Watched this movie over previous weekend and the title sequence left a big impression on me. I have been hunting for this sequence online to share with you all. At last here it is…

It’s a lo-fi animation sequence in which the teen of the title strolls pensively through her neighbourhood, chug-a-lugging a jug of SunnyD in preparation for a pregnancy test. With cut-out Xerox images of Ellen Page, hand-drawn typography and a whimsical tune by kids’ balladeer Barry Louis Polisar on the soundtrack, it immediately tells us this is going to be a sweet, funny-sad film with an indie spirit.

And, of course, it is.

Year of production: 2007
Film director: Jason Reitman
Title designer: Shadowplay Studio

Other credits
Title designers: Gareth Smith & Jenny Lee,
Title sequence producer: Ari Sachter-Zeltzer,
Music: “All I Want is You” by Barry Louis Polisar

Watch it here

Hailed by many as one of the most memorable recent title sequences. Title designer Gareth Smith talks about the process of creating the title sequence.

“The Juno opening title sequence was truly a labor of love for all of us at Shadowplay Studio. It took nearly supernatural patience in order to get through the main task involved in the creation of the title sequence: the printing, hand-tracing, xeroxing, cutting and coloring of over 900 images of Juno walking through her neighborhood. But we had a fantastic time working on the project and were glad to be working with our hands instead of the computer.”

Shadowplay Studio worked with director Jason Reitman before on Thank You For Smoking, which is still one of the most viewed title sequences on Forget the Film, Watch the Titles. Reitman, who says he’s a “big fan” of opening credits, brought the designers in on the project very shortly after he signed on to direct Juno.

“When we first met with Jason about it, he played some of the music he was thinking of using in the soundtrack, including Kimya Dawson’s songs with the Moldy Peaches. This music, the tone and originality of the screenplay, and the uniqueness of Juno’s character, led us down the path toward creating a low-fi, hand-animated title sequence.”

“We wanted to create something that had texture and a little bit of edge, but also imparted the warmth and heart of the screenplay.”

“Jason also let us know that he wanted the opening title sequence to take place after the first scene of the film – the scene in which Juno is admiring a discarded living room set on a lawn. Because we were able to start the process of designing the title sequence before the film was actually shot, it allowed us to create something that integrated very nicely into the story-line of the film. It seemed natural to show the credits while the audience followed Juno from the opening scene, through her neighborhood, and to the convenience store where she gets her pregnancy test.”

“This decision allowed us to do something a little unusual for an opening title sequence: focus the sequence entirely on the main character of the film. This allowed the audience to really get a sense of, and get immersed in, Juno’s unique, quirky point of view of the world.”

“We flew up to Vancouver during the final week of shooting the film, and were able to get some time with Ellen Page and Jason the day after they finished shooting the movie. We shot thousands of photos of Ellen walking on a treadmill with a high-speed camera from a number of angles. Jason had a guitar with him and strummed out some chords to help get her in the right mind-set.”

“We then took these photos back to our studio and edited together a rough animatic which allowed us to figure out the timing and shot selection for the final title sequence. When we had something that everyone was happy with, we began the laborious process of hand-creating the title sequence.”

“Every element that appears in the title sequence was hand-made, including the typography. We used the computer to save us a tremendous amount of time to layer the elements together, but tried as best as possible to adhere to the idea of mimicking the limitations of shooting stop-motion animation from a real-world copy stand.”

“To create the cut-outs of Juno, we printed every frame, outlined Juno, then photo-copied the prints several times to degrade the quality. Each of these frames were then hand-colored and cut out with scissors. This is a process that we’ve been wanting to try out for quite a while, and this project seemed like the perfect opportunity to do it.”

“Toward the end of production process, we were asked to create the hand-animated season title cards that appear in the film, as well as the end titles, which we created a custom typeface for. After the film was released, we were invited to collaborate on the design of the music soundtrack and contribute drawings and cut-outs for the dvd.”

“Despite the massive amount of time it took to pull this off, we were happy to be working on it every time we picked up a pen or a pair of scissors. Jason Reitman’s constant enthusiasm and positive energy inspired us throughout the production process, and we are proud to have been involved with this film.”

Here are some images of the process of creating this striking title sequence, makes you realize that you dont have to necessarily need eye-candy CGI to create a memorable graphics.

Lord of War title sequence

Lord of War starring Nicolas Cage features an incredible title sequence that of a journey of a bullet from the arms factory to the guerilla rebels in Africa. An interesting study in live and CG compositing and HDRI reflection.

L’E.S.T. visual effects supervisor Yann Blondel talks about the digital techniques he employed for key sequences in Lord of War opening ‘bullet factory’ titles

At the beginning of the sequence we dive on a machine. This machine has been created/extended using CGI and some animation has been added to it. That shot had also been accelerated and stabilised.

Inside the machinery everything is CGI until we emerge on the conveyor belt.

The conveyor belt itself is CGI and the bullets are as well. The background needed to be reconstructed in CGI because the camera was waving a little too much and we wanted a straight trajectory. When the bullet is picked up, the actor and the hand have been shot against green screen and composited on a CGI background.

After being tossed back on the conveyor belt we fall in a tube. Here, again, everything is CGI until we fall in the crate full of bullets (which is obviously CGI).

We emerge on the second conveyor belt. The background has been retimed and stabilized. Here only the foreground is CGI. It’s exactly the same case when the crate is opened in the Ukrainian Harbor.

When the crate is opened again in Africa it’s another story. When the bullet falls and rolls on the ground everything is CGI. We had shot a nice movement but the distance with the ground wasn’t good. We had to recreate the whole background in CGI to gain a couple of inches! And as there were moving elements it wasn’t simple.

