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"There'll come a time when all of us must leave here..." - George Harrison, The Art of Dying

Like sighs from a scythe in a wheat field of psychosis, the opening title sequence for Gaspar Noé’s Enter the Void is a melting onslaught of typographic design foisted upon the senses. This unrelenting visual overdose hacks pleasurably at the viewer, as the tip of a nail does finding its destiny. Names become bright little deaths fired to a machine gun beat; the images encircle your pupils as LFO’s "Freak" drives the nail deeper.

Art of the Title: Please describe the first creative discussion you had with director Gaspar Noé.

Tom Kan: Pierre Buffin, of BUF, put us in touch. When we first spoke, Gaspar was already in post-production for his film. He was in the picture-editing phase and looking for a graphic designer to work on his title sequence. Gaspar already had an idea for it: he wanted a fast-paced compilation of typefaces, all very different, inspired by films, flyers, and neon signs to announce the tone of the film. It was a peculiar case because the title sequence was in French, English and Japanese... He is very sensitive when it comes to typography – he had already done some himself for movies and posters. He even collects film posters.

Art of the Title: The sequence is a typographer's wet dream (or alternatively their nightmare). How were the various fonts and characters chosen?

Tom Kan: The choice of typefaces came rather naturally. After coming up with a large selection in line with the film's mood, we simply chose the ones that best suited the characters and the personalities of those in the team. Gaspar wanted each title to reflect the person it concerned. It was a beautiful homage and proof of his respect for the members of the team – a way to thank them.

Type variations (21 images)

Many typefaces and designs did not get used because the time limit was set – the sound mix was already done and it was impossible to extend. I think we used only 60% of the designs, all in all.

Buffin work in progress (3 images)

Art of the Title: Every typeface used in the sequence seems to be a reference to other famous film title or poster fonts. What was the typeface you selected for your own credit and why?

Tom Kan: We appropriated different typefaces, but we never wanted to copy the titles from other films in an obvious way since I thought that would be misleading. For my own credit, I went in many different directions: aged typefaces in metal, Kanji and Japanese calligraphy, techno typography... In the end, I let Gaspar choose and he went with the biggest, most legible type!

Art of the Title: Were you involved in any way with filmmaker Thorsten Fleisch who handled the electrophotographies of the words "Enter The Void"?

Tom Kan: Gaspar was in contact with Fleisch and that typography was already done. His work really impressed me – it imbued my work with a force.

Enter the Void logo type (Click to Enlarge)

Art of the Title: Thorsten, could you explain the electrophotography process you used for the words?

Thorsten Fleisch: When Gaspar commissioned me to do the electrophotographies he was originally planning to use them for the scene in the love hotel near the end of the movie. He was thinking about having electric sparks or a Kirlian aura effect around people’s genitals while they were copulating, but he ended up going for another, more smoke-like effect. So I mainly did discharges along a circle or a straight line for that which were to be used later by Buf, the special effects team. Gaspar suggested that I try applying this effect for the title too, so he sent it to me in the font he wanted. I cut them out on cardboard, wrapped aluminum foil around them...

Letter prep (Click to Enlarge)

...and shot around 30,000 volts through them. He really liked the result, so I passed it over to Tom for the title animation. Also some of the posters, for example the German one, have them on it.

Shocked images drying (2 images)

Fleisch's logo treatment (Click to Enlarge)

Art of the Title: LFO's pounding track, "Freak" also plays an important role in the title sequence. How was the music chosen and did it influence the conception or development of the sequence?

Tom Kan: Gaspar explored several musical avenues. This song particularly imposed itself since it’s very energetic – very pushy. Over several weeks, Gaspar and his editor adjusted the typefaces' succession to the rhythm. During that stage, I produced new designs, modified the colours according to the edit. I went to him with several attempts on the sequence, all quite fast-paced, but I think he was very happy with the first run. I worked on the transitions image-by-image, always in fast cuts to give the playback some vibration. I wanted to explore retinal persistence and the limits of readability, which I find the most interesting part of this work. For me, that was the aim. It was very artisanal work. Then for each festival and film screening, we reworked the sequence because the public reception was so enthusiastic.

