The visual concoction of ink intermingling with water brings boot heels, cigarette smoke and countless classifications of clouds in this title sequence for the dramatic BBC drama series Fish where “an idealistic lawyer specializes in industrial tribunals.”

“This title sequence, to a BBC 1 prime time drama based in a law firm and centred around it’s main character Fish, played by Paul McCann, was specially shot 16mm and uses film of ink spiralling into water which was then composited against animating typography of the cast to create a simple, sophisticated and classic filmic sequence.”

It was made using pure undiluted ink in water. The movement comes from simply stirring the water in a cylindrical tank. It was shot on a fixed 16mm Bolex camera and telecined to digital format for grading and editing. The frame rate was a mixture – between 25 and 60 frames a second. It’s the luck of the draw which way the ink is going to go and how it spreads, but that’s the beauty. Simple and no need for fluid fx!

“A group of old friends whose lives are thrown into chaos when one of their group commits suicide.

Despite it’s 2D appearance the sequence was animated in Maya not only to give the animator greater control of the characters and environment, but also to add fluidity and personality to the spheres. As the turn around time for the sequence was just a little longer than it takes to make a cup of tea, an added benefit of animating in Maya was that we could quickly render in HD.”