“Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless; like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.” – Bruce Lee

Art of the Title: How did you develop the various artistic styles for the film? The differences are striking.

Nina Paley: I immersed myself in Ramayana art. There’s thousands of years of it from pretty much every country in South and Southeast Asia. I had no shortage of inspiration. The visual styles included in “Sita” are but a tiny sampling of what’s out there. As to how I chose…everything in the film felt like it chose itself. If anything seemed to work, I went with it; if something didn’t work, I threw it back.

ATS: Why did you feel that this story needed to be a feature film?

NP: I wanted to work through the story for personal reasons. It’s a big story; it called for feature length. Initially it was just a short, “Trial by Fire,” which was 3 minutes. Most audiences liked it but didn’t get the Ramayana references. I realized I’d have to expand the story for audiences to receive my message. My art isn’t finished until an audience “gets” it.

ATS: How did you finalize the structure?

NP: Intuitively.

ATS: With regards to in the incredible intricacy of the storytelling, how did you know what something was right; is it from the gut?

NP: From the gut, or maybe the heart. I like to think all my organs were cooperating on this, even my brain.

ATS: How did you discover Annette Hanshaw’s music?

NP: After my husband dumped me by e-mail I was staying with various friends-of-friends. One place belonged to a record collector, and some old Hanshaw sides were on his shelf. My friends played Hanshaw’s “Mean to Me” and I was hooked. Later one friend bought me an all-Hanshaw CD he found. I played that thing over and over during the months after my break-up.

ATS: What qualities does it possess for you to lead to its historic usage?

NP: The synchronicity of the Hanshaw songs and Sita’s story is uncanny. This impresses audiences and allows the film’s point to be made: the story of the Ramayana transcends time, place and culture. Because the songs feature an authentic voice from the 1920’s, they demonstrate that this story emerged organically in history. New songs composed by the director, while they could be entertaining, could not make that point. They would be a mere contrivance, whereas the authentic, historical songs give weight to the film’s thesis. They are in fact the basis of the film’s thesis, irrefutable evidence that certain stories - like the story of Sita and Rama - are inherent to human experience.

ATS: What element of the film is closest to your heart?

NP: I think my favorite scene is “Agni Pariksha,” that rotoscoped bit that comes shortly after the intermission. It doesn’t feel anything like the rest of the film - it’s not funny at all. It was my attempt to convey what my heartbreak felt like, emotionally. Although I only got a tiny little fraction of the experience in there, I think it works. In some ways it’s the heart of the movie.

ATS: How are you keeping the copyright issue from overshadowing the film itself? How will copyright inform your creativity on future projects?

NP: I am never again going to close-license (”copyright”) my own art. Any publisher or distributor that wants to work with me is going to have to accept an open license. Open content has been generating lots of money in software for years; it’s time for popular culture to follow.

ATS: What is next for you?

NP: Freeing “Sita”! I’m currently a full-time Free Culture activist. And I plan to make some short cartoons on this current obsession.

Watch/download/burn the full-length animated film at Archive.org! The H.264 MPEG4 encodes are courtesy of Art of the Title.

Art of the Title: What was the impetus for the show?

Stephane Coedel: Being huge fans of sci-fi and horror movies from the 50’s, this opening title was clearly a tribute to all those cheesy and naive visions of constant threats to humanity with stop-motion robots, actors in monster suits and model kit cities under attack. I’ve always been fascinated by hand made sfx and the little mistakes which make the whole thing feel warm. That was the main inspiration for this title.

ATS: The pacing is very interesting. There is room to breathe. Did that give you more freedom with your work?

SC: It was the first time I worked with Pete Candeland (Gorillaz music videos, Rockband) When we first met, we decided what needed to be told in the open, he showed me some sketches he did to give me an idea of the kinds of scenes he had in mind. I was then free to come up with any idea. He trusted me totally. I think each of us got lucky in the way that we are both fans of this kind of quirky “sci-fi/horror” style, and I’ve been collecting soundtracks and old sci-fi art pieces and books for ages now so I had everything ready to be used. The whole process went really smoothly. I would even say it was quite easy; right team, right timing, right combination of minds and talents.

