titles – the art of credits

Once upon a time movies didn’t have opening credits or titles. Beyond a slide showing the name of the feature, the movie reserved the titles for the end of the film. Obviously that has changed. As motion pictures have progressed through time the handling of film titles has evolved. The default is a benign typeface that doesn’t distract from the opening shots of the film.

Occasionally, there are opening sequences and titles that incorporate the theme of the movie and stand proudly on their own, rather than sheepishly standing in the corner [of the screen]. Here are four of my favorites from the past decade. These are creative, elegant and fully support the overall theme of the film. So sit back and enjoy. If you have a favorite that I haven’t listed please share by adding a comment below.

No. 4



Thank You For Smoking

This movie about a Big Tobacco lobbyist introduced us to a likable man working for a dark industry. The opening titles capture that dichotomy by styling the titles on various cigarette-pack style animation.

CREDITS: Main Title Designers: Jenny Lee, Ari Sachter-Zeltzer, Gareth Smith, Production Company: Shadowplay Studio

No. 3



Catch Me If You Can

These titles are extremely entertaining to watch. The titles follow an animated chase between agent Carl Hanratty and Frank Abagnale. Add the style, font and color palette from the 1950s and you end up with a segment that draws you and in some ways outshines the film itself.

CREDITS: Production Company: Nexus Productions, Creative Directors: Kuntzel + Deygas, Produced by: Chris O’Reilly and Charlotte Bavasso, 2D Animation: Agnes Fauve, Layout & Typography: Olivier Marquézy, Editing: Florent Porte, 3D Supervision: Robin Kobrynski, Visual Effects Supervision: Patrice Mugnier, 3D & Composition: Péregrine McCafferty and Pierre Savel, 2D Composition: Pierre Yves Joseph, Compositing Assistance: Alexandre Scalvino, General Assistance: Ghislaine Marchand, Production Co-Ordinator: Julia Parfitt, Production Assistants: Juliette Stern and Lucy Glyn, Production Accountant: Ian Mansel-Thomas

No. 2



Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie has always had a great eye for graphic design and he often incorporates typographic elements into his films. The closing titles for Sherlock Holmes are stunning. By incorporating live action, drawings and handwritten type the titles convey the whimsical, clever and historic qualities of the film.

CREDITS: Design Company: Prologue Films, Creative Director: Danny Yount, Design Direction: Simon Clowes, Henry Hobson, Lisa Bolan, Illustration: Jorge Almeida, Chris Sanchez, Calligraphy: Bonnie Ebbs, VFX: Jose Ortiz, Todd Sheridan Perry, Animation: Joey Park, Alasdair Wilson, Compositing: Brett Reyenger, Miles Lauridsen, Editorial: Gabriel Diaz, Producer: Unjoo Byars, Executive Producer: Kyle Cooper, Coordinator: David Kennedy

No. 1


Stranger Than Fiction

OK so this is more of an opening sequence than a title display but trust me, it’s worth the omission of list criteria. The sequence shows the daily routine of the main character, an OCD-like tax auditor whose life is a series of repetitive events broken down by numeric tallies and equations. The interactive animation is extremely engaging and well executed. Special points go to the soundtrack by Britt Daniel from Spoon.

CREDITS: Design Company: MK12

For more examples of title design, visit artofthetitle.com.
By: Chris Hoffman