Art of the Title: In many ways the credit sequence prepares the viewer for the subsequent film experience – it's a jarring and grueling onslaught that does more to set the tone of the film than actually show the audience who produced and starred in it.

Tom Kan: Yes, it functions as a real gateway. Like a prelude or a prologue, we can explain or complete a part of the story. In our case, the title sequence needed to reflect a colourful and varied universe full of rhythm to prepare the audience for Gaspar's film. Its crescendo rhythm leads you to a euphoric ascension. You feel the visual and auditory onslaught. You don’t need to read, you just experience the typefaces, the names and the music. I find it to be a successful contrast to the really calm first scene.

Enter the Void film still (Click to Enlarge)

Art of the Title: What is the reason for using two sets of credits at the beginning of the film? A full set appears in a strobing style and then directly after are the main typographic treatments you produced. Why both?

Tom Kan: Gaspar always begins his films with the end credits – he intends to create a gateway to his story with the titling sequence at the start. In his other film Irreversible with Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel, the whole story was a flash-back. The film starts with the end credits to tell the story using an incredible flash-back structure.

The 'opening' end credits

When we discussed these opening titles with Gaspar, he wanted to credit the crew in a radical rhythm in-step with the music. Then he wanted to increase that visual rhythm and dramatize the titles in order to bring the spectator to a visual climax with the names of the actors. And again, it's his way of thanking the whole crew.

Art of the Title: How creatively satisfying is it to break with traditional approaches to title design and come away with something as special as this?

Tom Kan: There was tremendous satisfaction working the way we did. Gaspar placed a lot of importance on this sequence. It was important to explore and push the graphics and visually, we knew it would have a strong impact.

Gasper type variations (10 images)

Art of the Title: How does one approach working with a provocative genius who understands that his vision must exceed the risk involved?

Tom Kan: Gaspar gave me a lot of freedom and I hold dearly the experience of working on this title sequence, because experimentation and research played a huge role. It was a real laboratory. I really believe that Gaspar is among those creators who advance the progress of their field by considering the title sequence as its own whole.

Paz de la Huerta working credit (Click to Enlarge)

Art of the Title: Talk to us about the influence of Jean-Luc Godard's opening for A Woman Is a Woman, a film that shares a few themes with Enter the Void.

Tom Kan: Actually, I had never heard of that sequence before finishing this project. Gaspar didn’t mention it.

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Godard's A Woman is a Woman opening titles (Click to Watch)

I find it very modern for its time; it is very efficient and catchy. The typography over the black background is a bold choice. The titling becomes an essential element to the opening and the presentation. I’m not surprised that this structure and graphic form has already been exploited.

Art of the Title: Also, how do you feel about the influence of your sequence on other media? For example, Kanye West's "All Of The Lights" video.

Tom Kan: I had mixed feelings when Gaspar sent me the link to the video when it first came out. I was amused that my work was being referenced by a well-known artist, but I was also disappointed that he had not contacted Gaspar nor myself to work on it. Kanye West had sought out artists in the past to illustrate his videos. The first version of his video was very, very – maybe too much – inspired by the graphics and the mood of our title sequence. The similarities were too blatant and I believe plagiarism always devalues the imitator. Even if it's an homage, there must be an added personal touch. It was good for him and his team that they re-worked the designs for a very different second version.

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Kanye West - All of the Lights excerpt (Click to Watch)

Art of the Title: What recent work has taken you by surprise? Who inspires you?

Tom Kan: I am pleasantly surprised by the rise and popularity of motion graphics and the richness of its production. In an indie kind of way, a new generation of graphic artists can express themselves through video and audio production at a low cost, which used to be impossible. Blogs and the Internet then relay these creations and allow creators to benefit from this very accessible means of distribution.

As for my sources of inspiration, it varies. Anything that opens my eyes and makes me curious is inspiring. Each day I discover new things.

Art of the Title: And what’s next?

