'Six Feet Under' Title Sequence

I was recently brainstorming for my final animation project and wanted to look into the creative process. I wanted to see what goes into making a title from nothing but still creating something that centers around a main idea. I watched the 'Six Feet Under' sequence for inspiration and it lead to storyboarding and looking into artist Danny Yount's work. He explains his creative process and how planning ahead is key to animation and creating titles. Each shot must capture the mood of the show and stand alone as a beautiful composition. We talked about composition and framing but storyboarding and coming up with alternatives and backup plans are necessary when creating a title sequence. The sequence refrains from using actors and the ambiguity of the characters and emotional shots create a sense of sorrow and darkness. The font and titles are simple but the composition of the shots is amazing and truly draws the audience in to the main theme of the show in a dark yet beautiful way.

WATCH YOUNT'S TALK BELOW

Movie Production Logos

Recently, I saw All is Lost starring Robert Redford and it was basically Cast Away without Wilson. Regardless, I started thinking about production logos and what makes them special. I watched many intros and realized at this point in my school career, I could remake practically all of the logos. The memorable part of each logo, however, is the sound. You recognize the Focus synth and the MGM lion roar as much as you remember the logo itself. Arturo stresses the use of sound in animation and it truly is important. Whether it is a song or a synth swell, the audience can associate the sound with the logo. More advanced titles are recognizable such as Jerry Bruckheimer Films and it preps the audience to expect something amazing. If you see an unrecognizable production title you may not know what to expect but if you see the MGM logo, for example, you associate it with extremely high production value. The companies have a few seconds to express the brand and need to make it memorable. Each logo requires a sound and it's usually a swell that draws you into the picture. I plan to create a powerful logo for my reel that draws the audience in through sound and simplicity.

Kroll Show Title Sequence

Kroll Show Skit

    Last year, during my mass media research methods class, we had the opportunity to talk to a writer that worked on Portlandia, Arrested Development, and Comedy Central's Kroll Show. Our class watched the Kroll Show pilot before it was aired and the one part that stuck out was the animated intro sequence. Famous icons, fonts, and titles are recreated to say Kroll show and flashes quickly with the electronic music. This intro seems simplistic but graphic artists must've photoshopped each individual font and put it in the necessary background. The last Kroll Show title with the explosion in the city seems fairly easy to recreate. The only question I have about this sequence is how did Comedy Central get away with using all the fonts and titles from famous shows and games. I would think that there would be some type of copyright lawsuit of sorts. The show is quite funny but like many sketch comedies, it's either hit or miss and not all skits are funny.

-MCH


*The title sequence wasn't a choice on the blog youtube search but here is the link.
KROLL SHOW INTRO

Incredible Animation

    Pixar's The Incredibles creates dynamic characters with physical traits that directly correspond to the superheroes' powers. For example, the fast running boy has pointy, lightning bolt like hair and the mom is extremely skinny due to her stretching super powers. The end credits sequence, however, consists of different animations than the movie. The style is more simplistic yet flows well and transitions into different roles of the behind the scenes players. It is truly a sequence that keeps the audience in their seats during the end credits. Teddy Newton, a Pixar animator, worked on this title sequence along with many others. I looked up Teddy Newton and found a short film he directed entitled "Day and Night." The main characters are simplistic compared to the detailed animation that takes place inside their respective figures. The animation is also completely different than the animation in The Incredibles end credits sequence. I plan to look into more of Newton's work and perhaps find a sequence that I could emulate. I am somewhat nervous for this class because I have difficult using new software. I will work as hard as possible to keep up with others and create something that I'm proud of. I think animation is still young and over the years, even though there are some animations today, it will be nearly impossible to differentiate between real life and animation.

-Matthew Clifford Hadley

The Incredibles end credits sequence

"Day and Night"