OFFF Cincinnati 2014 Main Titles

It’s getting hard to stay afloat in the sea of title sequences being produced each year. The dominant trend has been to create increasingly epic short films and then insert speakers and sponsors as overlays or interstitials.

Under the creative direction of Bradley “Gmunk” Munkowitz, Autofuss decided to take a radical stance and produce a title sequence for OFFF Cincinatti that centers on — wait for it — actual titles.

From Gmunk’s treatment:

For the OFFF 2014 Cincinnati titles, we were seeking to break the norm and focus the sequence entirely on Typography. In some past sequences, the speaker names seem to be always be an afterthought, stamped on top of a short film just to accommodate the directive of someone’s own personal project. In our title sequence, however, the typography (and speaker name) are the focus of the film.

We’ll build all the speaker names 100% practically, utilizing a variety of techniques from 3d printing, lazer-cutting, play on shadows and reflections, using natural elements to influence form and everything in between including classic set-making to construct a series of practical typographic setups.

Watching each vignette come together is a satisfying experience that holds up surprisingly well to repeat viewing (something important for multi-day events). It’s as though you’re peeping inside brain’s of each artist as they construct their mini-realities. That, of course, is the larger goal of a festival like OFFF.

Music by Harald Boyesen. More details on Gmunk’s project page.

Credits

Director: Autofuss
Creative Director: Bradley G Munkowitz
Director of Photography: Joe Picard
Producer: Andrew Devansky
Fabrication Advisor: Andrew Devansky
Editor: Ashley Rodholm
Colorist: Carey Burens
Music: Harald Boyesen
Anton & Irene by: Peter Clark
Yuko Shimizu by: Kirsten Ritschel
Lobulu by: Ryan Chen
Digital Kitchen by: Nate Costa
James White by: Jason Kerr
Sougwen Chung by: Rowan Ogden & Kenny Johnson
Cocolab by: Conor Grebel
GMUNK by: Bradley G Munkowitz
GMUNK typography by: Brian Gossett
OFFF Cincinnati 2014 by: Ian Colon
Lightbox Fabrication: Barry Bradshaw
DMX Master Control: Michael Beardsworth
Key Grips: Dakota Wilder, Branson Stowell

Concept, Creative Director, Lead Designer
at Autofuss
for OFFF Festival

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5 Comments

tuesday mcgowan

Congrats to GMUNK and Autofuss. I love the collaborative concept and tricky to pull off.

David Martin

Beautiful work, and I love the concept. However, I am disappointed in the designer’s inability to articulate it. Let’s be honest, the focus of the piece is not the typography itself, but the production of the typography. This, by indexical reference puts the attention on the film’s designers, not the speakers. I don’t see how this is much different from “the directive of someone’s own personal project.” It seems that perhaps his stated focus was somehow lost during the production of the piece. I also believe that Gmunk’s false sense of humility is unnecessary; designers/directors are hired specifically for a personal vision.

Brandon White

Well done! I really enjoyed watching things come together and resolve.

alain

Love it! Great variety of setups.
the one through the trees is my favourite. Very nice work!

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