Tom Kan: I don't know what awaits me. I take on projects in a heartbeat – when it's love at first sight! The motivation must remain and each project is a new adventure.

WRITER: Alexander Ulloa
INTERVIEW: Ian Albinson, Will Perkins, Lola Landekic
TRANSLATION: Anita Abbasi

Art of the Title is pleased to announce that Ian Albinson will be returning as a juror for the 2012 SXSW Film Design Awards.

A SXSW Announcement

As part of the SXSW Film Design Awards, the Excellence in Title Design Competition aims to discover the best in contemporary title sequence design.

Eligibility for the Title Sequence Design Competition is open to any film or television title sequence completed in 2011 or later. The title sequence can stand alone, and does not have to be related to a feature or short film submitted to the festival.

Applicants will be informed of the status of their project no later than February 9, 2012.

Submit Your Title Sequence Here

To celebrate the release of the long-awaited book Saul Bass: A Life In Film & Design, I put together a brief visual history of some of Saul Bass's most celebrated work.

Saul Bass: A Life In Film & Design, by Jennifer Bass and Pat Kirkham, is available on Amazon.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) will also celebrate the life of Saul Bass with a film screening and talk on Monday, November 14, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. This special event features the New York premiere of Saul and Elaine Bass's Academy Award-winning short Why Man Creates (1968), newly preserved by the Academy Film Archive, as well as a rich selection of title sequences, commercials, and corporate campaigns.

Among the evening's guest presenters are the book's author, Pat Kirkham, a distinguished design historian who knew Bass personally; Chip Kidd, the award-winning contemporary graphic designer and writer noted for his brilliant book covers; and Kyle Cooper, a legendary graphic designer in his own right, with such unforgettable film title sequences as Se7en, X-Men: First Class, the Spider-Man trilogy, and countless others.

Full details here: The Academy and MoMA Present Saul Bass: A Life in Film & Design

- Ian Albinson, Editor-in-Chief

"I sent my soul through the invisible, some letter of that afterlife to spell: and by and by my soul returned to me and answered, ‘I myself am Heaven and Hell.’" - Omar Khayyám (from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám)

A spectral camera soars languidly through a deep valley, conjuring up images of the American frontier: towering mountains, evergreen trees, and serene water lucidly captured through a wide-angle lens. Sweeping across the landscape, the camera begins to follow a tiny yellow VW Beetle making its way up a winding road carved into the steep mountain cliffs. The lens frequently relegates the car to only a fraction of the frame, revealing how minuscule the vehicle is against the grandeur on which it is trespassing. This bird’s eye chase foreshadows the events that await the Torrence family and the film’s harrowing themes of isolation and madness.

After being offered The Exorcist and its sequel, Exorcist 2: The Heretic, the iconoclast filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick, declined both and opted instead to adapt a story from Stephen King’s novel, The Shining. The title sequence introduces viewers to Kubrick’s unorthodox vision of horror, as haunting landscapes and unnerving score combine to cause an ineffable unease. By discarding genre tropes such as creaking doors, spiderwebs, dark corridors, and excessive blood, the title sequence outperforms convention.

The stunning mountain ranges were filmed by Greg McGillivray (from MacGillivray Freeman Films), a cameraman personally chosen by Kubrick.

From the book Kubrick by Michel Ciment:

The aerial shots share many characteristics with the hotel footage filmed using the Steadicam, a stabilizing camera mount pioneered by Garrett Brown. Kubrick’s innovative use of the Steadicam on The Shining was considered groundbreaking, and the seemingly effortless gliding motions and long takes afforded by the system closely echo the title sequence. This hitherto untested stylistic choice imbues every move of the camera with a sense of tension and dread. Unaware of what lies around the next curve in the road or hallway corridor, viewers are lured deeper and deeper into the world of the film.

Unusually, the title sequence for The Shining also employs rolling credits, a design element normally reserved for end credits. When paired with the unsettling musical score, the austere Helvetica typeface — cryptically colored a hot blue — seems immediately at odds with the pristine wilderness.

