www.th1ng.com
www.figproductions.com
Richard Morrison is one of Britains greatest title sequence directors, creating more than 100 feature film title sequences over the last 30 years. Morrison explains in a documentary how his title sequences have been hugely influenced by Saul Baus and explains how working with Morris Bindler in his early career on the title sequence for James Bond helped him develop new skills and techniques.
I am a huge admirer of the work of Richard Morrison because of his unique style of title sequences such as the original Batman, The Golden Compass, Vantage Point and Sweeney Todd. Sweeney Todd is the title sequence that excites me the most because of the combination of live action and CGI animation, that builds up the suspense and tension of the film.
Morrison worked on the title sequence for Sweeney Todd with a company called th1ng, which is a leading animation and mixed media company who create TV idents, Commercials and Title Sequences. I feel this title sequence fits into my Multimedia path perfectly, as like my course, it uses many different techniques and mediums to create the abstract sequence. The sequence uses dark and shadowy scenes to create an eerie and suspenseful narrative that builds up the tension and mood of the film. The way the bloody sequence is edited, it drags the audience in and sets them up for the rest of the film.
The title sequence uses lots of sources from the film such as showing the barbers chair, the meat pies and the blood. The idea of this is to give the audience a preview of what they are about to see in the film, which I think builds the atmosphere. I also admire the composition of the sequence, with the blood being the main focus. This makes the audience follow the movement of the blood, from the blood drips on the window, to the blood between the clogs and continues towards the oven. Another area I am intrigued by is the way the blood transforms from CGI animation to live action as it flows towards the sewers, I think this is done so that the transition between the title sequence and the film is alot more subtle.
On the whole, Richard Morrisons Sweeney Todd title sequence has been a huge inspiration. Although I have not used any of the ideas and techniques used in the title sequence as of yet, the idea of mixing CGI and live action is an area I will look into in the future. I also think that the idea of building the tension and suspense with the title sequence to create the mood of the film is a technique i could use in the future.
