“It's adventure time,
C'mon, grab your friends,
We'll go to very distant lands
With Jake the Dog,
And Finn the Human,
The fun will never end,
It's Adventure Time!”
Through wood and wasteland penguins cuddle at the outset of the wonderful Land of Ooo. Pendleton Ward's cartwheel of an opening sequence to his Adventure Time series sports all the warm-and-fuzzies of a My Little Pony rainbow and Conan The Destroyer's Atlantean Sword. The unaffected acoustic theme, which Pen also sings, establishes the fever dream folktales that follow. This is a silly smart world punctuated with noodle-armed pounds and a few scares by dint of (what else) adventure.
A blood valentine to the fucking madness, the opening title sequence for Showtime's "Dexter" is a veritable annunciation of an unholy but likable embodiment of the common rage we can root for. It is a sociopath's ability to focus on the little things.
While stabilizing sources suggest Dexter's episodic beginning was carefully designed, it is also enjoyable to view it as slick Grand Guignol, relatable and savage. Here is a killer consumed by the pursuit of an unattainable satiety, all jaw and maw, whetting this morning-time macabre in florid, ratcheting fashion. With a twisted lick of piano wire/dental floss, a favored mosquito going red, and food gone wild, we are able to refine and contextualize the shape, scream and vision of one Dexter Morgan. The butter of all that blood, shaving to bleed and the tang of hot sauce pyrotechnics, plays toward our tendencies of psychiatrist and sidekick.
Read the rest of this entry »
A somewhat unexpected historical document, Director of Photography Rodrigo Prieto's compositions in duality give voice to Spike Lee's singular vision to begin his "25th Hour" with a quieting magnitude that exists in perfect service.
“You know, like nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.” – Napoleon
Saucy credits garnish high school foodstuff alongside screamingly mundane high school ephemera serving as cringe-worthy currency all the while inducing smile after smile. Aaron Ruell, who also plays Kipland "Kip" Ronald Dynamite, designed the opening credit sequence for Jared and Jerusha Hess' "Napoleon Dynamite" with the White Stripes' "We're Going to be Friends" easing in childlike qualities.
We had an opportunity to speak with Hess about the unique openings to his films. This week follows on from "Gentlemen Broncos," with a discussion on the genesis of the Napoleon title sequence.
“Cyclops there. Cyclops there. Cyclops there... Oh, my holy crap! Surveillance doe's. I hate those.” – Brutus
'Classic' science fiction illustrations repurposed as faux forgotten novels, exhibited on sentimental backgrounds, color each credit for the opening title sequence of Jared Hess' very funny "Gentlemen Broncos."
We had an opportunity to speak with Hess about his films, and their unique openings. Our interview continues next week with musings on his feature film debut, "Napoleon Dynamite."
Jack White steadily builds with an upholsterers touch in prelude to the opening title sequence in Davis Guggenheim's "It Might Get Loud." It is a turning out of battered axes and the men who wield them, their names embossed or tracking in the grain with the promise of one last caress like some tough poetry.
leftchannel's opening title sequence for Reto Caduff's "The Visual Language of Herbert Matter," establishes the circulation of a documentary profiling the remarkable creative variance in design, photography and film of the titular AIGA Medalist bringing an almost forgotten genius back into focus. It is a remix of Matter's remarkable creative variance that smartly retains the clarity of each medium giving the uninitiated a budding sense of the artist unbound.
The works include Matter's iconic Swiss travel posters, pavilion designs for the New York World’s Fair 1939, photographs for Condé Nast publications, corporate image programs for Knoll furniture and the New Haven Railroad, designs for the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum, covers for the legendary Arts & Architecture Magazine and imagery from his lesser known work in film, the prime example being a film on the works of Alexander Calder.