ATS: Tell us about the organic elements to your process with regard to the animatics.

SC: I first came up with a rough storyboard quickly edited on a reference mix I did, using few different soundtracks from old movies and TV series (”The Day The Earth Stood Still,” Bernard Herrmann, “Echo Four Two,” Laurie Johnson and the “Chips” TV series by Bruce Broughton).

I always choose the music before animating or editing. It helps me to make the rhythm flow, to picture what should be the final result and how to choose each element, to give more impact to the edit. After that, we sent the rough animatic as a reference to Ben Locket, the composer. And to Kevin Dart, who started to produce some of the backgrounds and creatures. I asked him to be as free as he liked, since his style fit perfectly with the tone of the project.

Then I produced a colorboard to decide of how the lights and colors would evolve with the music and the edit.

And then came the real animation and compositing process. Kevin sent me his backgrounds and monsters. I retouched them to include them in the shots (mainly adding some more color tones and cutting them out in pieces for the animation). I wanted to give the audience the same feeling I had when I saw these old monster movies; the grainy picture, Ray Harryhausen style of animation for the giant killer robots and monsters. As if they were either stop-motion animated models or animatronics mixed with real footage like the smoke, the sparkles, the lights.

The quirky voice over was directly inspired by one movie from the 50’s called Kronos. The aim was to make the whole thing feel not perfect, the less computerized I could, and make it feel warm. I had 5 weeks to do the whole thing.

ATS: What are the chances this will ever see the light of day as an online series? I’ll assume the cancellation was excruciating -good projects die. But this is an era of desktop democratization so, as I see it, nothing worth its salt should fizzle. Do not creatives bear a greater responsibility to see the inherent good ideas through?

SC: Cartoon Network didn’t pick it, but it doesn’t mean that the project is dead especially since I put the opening titles online. The feedback from everybody is extremely positive and it makes us hopeful for a brighter future for Pete’s concept. I think he even got in touch with some people interested in his idea. So I think we can be very optimistic about it.

ATS: What was it like to create something with a basis of progression and evolution and have it taken away from you?

SC: So far it has been my best professional experience. Basically I was asked to do what I love in the way I wanted it. Even though I made it to serve and advertise someone else’s concept, I consider it to be one of my most personal projects. And it was really amazing to have the chance to work with so many talented and humble people.

The funny thing is that it was the first time I was working with Kevin. I was already a huge fan of his work, I just bought one of his art pieces for my brother’s Christmas gift and a week later, I got a call from Cartoon Network telling me that I would be working with someone called Kevin Dart! No need to tell you how I felt!

ATS: Do you consider yourself a natural artist? How much of what you do is self-taught?

SC: I’m not sure I know what an artist is really. The only thing I’m sure of is that I always use each job as an opportunity to develop and enrich my inside world, I try as hard as I can to come up with a personal vision. I can be inspired but I always use my way to translate that inspiration into something personal.

ATS: From your experience (since 1998 only!), what is graphic design like in Paris compared to that of London?

SC: I found the gap between Paris and London really obvious on many levels. First, I left Paris because I felt my career wasn’t evolving anymore. Even though I was experienced and my qualities had improved, it seemed that no one was seeing it. I visited a few motion design companies before I moved and I have to say, it’s much harder to get to meet someone in Paris than in London! I don’t know why but they always had something else to do. I never had any problem meeting the person in charge in any of the studios I visited in London. I even got to meet the big boss sometimes.

Another big difference is the trust. When I arrived here, people only saw me from my reel. I thought I would have to start over again, working as an animator in a team, but my first job was a directing job! This is extremely rare to get that kind of opportunity in Paris. Maybe because the advertising market in London is extremely dynamic compared with Paris, people are more likely to take risks. There’s an energy here that I can’t find in France, everything is pushing you up. You’re surrounded by a lot of very motivated and enthusiastic people who are all looking forward to doing great things.

Animation is everywhere in London! Out of 10 advertisers, 7 are using motion graphics here. There are between 20 and 30 motion design or animation studios that are for for the most part, always busy. In Paris there’s 6 or 10 of them.

