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Ephemera

The Worst Credits Ever?

We’ve talked a lot about exemplary design work in film and television credits – but what’s at the other end of the spectrum?  Compiled (unscientifically) from various online lists, here are some of the worst TV credits ever.

Studio Spotlight: Blur

California-based Blur Studio is doing some really interesting work in film and television credits; check out the creepy title sequence for Mindhunter, the ultra-violent CG-heavy credits parody for Deadpool, and the very Bond-inspired opening sequence for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Studio Spotlight: Method Design

Check out these sequences by the studio Method Design: gritty TV credits for HBO’s The Night Of and Netflix’s Godless, as well as the patriotic closing credits for Captain America: The First Avenger.

Studio Spotlight: Imaginary Forces

We’ve looked at the great title sequence work being done by Elastic already, on shows like Westworld and True Detective.  Another major player is the studio Imaginary Forces, who created the iconic sequences for Stranger Things, Mad Men, and Jessica Jones.

Studio Spotlight: Elastic

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One of the most exciting graphics studios today is the LA-based Elastic, whose title sequences include Westworld, American Gods, Altered Carbon, The Americans, True Detective, and many more.

Downgrading After Effects Files

Just like in Premiere Pro, After Effects is very weird about using files created in one version of the software with another version.  Going from old to new is fairly painless.  After Effects will give you a warning screen, saying that it is creating a new version of the file and that the old version will remain intact.  Just click OK and re-save the project with a new name.  Going in the other direction is where we run into trouble.

Downgrading Premiere Pro Files

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Several of you have had difficulties with using different versions of Premiere on the same project.  Although all of the  computers in the Digital Video Editing Lab and Marts Studio are currently using Premiere Pro 2018, the specific version numbers may be slightly different.  This causes problems, because Premiere won’t let you use older versions of the software with newer project files.

The Best After Effects Effects

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As its name suggests, After Effects is full of effects that an be applied to stills, video, and audio files.  Here are a few videos counting down some users’ favorite effects and plugins.

Animated Intros for Batman and X-Men

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In the 1990s, X-Men: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series were hugely popular.  Both had evocative opening sequences – dark and moody for Batman, colorful and energetic for the X-Men.

Trademarks and Copyright Fair Use

Since we’ve been working with royalty-free footage, I thought it might be interesting to look at trademarks and copyright use in film.  Here are two video essays that dig into the subject.

True Detective’s Mesmerizing Parodies

The opening credits for True Detective are evocative and iconic – which makes them perfect for parody.  Here are three homages swap in characters from Star Wars, Batman, and Key & Peele.

True Detective’s Mesmerizing Credits

Some of my favorite television title sequences are from the HBO anthology series True Detective.  The credits were created by the design studio Elastic, which is also responsible for the memorable credits for shows like Daredevil, Westworld, and Halt and Catch Fire.

Video Game Title Design

We’re mostly concerned with title design in film and television, but there’s also some very cool work being done in the world of video games.  Check out this joyful montage (from Art of the Title, naturally) that looks at video game titles over the last few decades.

Title Design at the Emmys

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Did you know that there is an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Main Title Design”?  Here are the 2018 nominees; the Starz series Counterpart took the statue home.