Title Design Project: Best of Motion Graphics » Featured

Trollbäck + Company Designs Keith Olbermann Show Opener for Current TV

goktug — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:23:39 +0000

New York based creative studio Trollbäck + Company designed the opening title sequence for the highly anticipated nightly commentary show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Considered one of the most progressive voices in the media, Olbermann returned to cable television June 20 on the Al Gore-helmed network Current TV.

Countdown’s move to Current TV opened up the opportunity to upgrade the show’s design to fall in line with the branding of the network. The creative team at Trollbäck focused on bringing the Countdown brand to a new sophisticated level that would speak to the existing fan base and reach a new audience.

The opener features Olbermann in an evening urban landscape surrounded by luminous elements appropriate for the new primetime slot. The final design was a sleek, updated version of the previous look and translated across all media and marketing of the show including website design, promos and print.

Credits

Creative Director: Anna Minkkinen

Executive Producer: Mike Eastwood

Designer: Adam Wentworth

Designer / Animator: Lloyd Alvarez

Animator: Edwin Santacruz

Animator: Eric Konon

Animator: Julie Siemon

Producer: Whitney Green

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The Green Lantern Title Sequence by yU+co

goktug — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 18:28:13 +0000

Looking to visually communicate the mythology of ”The Green Lantern” in a compelling way, studio Warner Bros. and director Martin Campbell turned to multi-disciplined creative design/visual effects studio yU+co, led by Creative Director Garson Yu, to design a :90 stereoscopic 3D main title sequence that not only grabbed the audience’s attention, but also brought them up to speed on the superhero’s history and set up the film’s first scene.

yU+co also created the film’s stereoscopic 3D main-on-end sequence and credit crawl, along with the main title and main-on-end sequences for this summer’s blockbuster, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

‘’The opening sequence was important to set up the backstory: there’s a whole mythology from the Green Lantern comic books that most people don’t know going into the movie,’’ Yu says. ‘’So the sequence has to fill you in on that legend before the movie starts. Aside from getting the information across, we wanted to establish a feeling for the world — a big, epic journey through space that says: ‘this is a big superhero movie.’’’

Rendered in stereoscopic 3D and perfectly wed to the resonant voiceover from actor Geoffrey Rush, the main title sequence opens with a shot of a green orb known as the ”emerald energy of will power” hovering in space. As the camera slowly pulls into the orb, we discover the planet Oa at its center, inhabited by the Guardians who oversee the universe and its 3,600 sectors — each with its own protective Green Lantern. As the giant animated emerald ring that gives each Green Lantern its superpower rushes toward the camera, it splinters into numerous streaks of green light that recall the look of fireflies, only moving in a precise military formation.

The lights then form a green-hued navigational grid that visually conveys the idea that there are many Green Lanterns all around the universe working together as intergalactic peacekeepers. Following a heroic shot of the Green Lantern logo, yU+co introduces us to The Green Lantern’s nemesis, an entity of fear known as the Parallax — seen as a fiery yellow ball of energy and light with an ominous-looking skull at its core. The final shot of the sequence depicts the face of Abin Sur, the only Green Lantern to ever defeat Parallax, encased in a purple mist and wearing an emerald ring on his outstretched hand.

‘’The energy of willpower is the key to the Green Lantern,’’ Yu adds. ‘’It’s the source of his power. We took our cue from the visual effects in the movie, but created our own look for the opening — something that visualizes energy because the battle between the green energy of will, and the yellow energy of fear is key to film’s plot. For the face of Abin Sur we wanted to set up this character so that the audience recognize him when they see him later. The design challenge was to stylize him as part of the nebula but still see him as Abin Sur. We overcome this challenge by projecting his purple face onto a 3D cloud like structure and composited it as part of the galaxy.’’

A Film Classic Provides Inspiration

Where the main title sequence was an exercise in digital creativity, for the main-on-end-sequence yU+co decided to incorporate an organic technique that was used to great effect in the sci-fi classic ”2001: A Space Odyssey.”

To create the unusual patterns of light and color that serve as the back drop for the key credits — rendered in striking green type before disappearing into vapor trails — yU+co used the high-res RED camera to shoot a variety of colored paints and lacquers as they’re poured into water and quickly spreads out. Those images, when blown up in size and composited into the 3D background, created the unusual effect and instantly resembled nebulas in our galaxy. The sequence was made even more powerful when perfectly edited to the guitar-infused techno soundtrack.

