Animation Inspiration

This week I was in desperate need of inspiration for our title sequence projects. I'm going to get a bit nostalgic on you because I immediately thought of my favorite title sequence I absolutely loved as a child growing up. It was the title sequence from 101 Dalmatians:

I love this sequence because it is absolutely fun and thrilling to watch. As a child, there were not very many interesting title sequences and more often than not, we would end up fast-forwarding through them. Yet, I ALWAYS watched this specific title sequence because I never knew what was going to come next. I vividly remember dancing to it even when I was little because even the music is fantastic.

Upon watching it again, I was shocked to realize that I recognized several techniques that we have already learned in class! For example, the spot revealing or erasing the words or even the spots pulsating to the music. I was thrilled to find out that my favorite sequence as a kid, I actually understood now as a college student! 

I kept thinking of other sequences that I enjoyed. Here is another one from Tangled, though I believe it is the ending credits:

I think what is great about this title sequence is that we can see more of the story being told. Aspects of character development and fun story moments that weren't necessarily in the feature are seen. I think this is the hardest part for title sequences or ending credits: making them interesting and entertaining enough to hold peoples interest. I'm always happily surprised when I find I have sat through one and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Another one that I really, really enjoyed, that is not an animation, is from Sherlock Holmes. 

I love the style and the feel of this sequence. It is not only interesting, but it fits with the period of the film with the images changing to what looks like drawings on old parchment. Here we see the story revealed, but in a increasingly interesting way. I came across this tutorial on how it was made by AgezMedia on youtube when I first looked for this video:

I didn't get through all of it yet, and it is very advanced, but it was incredibly fascinating to learn.

After looking into all of these, I think I'm ready to give my title sequence a try. It will be a challenge to make something intriguing, unique and entertaining, but if these examples can do it, I'm sure I can too. 

Here are some student examples that I came across during my search on youtube. They are all for Pixar's film UP. 

By Amber Capogrossi