I realize that most people cant find the time of day to click on videos so here is a contact sheet with some screen shots.
This Title sequence was done by Digital Kitchen who are also responsible for the acclaimed Six Feet Under and Dexter sequences as well. [ I may have to post the dexter one as well, its just too good!]
The sequence is perfect. It captures all the elements of the show, the characters, plot, look and feel and almost leaves you feeling slightly unsettled by the end. The creators wanted to make a comparison between the plot of the show which features vampires as social outcast characters and real life relatable racial and social outcasts of america. Another major theme is the act of being reborn. The sequence features flashes of images representing this throughout like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar or the baptism near the end. I think that by using images and ideas that don't directly relate to the content of the film but allude to the main ideas was an effective way of drawing in an audience that may not be interested in the content of the show to begin with. I especially love the way that they juxtapose the concepts of sex, violence and religion together, and what better way to than to show a kid in a KKK hat, entangled naked bodies and bar fights all entwined in one perfect little package. Brilliant. We are also presented with the idea of hunter vs hunted with the snake ready to attack and frog getting eaten by a plant and most of the scenes feeling like they are from the POV of a predator stalking its prey. And who doesn't love the kid with smudged strawberries all over his face which totally looks like blood. Come on!
Aesthetically I think the beauty of this sequence is the format in which it was filmed and edited. Besides the fact that the captured footage itself is interesting to watch, the fact of the matter is the footage is shot on all kinds of different medias. It ranges from home video dv cams to old school super 8 film to 16 mm to HD. Impressive stuff, and they also approached it as a experimental project, where they went on a four day filming rampage with very little pre-story boarded and very little frames considered before hand. As if that wasn't enough the editing techniques range from splattering single frames of blood drops throughout the sequence, almost not to be seen, to dropping out frames of movement to make them feel jarring and out of control, causing the viewer to feel slightly uneasy. I think this vivid title sequence is extremely effective in capturing the mood, setting the tone for the show and covering most of the overall concepts within the show. And it is just straight up pleasing to watch. props to the people at digital kitchen!
- I am currently in need of an idea for my Discovery project. Perhaps playing around with dropping frames like in this video could be fun... hmmmmmm. I'll ponder that.
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