‘’It is important to think of 3D in the design stage, so you actually create a truly stereoscopic sequence,’’ Yu notes. ‘’For the opening, we tried to maximize the 3D effect by constantly moving past and through objects, nebulas and energy fields. All of the design events and elements are staged in stereo so they are all in truly logical 3D space. Without logic behind it the design won’t make sense.’’

In other yU+co news, in addition to their work on ”Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” the company is currently working stereoscopic 3D title sequences for the upcoming ‘’Conan the Barbarian’’ reboot (Lionsgate) and ‘’Dolphin Tale’’ (Warner Bros.). The company also recently worked on the trailer for just released Ubisoft’s game ”Call of Juarez: The Cartel.”

About yU+co:

Recognized as an industry leader in visual design and motion graphics with offices in Hollywood, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, yU+co. (www.yuco.com) specializes in main and end titles for film and television, visual effects, TV show opens and network graphics packages, theatrical logos, game cinematics and commercials.

Creative Credits

Client: Warner Bros.

Project: The Green Lantern: Main Title Sequence (‘’Legend’’), Main-on-End Sequence, Credit Crawl

Design/Production: yU+co, Hollywood, CA

Creative Director/Design Lead: Garson Yu

Legend Opening Designers/Animators: Johnny Wong and Kina Choi

Main-on-End Designers/Animators: Etsuko Uji

Storyboard Designer: Edwin Baker

Comic story consultant: Johnny Ellsworth

Legend Opening Editor: Eric Anderson

Main-on-End Editor: Mike Parks

Stereo Supervisor and Lead Compositor: Stevan Del George

CG Supervisor and Lead Animator: Andrew Honacker

2D lead Compositors: Isa Alsup

Animators/Compositors: Gary Garza and Alex Yoon

2D Compositor: Owen Hammer

Matte Painters: MJ Sarmiento, Shahen Jordan

CG Artists: Mike Fisher, John Roumieh

EFX Artist: David Schoneveld

CG Lighter: Raphael Protti

C4D Artists: Masan Yi, Marc Leidy

Main-on-End EFX Prop Master: Jim Fox

IO: Jacob Medendorp, Adam Christensen

Associate Producer: Ryan Wilk

Producer: Sarah Coatts

Web Resources:

Click here to watch the ‘’Green Lantern’’ main title sequence:

http://www.yuco.com/projects/green-lantern-legend

Click here for more info about yU+co:

http://www.yuco.com

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The Dunwich Horror Title Sequence by Sandy Dvore

goktug — Thu, 26 May 2011 16:43:43 +0000

The Dunwich Horror is a 1970 B-movie from American International Pictures directed by Daniel Haller and produced by Roger Corman. The film was based on the short story of the same name by H.P. Lovecraft with a script co-written by future Academy Award winning director Curtis Hanson.

Sandy Dvore is an American artist and graphic designer.Dvore first became well-known for designing the cover art for Buffalo Springfield’s eponymous album. He is best known for his work in designing television’s more iconic title sequences, such as the walking partridges in The Partridge Family, and the brush-stroke logo and paintings from the long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless.

His film title credits include the 1976 film Lipstick and the 1972 Blaxploitation thriller Blacula. Also, he designed the opening credits for selected seasons of the nighttime soap opera Knots Landing.Dvore’s close friend is producer and director Bob Claver, who convinced Screen Gems to hire him to do the opener for The Partridge Family as well as other subsequent shows.

Dvore’s work in graphic design won him an Emmy Award in 1987 for “Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin”.

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Tapped Title Sequence

goktug — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:00:23 +0000

Tapped examines the role of the bottled water industry and its’ effects on our health, climate change, pollution, and our reliance on oil.

From the producers of Who Killed the Electric Car and I.O.U.S.A., this timely documentary is a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of an industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never become a commodity: our water.

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Sabotage Title Sequence

goktug — Mon, 23 May 2011 13:33:06 +0000

Sabotage, also released as The Woman Alone, is a 1936 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is based on Joseph Conrad’s novel The Secret Agent. It should not be confused with Hitchcock’s film Secret Agent released the same year, or his 1942 film Saboteur.

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The Billion Dollar Brain Title Sequence by Maurice Binder

goktug — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:29:23 +0000

Billion Dollar Brain is a 1967 British espionage film directed by Ken Russell and based on the novel
Billion-Dollar Brain by Len Deighton.

