Archer

So the new season of Archer is here and that means more antics from H. Jon Benjamin's character Sterling Archer. Other than the hilarious plot of the show, Archer has a unique style of animation that combines 2D and 3D animation into a show. The backgrounds are 3D whereas the foreground, usually the characters, are 2D.  The scenes in the show where this is most noticeable is in the car chases. The best way to illustrate this is to watch "Archer and Conan's Day Out" above if you haven't already.

Archer

Archer recently returned for its sixth season. As a big fan of the show, I have always been fascinated by the super stylized and almost sophisticated-like animation style. It truly is very unique and different than most shows on the air. The style seems to honor the television show Mad Men, which is currently approaching its final season. When all is said and done, Archer is absolutely an espionage television show; however, the setting revolves around a 1950s style workplace and most characters dress of that time period. There's also this crude sexist attitude as part of the show's humor that seems reminiscent of poor treatment towards women in the workplace.

Here's a cool Archer/Mad Men mashup done by some people at Tauntr Media:

Opening Credits Don't Have to Be Boring

When I was a kid, I used to hate the opening title sequences of movies. Just absolutely, 100%, flat-out hatred. I didn't understand why there had to be credits at the beginning of a film and at the end. It just didn't make sense.

Now, however - after taking Fiction Field 1 and actually learning about all of the positions involved in making a film - I have a whole new appreciation for opening credits. I realized that all of those names that I used to loathe probably worked incredibly hard to make the best film that they possibly could, and that they absolutely deserve to get credit twice throughout the duration of the movie. That being said, some opening credits still suck. We talked about this briefly in class, but the opening of a movie has to try and delicately balance the themes of a movie without giving too much away (if your movie is about bikes, find things that have some kind of offbeat connection to bikes, etc.) but also hold the interest of your audience at the same time.

After we looked at it in class, I started poking through some posts on the website Art of The Title, and I found two slightly similar opening credit sequences that I think really find this right balance of being informative and entertaining. The first was from the 2009 Jason Reitman film Up in the Air, about a man who spends most of his time on airplanes, traveling from job to job across the country. Here's the full video, along with an interview with Garreth Smith, a designer and frequent collaborator with Reitman.

Smith talks about the whole technical process of how they made the title sequence, but it stands out to me because of it's overall simplicity and because of the unique 2d/3d effect the names and titles have. Some may just appear flat against the backdrop, but other names seem to be floating in and out of clouds. It's a pretty cool layering effect. You also get the basic idea that this movie has a lot to do with flying.

The second title sequence I watched is actually from a show that I'm currently re-watching: Archer. This one is animated, but is fairly similar to Up In the Air. It has the same sliding panels and the same kind of transitions from one name to the next in the credits. It also gives you a pretty cool retro-spy vibe, which isn't particularly a good indicator of what the show is about, but is entertaining nonetheless. I'm really excited at the chance to make an alternative opening credit sequence for some film or show, and I think I'll definitely get some inspiration from both of these.

Lip-Sync Animation

As an audio-production student, I find myself paying close attention to the sound design of animated works and how the process of audio production is applied - either with voice overs /SFX, etc.  The following link is a behind the scenes look at the voice-over process for the FX show Archer.  Pertaining to the current project, the second video shows the animated intro sequence for Archer, which is pretty interesting.

Archer Animation

Recently, I've gotten really into the show animated series, Archer. The animation for this "witty spy spoof" has very realistic cartoons and also pretty graphic. Most animated series when the character clothes are off, don't usually have the normal body parts. This show crosses the line with their raunchiness and animation. They actually based the characters of the show off of models to create the comic book like feel. Also, another reason this show is so great is the actors on the show were on Arrested Development, so you know it has to be funny. I enjoy this animation a lot more then the lazy south park drawings, although this show takes a few months to produce while south park is only a couple hours. A unique style of this show is the 3D background used against the 2D characters.

Archer

Yes we all know and love Sterling Archer and every other scumbag at ISIS, but do we know what initially draws us in to spend our time such charming characters? Undoubtedly, the opening title sequence has a huge role in this. It pays tribute to classic animations from spy films and television shows made during, and prior to, the sixties. It also looks like something we ought to be able to handle at our own current stages of AE knowledge - it is what you make of it. Sorry, I could not embed this video so you'll have to click the outside link:

Archer Title Sequence