The Modular Approach to the Title Sequence

Over the course of the past few decades, the role of opening title sequences has evolved from a simple objective to deliver top priority credits in the beginning of a film or show with basic to intermediate level branded graphics, to become a strong standing work of art within the feature itself. The old way of simply delivering a title has become something anyone can do on their home laptop computer with a consumer level NLE software. Today, it takes a high quality, intricately designed sequence to effectively hook and ensure the audience of the professional level of the film or show, and further hype them for what is to come. The more artistic and intricate of a sequence, the more the audience is assured that the creative team has invested their heart and soul into delivering a quality story well worth the time to watch. This being said, the objective of this thesis is to take the opening title sequence to the next level - anti-redundancy through modular design. Today, there is one issue that plagues even the coolest, most enjoyable opening title sequences in TV shows - the sequence remains unchanged throughout the duration of the entire season, and because of this, Netflix has implemented a skip intro button for the end user to use. This thesis project strives to formulate a method of title sequence production that enables the creators to rapidly form varying iterations of their sequences on a per episode basis and expand the probability of capturing audience attention and compelling them to watch it through from start to finish. Furthermore, the evolution of the title sequence will be used not only to provide intrigue by new experience per episode, but also take the audience to a different character\u27s point of view when applicable, as some episodes will deviate and delegate more time to a different lead or supporting role. The approach of this thesis will implement one of the most versatile and effective artistic tools commonly used in especially large-budget productions - 3D modeling and animation meshed with live action. This combination of artistic means enables the artist to take viewers into very unique and captivating perspectives, providing very engaging experiences to draw intrigue