cutouts of paper on a uniform grey background, this intro sequence has traversed decades by keeping its cutting-edge quality. No high technology was needed – only a playground in which a graphic designer could think of a simple idea to introduce the film.

Today, the Anatomy of a Murder sequence still inspires as one of the greatest opening titles of our time, its influence evident in movies like Catch Me If You Can, Monsters, Inc. and even Thank You For Smoking, which introduces you to the subject of the movie right before it starts. These title sequences all have one of the key qualities Bass introduced in his Anatomy of a Murder sequence: they give a strong, distinct identity to the movie.

WRITER: Julien Vallée This article originally appeared in Computer Arts, April 2012 ©2012 Future Publishing Limited. Used with permission. www.computerarts.co.uk

Read the full Anatomy of a Murder article at Art of the Title.

Smokin’ Aces

Jonathan Dube — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:00:00 +0000

"You're looking at me like, like... I just asked you the fucking square root of something." —Buddy 'Aces' Israel

High-contrast colors and a soulful beat instantly transport the viewer back to films of the ’60s and ’70s to revisit the story they just experienced in this main-on-end title sequence. Hep assassins brandish guns and shoot pool, a cop takes a rending shot to the gut, and a femme fatale calmly looks down the sights of her iron: still images captured as if with a rostrum camera.

Taking inspiration from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and a handful of spaghetti Westerns, VooDooDog pulls the viewer into the debaucherous penthouse suites and grimy basement bars that make up the world of Smokin’ Aces.

Paul Donnellon from creative studio VooDooDog talks to Art of the Title.

INTERVIEW

Art of the Title: How do you prepare to create a title sequence?

Paul Donnellon: First, I read the shooting script because I think it’s always better not to have any images cluttering up my mind before putting down ideas. Sometimes it’s good not to even see the movie so the idea remains fresh and you don't replicate stuff from the film.

AOTT: What were your initial concepts for Smokin’ Aces?

PD: In the beginning, the idea was to do a 3D CG thing with bullets flying through playing cards – make it quite slick and like a pastiche of live action slow-motion, but in 3D computer graphics. I thought it would be ironic if the credits were etched onto the bullets, like in those gangster movies...

Read the full Smokin’ Aces article at Art of the Title.

Bunny Lake is Missing

Art of the Title — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:00:03 +0000

"This doll had almost been loved to death. You know, love inflicts the most terrible injuries on my small patients." —the Doll Maker

Saul Bass's work always looks effortless and timeless. That's what makes his work so appealing – it can be enjoyed on a basic level. Like a child seeing simple shapes and colors for the first time – a white line on black paper. Maybe there's something soothing about that simplicity next to the visual chaos of the world.

One of the best examples of a simple yet smart Saul Bass idea is the main title sequence for Bunny Lake is Missing. The film is about an emotionally disturbed person involved in the disappearance of a child. To hint at the character's state of mind, a hand tears shapes out of a black screen, each hole revealing another credit. The torn edges are jagged and help to set the mood of the film. It ends with the shape of a girl being torn out of the paper, as if she's missing from the sheet of paper (which is then used again in the poster). It seems like such a simple idea but getting there is difficult. It takes years of experience to have the ability to boil ideas down to this kind of purity and Bass didn't muck it up with anything he didn't need: no color, no jumpy edits, no tricks. Just the raw, naked concept standing on its own. You can see this same approach time and time again in his work: great ideas condensed down to their purest form, then simply executed.

It proves that basic shapes, colors, and compositions in the hands of an experienced artist can become something magical. You could compare him to Matisse, who spent his entire career as an artist refining his style over 50 working years and ended up cutting simple shapes out of painted paper in his later years. He made some of his best work at the very end of his life. But all those years of experience were necessary for him to cut those shapes just right. Saul Bass was at that same level in the design world. Look at the title sequence to Psycho. Matisse would have loved it – Bass did it all with just rectangles.

GUEST WRITER: Steve Fuller (www.stevefuller.tv) © Art of the Title, 2012

Read the full Bunny Lake is Missing article at Art of the Title.

OFFF Barcelona 2011 “Year Zero”

Jonathan Dube — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:00:08 +0000

"The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible."
—Arthur C. Clarke

Riot police patrol the streets. An infection spreads. Unrest reigns. The malformed offspring of a broken generation roam in gangs.

Mischa Rozema and Si Scott’s nightmarish vision of the future gives the audience glimpses of contextual information to tie together a loose narrative. Simultaneously, it is a find-'em game with the credits for the festival participants embedded into the surroundings: on a cassette ejected from an exploding vehicle, sitting atop a dinette, even tattooed under the fingernails of a torture victim.

