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I LOVE a good opening title sequence! So much so that I never skip the good ones when watching Netflix/Prime Video/Hulu/etc- Walking Dead Season 9, The Expanse, Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse.
I'll even watch terrible shows with amazing opening titles, because I enjoy the titles that much...
( I'm looking at you 'Into the Badlands')
Friday night, Dec 27th 2019, after watching a bunch of TV shows over the holiday, I decided to see if I could make a 1 minute Opening Title Sequence for a show as quickly as possible, that didn't suck...
Friday night, Dec 27th 2019, after watching a bunch of TV shows over the holiday, I decided to see if I could make a 1 minute Opening Title Sequence for a show as quickly as possible, that didn't suck...
Tall order- so I gave myself over the weekend. I used the first day to figure out what the show was going to be about, source footage, and cut the rough version. I didn't have any actors or cameras, so I found all the footage on various sourcing sites, and shaped my narrative to the footage I found.
I knew I wanted a sci-fi, anime feel for the whole thing when I started, so having neon colors, city lights, and traffic was obvious. I was struck with the visual metaphor of street traffic in the city grid as a stand-in for data traveling through circuits.
BOOM! It's a cyberpunk hacker show about stolen identities, weaponized technology, and revenge. Think like Mr. Robot, only with Liam Neeson set in Neo Tokyo. This is totally how Hollywood works, right? J/k, but we'll go with it for now...
Next I looked for a lot of "hacker" and "computer at night" videos to flesh out the "plot," since I was using only stock video and creating the motion graphics myself from scratch.
Leaning heavily on the color grading and selecting the correct footage to capture a cyberpunk atmosphere, the "cast" names are not real actors, but fictional names that seemed to fit the sort of characters who might exist in this world, and the actors who might be cast in the roles.
With the vibe created and the mood set, it was time to create some suspense! Using the flow of the graphics to indicate misdirection, system breaches, etc, I needed some of that weaponized tech to show up.
Cue the hackers in the basement, arguing over some nefarious plot they're devising, or are they the good guys debating strategy to take down Evil Megacorp? Hard to say, better watch the show...
In order to grab the viewers attention a bit tighter, it needed some more action. As an American, I took the tried-and-true "cheap thrill" way, and added some explosions and guns for effect.
To top it off, I found the perfect music for it. It's literally titled "Epic Trailer." I felt Michael Bay smiling upon me (Thanks Envato Elements! Not sponsored- but Envato if you're listening...)
So, what do you think? Did I hit the mark? Does it feel like a live action cyberpunk anime? Would you watch this show? If so, would you skip the Opening Title Sequence or watch it a few times?
If you enjoyed this, check out more of my work
If you'd like to know more about the person behind the work, there's a short bio about me at that link.
If you're interested in working with me on your projects, head over to the Contact Section and get in touch!
If you enjoyed this, check out more of my work
If you'd like to know more about the person behind the work, there's a short bio about me at that link.
If you're interested in working with me on your projects, head over to the Contact Section and get in touch!
