Whether it's animated or live action intro titles have always interested me. A show/movie can be a very uninteresting, but can still have an amazing intro. Or a it can be an amazing production with a great intro. For example every James Bond movie and also my current favorite TV show "Breaking Bad"
This is the intro to "Breaking Bad":
The title its self is not very complex, but it fits the series so well. It sort of gives the viewer that unease which is a feeling that accompanies most of the series. It is short and sweet and doesn't take the viewer far away from what they just witnessed on screen prior to the intro. By the end of this class I hope to be able to recreate this intro. Or the Game of Thrones intro, but I'll save that for another post or lifetime.
I posted about the original Breaking Bad opening sequence but I recently saw a recreation of the title sequence. This particular sequence includes the actors and their names whereas in the original sequence, the show title and creator are shown in a few seconds. The title that "jamesmontalbano" created is a little over a minute and includes video clips from the show in a mosaic form using the periodic table of elements. I think that this title sequence is better than the original. It poses the question, why would Breaking Bad have such a simple title with no character names or actors? I believe that a show with a large following and such a complex story requires a simple title. The dedicated viewers know who is in the show and what more content rather than a filler title sequence going on for a few minutes every week. I think that a title sequence similar to this recreation could be used on the pilot episode of a show to introduce important characters. I would like to see a tutorial for this After Effects creation. This title sequence uses important scenes from various episodes to describe each character and although the mosaic effect shows small video clips, they all act to paint of picture of the character's past and reflects certain traits.
We spoke about the Breaking Bad intro and how many people posted about it on the blog last year but as a dedicated fan, I feel it is necessary to post about. The main title sequence is accompanied by a distinct guitar and bongo song that Breaking Bad fans can identify but the animation itself is extremely simplistic. For most shows, the intro develops over time and changes based on the season and what is going on at the time. For Breaking Bad, however, the title sequence has been the same through five seasons. I truly believe that in a few weeks, I will have the ability to recreate the Breaking Bad title sequence with no problems. For example, I could make the smoke in the background already and the periodic table of elements is layered over itself to create the ghost look. I think this is the first major project I want to do. What does this simplistic intro say about the show? Unlike other opening sequences, the Breaking Bad intro only says created by Vince Gilligan. There are no shots from past episodes, there's no cast listed, and it's only 18 seconds long. I think that the title sequence can take away from the show at points and since diehard Breaking Bad fans know who is in the show and want more story, the short title allows a longer period of time for the actual show. At same time, however, the sequence is memorable due to the accompanying sound and simplistic yet clever use of the periodic table. Also, the actors' names appear with elements placed in their name during the opening scene.