The film features Michael Caine as secret agent Harry Palmer, the anti-hero protagonist of the film versions
of The IPCRESS File (1965) and Funeral in Berlin (1966). The “brain” of the title is a sophisticated
computer with which an ultra-right-wing organization controls its worldwide anti-Soviet spy network.

The glittering “Main Title” brilliantly accompanies Maurice Binder’s title sequence inspired by 1960s
supercomputer operations. Like Bernard Herrmann, Bennett achieves remarkably epic and varied sonorities with minimal forces, orchestrating the music himself.

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/notes/billion_dollar_brain.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billion_Dollar_Brain

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Mad Men Title Sequence by Imaginary Forces

goktug — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 19:11:45 +0000

The title sequence and promo package was the work of Imaginary Forces directors Mark Gardner and Steve Fuller. It was executive produced for the studio by Maribeth Phillips and produced by Cara McKenney.According to IF’s Gardner, the challenge the studio faced in this project was to connect a 1960s period TV series with today’s audiences. “We approached the opening title sequence like a live action film title project instead of a purely animated piece,” he explains.
“The disciplined use of camera angles, combined with sophisticated graphics, achieves an insight into the main character’s subconscious and the precarious duality of his “boy’s club’ career juxtaposed against his perfect nuclear family,” Gardner continues. “It’s as if he’s created this monster, really. The character of Don Draper is a conflicted, tortured soul.
“The action of falling past endless skyscraper walls creates a claustrophobia and helplessness,” adds IF director Steve Fuller, “which is abruptly cut short by his composed, reclining pose.”
Weiner described that closing shot as reflecting a tremendous sense of confidence, while also being mysterious. As for the character’s free-fall from the office suite, past the skyscrapers bedecked with advertising imagery, Weiner explains, “It captures the story of the show—that of a character who’s calm on the outside and in free-fall on the inside.”
Both Weiner and series producer Scott Hornbacher were impressed by the way the IF team managed to incorporate thirty different on-screen credits in the span of the thirty-second show opening. Weiner says he expressly did not want any titles to appear over the program content, as he was striving for a more cinematic feel to the opening title sequence. “A lot of studios might have just thrown type up on the screen, but this solution left everyone feeling that the cinematic feel of the opening was preserved.”
Geoffrey Whelan, V.P., Brand Creative Director for AMC, says the closing image of the title sequence has not only become the branding device for the show, but has also been the image used in its print advertising and key art. “It’s an iconic image that pays off on every level,” Whelan says. “This felt like the best creative choice for us at AMC.”

http://adland.tv/commercials/mad-men-title-sequence-2007-30-usa

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Easy A Title Sequence by Picture Mill

goktug — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:10:11 +0000

Collaborating with director Will Gluck, Picture Mill created titles integrated with each shot, a challenge when faced with such an active crowd scene in the high school’s courtyard. Will liked the treatment so much, he wanted the concept to continue for the unique end crawl.

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I Am Love Title Sequence by Marco Cendron

goktug — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:45:52 +0000

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Ali Demirel’s documentary:MAKING CONTAKT

goktug — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 20:53:34 +0000

Richie Hawtin’s Minus label releases Ali Demirel’s documentary of the imprint’s massive 10th anniversary tour. The ‘MAKING CONTAKT’ movie and soundtrack are now available for digital download from zero”.

In 2008 the Minus bandwagon embarked on a tour of proportions previously unheard of in electronic music. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Richie Hawtin‘s genre-defining label, the CONTAKT tour visited nine cities on three continents over the course of a year.

The exceptional series of events not only featured the label’s most prominent artists, such as Magda, Troy Pierce,Marc Houle, Heartthrob and Gaiser, but also an impressive array of cutting edge technology, pioneering new methods of collaborative performance as well as audience participation via RFID chips and mobile devices.

Insightful, captivating and genuinely funny at times, ‘MAKING CONTAKT‘ documents the spirit of constant technological and artistic innovation that drives the Minus label. While the cinematic format of the tour documentary might be an established genre in rock music, this is the benchmark road movie for the techno generation.

http://www.zero-inch.com/blog/Making_Contakt_Minus/9960

As in the books, exactly where and when the story takes place is unclear. The film reflects this ambiguity in its anachronistic art direction; it was praised for its creative sets and costumes, all of which have a darkly expressionistic and gothic feel, leading to a highly unusual and creative visual motif. Silberling has said this was partly inspired by the visual style of the similarly themed The Night of the Hunter.

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