Then the bullet is tossed in another crate full of ammunitions (all CGI). While being loaded into the truck and travelling through the jungle the crate and the bullets are CGI.

In the street, until we get thrown on the ground, only the crates and the bullets are CGI. But when we get loaded in the magazine everything is CGI from background to the magazine and the barrel of the AK47.

And then, when the bullet is shot we only added a CGI bullet, some guys fighting in the street, accelerated and stabilized the shot.

Software details:
XSI, Shake, After Effects, Photoshop and Matchmover for 3D tracking.

VFX:
L’E.S.T. (visit the link for some major vfx shot breakdowns and stuff.

Watch and Download it here

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Saul Bass (May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was a graphic designer and Academy Award-winning filmmaker, but he is best known for his design on animated motion picture title sequences, which is thought of as the best such work ever seen.

During his 40-year career he worked for some of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers, including most notably Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese.

His most famous title sequence is probably the animated paper cut-out of a heroin addict’s arm for Preminger’s The Man with the Golden Arm.

Saul Bass designed the 6th AT&T Bell System logo, that at one point achieved a 93 percent recognition rate in the United States. He also designed the AT&T “globe” logo for AT&T after the break up of the Bell System.

Hollywood’s man behind the title
Movies never started the same after Saul Bass made a mark with bold, symbolic sequences.

By Susan King, Times Staff Writer

DURING the classic studio era in Hollywood, movie title sequences were generic.

“Every studio had its own look,” says film historian Jan-Christopher Horak. “They did [titles] the same way; just the names changed.”

But when the studio system started to wane in the 1950s, title designs began to evolve. “They started doing more inventive things,” says Horak. “The film begins over the titles or you have an open book and the pages will be turning.”

That was a start, but Saul Bass took the form to an entirely different level. A true pioneer, he turned movie opening and closing title sequences on their ear with bold, graphically vivid designs. His title sequences would often resemble an animated film.

“Like the good designer that he was, he would come up with some kind of iconic symbol to encapsulate what the movie is about,” says Horak. In Bass’ design for Otto Preminger’s 1960 epic “Exodus,” the symbol is an arm holding up a gun. For Preminger’s 1958 romantic drama “Bonjour Tristesse,” it’s an exaggerated tear dripping down the face of a young woman.

Bass’ posters, soundtrack album covers and storyboards for the “Psycho” shower sequence ? Bass drew the storyboards for director Alfred Hitchcock for the iconic scene ? plus screenings of a montage of film titles edited by Bass and his wife Elaine are currently on display at the Skirball Cultural Center.

“Saul Bass: The Hollywood Connection,” which was developed with the curatorial guidance of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, also features screenings of his Oscar-winning 1968 short, “Why Man Creates.” And on select Tuesday afternoons this month and in February, the Skirball will screen films for which he designed the titles and the posters.

Born in New York City in 1920, Bass studied at the Art Students League in Manhattan before attending Brooklyn College. “He came out to California in 1948 and starts doing print ads for movies, though he didn’t get credit,” says Horak.

Bass’ first big break came when he collaborated with Preminger on the 1954 film “Carmen Jones.” Preminger was so impressed with his poster design for the film, he asked Bass to create the opening and closing titles.

Bass gained acclaim for his designs for Preminger’s classic “The Man With the Golden Arm,” the director’s 1955 drama about a jazz musician (Frank Sinatra) struggling to overcome heroin addiction. He selected a black-and-white cutout arm as the central image of the poster and the opening title design.

He continued to work with Preminger into the 1970s, as well as providing startling designs for Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo,” “North by Northwest” and “Psycho” and working with Billy Wilder on such films as “One, Two, Three.”

Still, says Horak, “most of his money he made doing other things. He designed a lot of famous corporate logos ? for example, the Bell telephone logo. He would get paid millions for just [the logo].”

Bass started doing more and more corporate work in the 1970s and ’80s. “From what I’ve heard, he priced himself [out of the movie] market,” says Horak. “He wanted too much money for what he was doing.”

That is until Martin Scorsese hired him to create the title designs for “GoodFellas,” “Cape Fear,” “The Age of Innocence” and “Casino.”

Bass died in 1996, but his popularity continues. Horak says his posters “really stand out because they are so interesting as graphic designs. For that reason, they have become highly collectible.”

Carmen Jones: the Title Credits

Schindler’s List poster (not used for the final movie)

Around the World in 80 Days: the Title Credits

Anatomy of a Murder: the Title Credits

Spartacus: the Title Credits

West Side Story: the End Credits

The Cardinal: the Title Credits

Seconds: the Title Credits

Cape Fear: the Title Credits

The Seven Year Itch: the Title Credits

Bonjour Tristesse: the Title Credits

North by Northwest: the Title Credits
*freakin’ amazing if you consider the time it was made!

Exodus: the Title Credits

In Harm?s Way: the End Credits

Advise & Consent: the Title Credits

The Age of Innocence: the Title Credits

War of the Roses: the Title Credits

The Man with the Golden Arm: the Title Credits

Vertigo: the Title Credits

Psycho: the Title Credits

It?s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World: the Title Credits

Bunny Lake is Missing: the Title Credits

West Side Story: the Title Credits

Goodfellas: the Title Credits

Casino: the Title Credits

More info about Saul Bass and a wide array of his work with reviews on individual work can be found at the following url:
not coming to a theater near you

Also watch some of the title sequences designed by Saul Bass:
Title Sequences by Saul Bass on YouTube

Saul Bass has left behind a legacy that is still followed by motion designers worldwide and in Hollywood, most of all. Catch Me If You Can title design was a tribute to Saul Bass as I had mentioned in my earlier post on this thread. He still continues to inspire…

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