If ever there’s a design documentary that absolutely needs to exist, it’s on the art and craft of the title sequence and those pioneers who took it from straight text on a black screen, to the creative medium we have today. Alas, as the film studios continue to make it impossible for a decent book on the subject to exist (as I discovered a few years back), a documentary is unlikely to ever see the light of day. If it were however, Jurjen Versteeg’s graduation project A History of the Title Sequence would certainly be a worthy opener, referencing the greats in the field as it does:
Designed as a possible title sequence for a fictitious documentary, this film shows a history of the title sequence in a nutshell. The sequence includes all the names of title designers who had a revolutionary impact on the history and evolution of the title sequence. The names of the title designers all refer to specific characteristics of the revolutionary titles that they designed.
This film refers to elements such as the cut and shifted characters of Saul Bass’ Psycho title, the colored circles of Maurice Binder’s design for Dr. No and the contemporary designs of Kyle Cooper and Danny Yount.
Get more depth on the concept and the production process by reading Versteeg’s Forget the Film, Watch The Titles interview.