The power of concealment is evident as repeated viewings are rewarded with startling new details, showcasing unique ways of presenting information. That which is left to the imagination is often more frightening than what is shown and this concept is utilized masterfully in director Mischa Rozema and writer Si Scott’s dystopian titles for the 2011 OFFF festival.

INTERVIEW

A discussion with director Mischa Rozema, executive producer Ania Markham and CG supervisor Ivor Goldberg of PostPanic.

Art of the Title: Tell us about the conceptual stage. Did you have tons of ideas you wanted to work through? How did you whittle them down?

Mischa Rozema: The project started out as a collaboration between myself and Si Scott. Right from the start, we decided that it should be the darkest thing we could make. I think it just felt natural to the both of us; if we had to nail the future, it would not be a nice place. To get started, we made a collection of 50 ideas that would scare me and Si and the list just kept on growing! Sometimes the ideas were completely worked out and sometimes they were starting points for a scene or micro-story. So we had the list to work with and the desired props but I also wanted to leave plenty of room for improvisation – working with people, situations, or locations we bumped into...

Read the full OFFF Barcelona 2011 “Year Zero” article at Art of the Title.

Ocean’s Eleven

Ben Radatz — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:00:16 +0000

"There's only one thing you love, Danny: that's danger. Cliffhanging. You could never love a woman like you love danger." —Beatrice Ocean

Let us not forget that Soderbergh's Ocean's Elevenis a remake of Lewis Milestone's 1960 original, and let us also not forget that the original had a very different tone. While they do share similar story arcs, the original was a much less serious affair – essentially, it followed the Rat Pack doing their thing in Vegas, with a little plot thrown in for extra credit.As such, Saul Bass' sequence – while seemingly over-playful when dismembered from the film, and more so against Nelson Riddle's goofy big-band score – is an appropriate introduction to this Rat Pack caper: loud, jaunty, and, of course, classic Vegas. Bass was inspired by the electricity of Vegas itself, employing a simple dot motif for the type and border elements, evoking the colorful chasing-lights and other signage found on the Strip. The title sequence is split into two distinct sections, with the first showcasing the names of the eleven key players, set against scoreboard-style numerals blended into one another through accumulative animation. The second half is more freestyle, with animated dots forming graphics and the remaining credits. As a film, Ocean's Eleven was a modest blockbuster, fetching $5.5 million at the box office, inching it into 1960’s top studio releases. And while Bass' titles weren't his most memorable in the public eye (and no doubt overshadowed by his work on Psycho, which was released that same year), they do remain a favorite amongst designers and motion graphic artists for their modernist sensibilities, attention to typography, and technical execution. (Keep an eye out for the slot machine graphic that looks suspiciously like Bass' iconic Bell logo, which he designed for AT&T almost a decade later)

WRITER: Ben Radatz
© Art of the Title, 2011

Read the full Ocean’s Eleven article at Art of the Title.

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Lola Landekic — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:00:04 +0000

“There are a couple of ways to avoid death. One of them is to be magnificent, and this is my favorite way.” —Ian Dury

The viewer is greeted by an eerily empty theatre – dark, desolate and silent. Suddenly, a shuffling of feet, a startled pigeon, and our main man hobbles into the spotlight, sparking an explosion of sound. As ringleader Ian Dury, Andy Serkis is obscenely hypnotizing, his eyes rolling about as he hunches over the microphone, satirical and lyrical in that “Mockney” accent. The starry backdrop melds into pop-art animation and Peter Blake’s hand-written typography trembles as the scene oscillates between the raucous stage show, band practice, and a birth. Buffeted between public and private, the sequence is at once disorienting and cohesive, ultimately underlining Dury’s unofficial modus operandi of boldly turning life into art.

INTERVIEW

A discussion with Matt Bateman of Flat-e.

Art of the Title: Give us a little background on yourself and Flat-e Studio.

Matt Bateman: Flat-e is a London-based studio. We make films and animation for music promos, advertising, feature films, and live events. I’ve worked with the studio as a creative director and animator since its conception in 2002.

Art of the Title: And how were you first approached about Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll?

Matt Bateman: I was initially contacted by Richard Bullock, the film’s production designer. I had previously worked with him on the film Bunny and the Bull as an animator and back projection designer. Richard and Mat Whitecross, the director, had initially discussed using back projection for the title sequence and after our initial meeting it felt like we were on the same wavelength. Later, we decided...

Read the full Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll article at Art of the Title.