Dies Irae (Latin for Day of Wrath) is the name of the 13th century Gregorian chant re-envisioned by composers Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind for the title sequence. Their modern take establishes the haunting atmosphere using the sounds of an electronic synthesizer — a common trope in many subsequent horror films. The synth fades in and out periodically, allowing a Native American ritual hymn to enter. The shrill wail of sirens pierce the vast sky and add to the uncanny mood.

Like many of cinema’s most notable title sequences, the introduction to The Shining touches on themes later addressed in the film. For a celebrated and chronicled filmmaker such as Kubrick — known for his trenchant observations and perfectionism — myriad readings can be taken from viewing this opening. Jack Torrence’s ascent into the celestial Rocky Mountains is also a descent into the depths of his own personal hell; the lonely and strangely claustrophobic mountain road is the first of many labyrinthine constructs the film forces the Torrence family into. Here Kubrick introduces the viewer to an uncharacteristic form of horror: the domestic kind. When stripped of its supernatural elements, The Shining is an all too familiar tale of abuse, alienation, and paranoia.

WRITER: Shaun Mir
© Art of the Title, 2011

Art of the Title's Ian Albinson has been asked to be part of the judging panel for the 58th Annual Type Directors Club Competition - Title Design section - and is honored to join Competition Chair Karin Fong (Imaginary Forces), Matt Lambert (Motionographer), and Shane Walter (onedotzero). Details of the competition below.

This Saturday, October 22, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis will open Graphic Design: Now in Production, a joint exhibition with the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.

The exhibition features work produced since 2000 in the most vital sectors of communication design, exploring the world of design-driven magazines, newspapers, books, and posters; the expansion of branding and identity programs for corporations, subcultures, and nations; the entrepreneurial spirit of designer-produced goods; the renaissance in digital typeface design; the transformation of raw data into compelling information narratives; and the storytelling potential of film and television title sequences.

For the latter section, Art of the Title was asked to guest curate a 'screening room' for the titles section of the show, and for the past ten months we've worked to produce a comprehensive list of film and television title work created within the last ten years that exemplifies contemporary title design.

Twenty eight sequences were chosen, representing both US and international film and television, from studios such Prologue, Imaginary Forces, Digital Kitchen, Elastic, yU+co., Lobo and MK12, and designers like Gareth Smith & Jenny Lee, Kuntzel+Deygas, Daniel Kleinman, Tom Kan, Jamie Caliri and Johnny Kelly.

With this wide variety of sequence choices we hope to highlight work that has influenced the design field, shown creative vision and use of materials, innovative practices and methods, and which embodies the timeless tradition established by past eras of title design.

A comprehensive, illustrated catalogue produced by the Walker Art Center accompanies the exhibition. The title sequence section will contain a specially commissioned introduction from Ben Radatz, Partner and Creative Director at the Kansas City-based MK12 (Stranger Than Fiction, The Kite Runner, Quantum of Solace) as well as write-ups and interview excerpts from Art of the Title.

Exhibition catalog

We would personally like to thank Andrew Blauvelt at the Walker and Ellen Lupton at the Cooper-Hewitt for this opportunity. It has been a tremendous honor to work with them on this and we are extremely proud and excited to be present for the opening.

Further details can be found here: http://calendar.walkerart.org/canopy.wac?id=6189

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The first major museum exhibition on graphic design in more than a decade, Graphic Design: Now in Production will run from October 22, 2011 - January 22, 2012 in Minneapolis and then travel to New York in the summer of 2012 and other venues thereafter.

Curatorial Team:
Ian Albinson, Art of the Title
Andrew Blauvelt, Walker Art Center
Jeremy Leslie, magCulture
Ellen Lupton, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Armin Vit and Bryony Gomez-Palacio, Brand New

Graphic Design: Now In Production is co-organized by the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York.

Walker Art Center
1750 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55403
1-612-375-7687
http://www.walkerart.org/

Walker Art Center

WRITER: Ian Albinson
WALKER IMAGE: j. fo (flickr)
LAST UPDATE: October 19, 2011
© Art of the Title, 2011