The credits are often the first thing we see when we watch a great film or TV show, but the complexity and artistry of title design is rarely discussed. Creators of title sequences are tasked to invent concepts that evoke the core story and themes of the production, and to create a powerful visual experience that pulls the viewer into the film’s world. In this episode we hear the stories of some of the most inventive people working in the field, including the creators of the iconic Mad Men sequence, the hilarious Zombieland opening and “rules” sequences, and the stirring end credits from Blue Valentine.
07:58
Miss Misery by Elliott Smith. From Good Will Hunting.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [2011]: David Fincher’s Commentary
So the title sequence. We had this cover of “Immigrant Song”. I was riding in a van in Sweden and had my iPhone with me…and I was listening to Led Zeppelin, and this song came on and I-I mean, aside from the incredibly, inanely obvious: “I come from the land of the ice and snow”… I just like the idea of an anthemnal, incredibly famous track that could be wailed by a woman. And I called Trent and I said: “What do you think of a cover of ‘Immigrant Song’?” I think at first he thought I was joking [laughing]. And I said, “No, imagine, you know, a woman’s voice singing this.” And he did a version just to the music and I listened to it and I thought it’s evocative of what I think Lisbeth is— Not thinking, but, you know, sort of her marrow. What’s happening down deep inside her bones. And we got Karen O. Ren Klyce gave us Karen’s e-mail address and we asked her to do this. And I think in about three or four days they had a version of this song that was— To my mind, it was undeniable. It just seemed like such a great sort of kindred spirit to what I thought Lisbeth was about. And then we needed visuals to go with it. I went to Tim Miller at Blur, and I said: “What can you do along the lines of a nightmare? What would Lisbeth’s nightmare be?” And he came back with about 50 different little scene cards and we whittled it down to about 20-25. And I turned to him and said: “That looks great. You got eight weeks. Go.”
The best damn thing you’ll see all day
Batman fan Doğan Can Gündoğdu has created an opening credits sequence for The Dark Knight Rises which the real movie will be very lucky to top. With a pounding, industrial sounding soundtrack you’ll see the standard opening credits and then flashes of ice and other items as the credit sequence takes on an unsettling tone. Just go watch it!
![“[The title sequence] was always supposed to be a very abstract version of key moments in the book and about Lisbeth. It was really supposed to be her nightmare sequence. Being a hacker is such a big part of her personality and who she was, we needed some imagery for that but it’s kind of hard to represent that abstractly. So the ones we came up with were the keyboard elements.” - Tim Miller, title sequence creative director for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxdbhwvIi41qztqsao1_1280.jpg)
“[The title sequence] was always supposed to be a very abstract version of key moments in the book and about Lisbeth. It was really supposed to be her nightmare sequence. Being a hacker is such a big part of her personality and who she was, we needed some imagery for that but it’s kind of hard to represent that abstractly. So the ones we came up with were the keyboard elements.” - Tim Miller, title sequence creative director for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
22:16
Happy New Year, film friends. Hope your 2012 is just swell, year-wise.
Also, I hope you like the new look of Stay For The Credits.
11:17
Delicatessen’s distinct visual aesthetic can be attributed partly to an intricate chemical process called ENR. Named after its inventor, Ernesto Novelli Rimo, a technician at Technicolor Rome, the process was created for legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, Reds, The Last Emperor). The bleach-bypass process imbues the film stock with a sanguine overcast, giving it a cannibal quality that matches the subject matter. via Art of the Title
(via Art of the Title)
A discussion with Producer Cara McKenny and Creative Directors Steve Fuller and Mark Gardner.
Art of the Title: Tell us about the initial development of this project.
Cara McKenney: This was a new show, and a period drama at that, with no-name actors, on a network with no success in developing original content—wow, it’s so crazy to think that I am talking about AMC, right? But remember, this was in 2007! Mad Men wasn’t on billboards in Times Square and doing multi-million dollar cross-promotions with Banana Republic….
There were tons of red flags in terms of the first information I received about this project and I was wary until, of course, I saw the pilot and read up about Matthew Weiner. The show was gripping and emotional, complex and funny—it took my breath away. By the closing I knew there wasn’t a creative instinct in me that could have turned it down.
Matthew had a distinct point of view and came to us with a compelling brief: A man walks into an office building, enters his office, places his suitcase down and jumps out the window.* But that never makes it simple to push through.