I think the mentality in London and in Paris is very different in the way people see motion designers, in the relation people have with money (it’s really hard in France to be paid well for what you do unless you’re a bit famous. People have a real problem with money! It’s a constant fight to get your salary in time or even get a correct one.)

I think moving to London is the best idea I ever had. I love Paris and I really want to go back there one day but it won’t happen before a while. I’m enjoying my job here so much!! I get to meet great people and talents! I’m learning so much from them!

ATS: Can you give us an example of something you took away from one of your collaborative projects? Which gives you a greater satisfaction, collaboration or a project that is entirely your own?

SC: Honestly I think that so far, “Kid Cole & Klay” is the project that gave me the most satisfaction. Firstly, because I got to work with Pete Candeland and Kevin Dart. And as ridiculous as it can sound, it was like if I was a kid who got to be friend with Superman! Haha!

I was witnessing the creative process of a TV show, I was in total control of my part of the job in the way that Pete gave me full freedom on the title. Back in France I used to be kind of a control freak, it was a bit hard for me to trust people I worked with, but on this job I was collaborating with very talented and skilled artists. So it was easy to trust them.

ATS: Who inspires you?

SC: Windsor McKay, Ray Harryhausen, Jim Henson, Michel Gondry, Rod Serling, Saul Bass, Brad Bird, Norman McLaren, Hayao Miyazaki, Satoshi Kon, Rene Laloux, Ray Bradbury, Jules Verne and many others.

ATS: What are you working on now?

SC: At the moment, I’m directing a new opening title for another pilot for Cartoon Network and at the same time, I’m co-directing a trailer with Kevin Dart for his new series of illustrations about Yuki 7 a secret female agent.

“First step of the work in progress. The temporary soundtrack is a rough mix I did of few vintage sci-fi movie soundtracks. At this stage we didn’t contact the composer yet. We were still focusing on the rhythm and the general mood we were seeking.”

“Second step of the work in progress. The music is composed, but the voice over is not finalized. I did a colorboard of the whole title to find the right variations and atmospheres.”

“This is a pilot of another unproduced TV series created by Rikke Asbjorn. It was co-directed by Rikke Asbjorn and Chris Garbutt. The Character design is from Rikke, Chris did the Storyboard, I did the backgrounds, the animation, compositing and the sound design. The end title music is a retouched version of “Music to drive by” from Joe Loss Concertium.”

“We started looking for references, to principally represent ‘the lies’ which center the film. It occurred to us to use volumetric typography to make a disorganized thing that, with the passing light and shadow, would ‘tell the truth’ and show the titles. With director Diego Sabanés, we began adjusting this idea. He insisted on recreating the scenarios of the film so as to maintain the climax. The result is what you see, a mix of textures, parts of the house, and a game of shadows.”

Art of the Title: Please tell us about your process of working with Tarsem; did you understand the magnitude of the film, and to that end, how did the nature of the title sequence [being independent from the film itself...as well as a front loaded coda] influence the evolution of your design?

Stefan G. Bucher: Tarsem is a genius, and The Fall is a masterpiece. That much was clear from the moment I saw the first photos Stephen Berkman had taken on set, and particularly after Tarsem showed me a rough cut. Even in that format it was epic.

Tarsem initially called me in to design a book of photography from the movie (shot by Stephen Berkman, Steven Colover, Ged Clarke and Tarsem) , which was printed in a very limited edition and sent out as a promotion. In the course of that project I designed a logo for THE FALL that was intended solely for the book. But of course, I secretly had my eye on the titles, and was very excited when Tarsem decided to use the logo for the film and the collateral materials.

This is also how I got involved on the typography for the rest of the titles and end credits. Tarsem had done some rough versions of the type for the opening credits and showed it to me. Less than perfect type is personally upsetting to me, and I felt that the typography for the Fall should be as beautifully considered as the film itself, so I basically pleaded that he let me do the job. Luckily, if there’s anybody who understands that sort of urgent artistic need, it’s Tarsem.