SXSW 2012 Wrap Up

Ian Albinson — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:00:52 +0000

For the third consecutive year Art of the Title served as a member of the jury for SXSW's Excellence in Title Design competition. The opportunity allowed us to share the stage with a terrific group of designers and filmmakers. Design Awards organizer David Horridge brought together Kurt Volk (Troublemaker Studios), Gareth Smith & Jenny Lee (Smith & Lee Design), Ben Radatz (MK12) and myself (Ian Albinson) for a screening event on March 12th at the Vimeo theater. The evening began with a highlight reel of the jurors work that...

Read the full SXSW 2012 Wrap Up article at Art of the Title.

Les Bleus De Ramville

Will Perkins — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:35:25 +0000

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In small towns like Ramville, Ontario, hockey is more than just a sport – it’s a way of life. This tiny hamlet is defined by the fortunes of the local semi-pro club, its collective spirits rise and fall with each triumph and defeat of the team. What is Ramville all about? The sights and sounds and smells of the arena really say it all. It’s about simple things like spilled beer and crisp rink air; the sweet clack of stick on puck; the roar of the crowd and the crash of bodies into boards.

Oily Film Company’s nostalgic title sequence for Télé-Française d'Ontario’s Les Bleus de Ramville perfectly captures the essence of Canada’s national pastime. From the team’s pre-game ritual and the hard numbers of the coaching staff to the basement passions of devoted fans. It’s the good old hockey game.

Read the full Les Bleus De Ramville article at Art of the Title.

It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

Ben Radatz — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:00:18 +0000

"You know, Abe Lincoln, when asked how long a man’s leg should be, said: 'Long enough to reach the ground.' Well, these titles needed longer legs than most." —Saul Bass on It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World from Bass on Titles.

Bass' titles for It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World come in at just over four minutes – his longest sequence, second only to West Side Story in 1961. He directed it in 1963, the same year that he designed the iconic poster for Hitchcock's The Birds. Mad World is a frenetic, exhausting film, and Bass reflects this in his sequence, featuring a crudely-drawn globe subjected to an endless barrage of visual puns and sight gags, courtesy of its inhabitants. Propelled by Ernest Gold's carnival-themed score and boiled down to a thick palette of black, white, and saturated hues, Bass employs a simplistic, childlike illustration style, contrasted sharply by the heavy lines and formal typesetting of the title cards themselves. Unlike many of Bass' previous sequences, Mad World does not have an allegorical link to the film itself. Instead, it sets the tone of the film through color, tone, and character – essentially, it's a primer for director Stanley Kramer's lighthearted tryst through the universal language of greed and deception. Bass' oversimplified sight gags downplay the film's dramatic overtones, mirroring Kramer's treatment of the film itself. The animation techniques used by Bass in Mad World were heavily influenced by...

Read the full It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World article at Art of the Title.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Lola Landekic — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:00:04 +0000

"She's different in every way." —Dragan Armansky

The beat sidles in: a throbbing arrhythmia peppered by desperate, howling vocals, and then that ooze. That viscid, black ooze that seeps into everything, penetrating crevices, dribbling into lips and eyes, suffocating and sensual and silent. Each ebony form is made osmotic – surging and melding, torn apart and punctured, ensnared, set ablaze – thrashing in the deep. Through flashes of embers and murk, sticky vines creep, hands grapple, foul petals unfurl, and sable fists inflict their fury.

In this elegantly violent title sequence, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Karen O’s version of “Immigrant Song” swells when coupled with Blur Studio’s monstrous fantasy in David Fincher’s newest offering, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

INTERVIEW

A discussion with director David Fincher, title sequence creative director Tim Miller, and type and poster designer Neil Kellerhouse.

Art of the Title: Let’s start with the song. How and when did you decide to use “Immigrant Song” for the sequence?

David Fincher: I think it was a year ago, just before we returned to LA, when we were shooting around Stockholm, in the east and north of Sweden...

Read the full The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo article at Art of the Title.

Art of the Title

Anatomy of a Murder

WRITER: Julien Vallée This article originally appeared in Computer Arts, April 2012 ©2012 Future Publishing Limited. Used with permission. www.computerarts.co.uk

Smokin’ Aces

Bunny Lake is Missing

GUEST WRITER: Steve Fuller (www.stevefuller.tv) © Art of the Title, 2012

OFFF Barcelona 2011 “Year Zero”

Ocean’s Eleven

WRITER: Ben Radatz © Art of the Title, 2011

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

SXSW 2012 Wrap Up

Les Bleus De Ramville

It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

WRITER: Ben Radatz
© Art of the Title, 2011