His brief to me was to make the titles beautiful, elegant, and as close to invisible as possible. Which meshes with my own aesthetic for this type of situation. It’s always my goal to make the typography feel so organic that you don’t even notice it as its own, separate element.

Pablo Ferro’s titles were on my mind, and definitely influenced the choice of font. His style of handwriting would’ve been the wrong tone here, but he’s one of the few people who use very light lettering, and that’s what I thought would fit The Fall.

We went with Univers Light Condensed. It’s just about as simple as you can get, and even though it’s a modern font it soaks up Tarsem’s take on Deco and Art Nouveau. It feels much more period appropriate to my eye than actual fonts from that time, which would come off as cliché. The same goes for the title itself, which is a heavily modified version of Univers. As for the swooshes, they were inspired by the Indian’s sword, but I think it’s obvious that I’m also a great admirer of Margo Chase and Marian Bantjes, whose swirly magnificence is always floating around in my head.

Tarsem was the one who edited the whole opening sequence, and there’s not a frame out of place. It’s a gorgeous sequence that was perfect — and also entirely sacrosanct. When I started working out the timing with my colleague John R. Waters of Atomic Zoo, who was in charge of the animation, we basically worked backwards. Legally, each credit has to be on screen for the exact same amount of time. After we determined what images should hold title cards, we had to use the shortest of those edits as our master length. From there it was a question of testing fade durations to make the appearance of short titles feel natural on long shots. It was a puzzle.

We also decided to put some of the type into perspective, letting it nestle under the bridge, in particular. We didn’t do it consistently, or as a huge, epic effect as David Fincher had done for Panic Room, but only in the one or two instances where a static title over the stately pans would’ve been distracting. We always saw the titles as belonging inside the space of the film.
When the pans occurred over open vistas, the type could conceivably float in that space, but the sharp lines of the bridge made it necessary to lock the type to the camera motion and to the perspective of the bridge. I’m always happy when I hear that people didn’t even notice we did that.

ATS: What qualities of the film informed your decisions? Do you ever go outside the film or project or medium to draw inspiration? Any examples of that?

SGB: I do a lot of design work for fine artists (through the Los Angeles gallery L.A. Louver) and photographers. Tarsem’s images felt very much of that kind to me. I’m always inspired by the work itself, and it’s always my goal to structure the typography as an extension to the piece that feels inevitable. At that point, I go on instinct. This is what feels right to my eye.

ATS: Who are your heroes in type design? What recent work has impressed you?

SGB: Everyone loves Marian Bantjes, and I’m no exception. I also love the lettering of Doyald Young. As I mentioned, I love Pablo Ferro and Margo Chase. Mark Farrow is always fantastic. There are a lot of amazing young designers doing motion work and if I try to name any of them, the people I’ll fail to mention will make me look foolish. There’s just such an abundance of great work coming out right now. It’s a golden age for typography, particularly in motion graphics. So much of it is so beautiful and painterly.

ATS: Can you tell us a little bit about the first moment when you knew you wanted to work in graphic design?

SGB: I started as an illustrator. Which is to say I started drawing when I was little and then figured out how to get my work printed as I got older. It’s always been about control. With each project I get a tiny slice of the world that I can bend to my will, that’s under my complete control. I love that! I’ve always loved that. Graphic design entered the mix when I figured out that I could control the typographic AND the illustrative visuals.

ATS: What are you working on now, what are you pondering?

SGB: Right now I’m working on art catalogs for Enrique Martinez Celaya and Deborah Butterfield (through L.A. Louver) and on a new book of my own called “The Graphic Eye — Photographs by Graphic Designers,” which will be in stores this fall. But of course the Daily Monsters are my main focus. Now that the book of the first 100 Monsters is out I’m getting into longer animated sequences for the creatures. Some of their cousins are about to appear on the rebooted Electric Company on PBS starting with the series premiere on MLK Day.

ATS: What is the last good book you read?

SGB: I know it’s a few years old by now, but I loved “Pattern Recognition” by William Gibson.

Art of the Title strongly recommends viewing a slideshow of this Flickr pool a few days after experiencing the film.