HALO 4: Forward Unto Dawn – Title Sequence + Q&A – Polynoid

In December of last year Halo 4 came out and the world rejoiced. Along with it came a web series called Forward Unto Dawn which was a live action VFX set that brought the Halo universe to life. It opened with 5 fantastic title sequences created by Polynoid a German Design/VFX house.

From the Press Release:

Polynoid’s microfilms illustrate the intense relationship between Cortana, an artificial intelligence entity and indispensable aide to Master Chief, the long-time hero of the Halo series. Set aboard a spacecraft, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, as it drifts towards imminent doom, Cortana must battle to awaken Master Chief from cryo-stasis before it’s too late.

“For us, Cortana was the centerpiece around which we spun our story,” said Polynoid’s Jan Bitzer. “When we started working out the scenes and shots, we did it under the premise that Cortana is the only ‘alive’ being we could play with.”

With elegantly framed shots, drifting cameras and gloomy lighting, Polynoid emphasized the soul-crushing loneliness aboard the nearly empty spacecraft. To effectively communicate the passing of time, Polynoid switched from the relative calm of zero-gravity to intense time-lapsed action.

“[The time lapse sequence] was technically the most challenging. We spent a lot of time tweaking it; always trying to improve every shot simultaneously to guarantee a consistent quality for the overall piece,” Bitzer noted.

Polynoid and Blacklist collaborated with 343 Industries every step of the way, carefully guarding production from the massive press surrounding “Halo 4.” “Polynoid are gamers, and this was a dream opportunity,” said Blacklist Executive Producer Adina Sales. “This project was a perfect fit for our team.  343 was looking for a sophisticated interpretation and they encouraged us to push the artistic lense.  Polynoid had a clear vision from the outset and we were determined to deliver in spades.  We’re very proud of the results.”

Here you can see a detailed making of that goes through their entire process from conception:

Don’t forget to check out their site page for the sequence for some stills and styleframes!

We dropped them a line to do a little Q&A with Polynoid’s Jan Bitzer and Fabian Pross.  Here’s a snippet but click ‘Full Interview’ to view the entire thing!

Fabian Pross on the FX:

We used Softimage ICE for almost all our effects work. The rampancy is actually not simulated, but a combination of procedural modeling and some keyframes.

Jan Bitzer on the Asset Development

343 Industries provided us with most of the CG assets which we had to bring together on an equal production level. Some elements where very high poly and had to be optimized, while others were simplified game assets and needed detail work.

 

Full Interview

Onesize: FITC Amsterdam

Stunning main titles for FITC Amsterdam 2013 by Onesize. The design is by Bradley G Munkowitz (aka GMUNK), who also did the whole design package for the festival. More info on the project and collateral pieces here (and a process video below).

The main inspiration for the creative came from the DMT-Delicious moments in the super-favorite film Enter the Void… Munko has been on a tunnel infinite-void kick for some years now and wanted to build a practical, LED installation driven by graphic sequencing, utilizing the techniques learned from the FOTB Titles and applying them into a more densely packed setup called the PYRADICAL… Once the Pyrad was constructed, the aim was to capture the visuals with both high-resolution Film and Still cameras, which would generate a vast library of content to pull from to produce the artwork for the Conference Package.

Credits

In-Depth Coverage: Stylefames NY Opener

Conference openers have become the vehicle of choice for many studios to show what they can do without an overbearing client or agency brief hemming them in. The creative contraints for conference openers are usually very loose (probably owning to the guilt organizers feel for not being able to pay anyone for their work), inviting experimentation and risk-taking that’s hard to find in the commercial world.

While the budgets may be low, the expectations are very high. And for a conference about “the art of the pitch,” the expectations are unusually high.

A Meeting of the Minds

Enter co-directors Anthony Scott Burns and Chris Bahry of Tendril, who created an epic, sci-fi noir opener for the inaugural Style Frames NY event getting underway today.

As usual, the audio deserves as bright a spotlight as the visuals — and in this case, the man behind the audio, John Black (CypherAudio) had a special role to play in this collaboration.

We got the inside scoop on the process behind the project from John Black, Anthony Scott Burns and Chris Bahry of Tendril.

Interview with Anthony Scott Burns, Chris Bahry (Tendril) and John Black (Cypheraudio)

John, let’s start with you, since it many ways this collaboration began with you. Tell us how that came about.

John Black/Cypheraudio: During my initial meeting with Stephen and Heather [of Stash Magazine, organizers of the Style Frames NY event], they asked me who I would be interested in working with to create the opening. I immediately suggested Tendril.

Read on for loads of process imagery and behind the scenes details… →

PES for Het Klokhuis

PES strikes again, this time to create a title sequence for Dutch show “Het Klokhuis.”

EMA 2012 by Sehsucht

Sehsucht brings the 2012 MTV EMA titles to life by crafting a 3D zoetrope, a fast-moving carousel that evokes the illusion of motion through a fast succession of static elements which come to life with a stroboscopic light.

(more…)

Prologue: “Elementary” Title Sequence

Prologue’s Creative Director Simon Clowes has crafted an elegantly sinister title sequence for CBS’ new series, “Elementary,” starring Jonny Lee Miller as a contemporary Sherlock Holmes. (It has tough competition in BBC’s “Sherlock,” also a modern recasting of the venerable sleuth at 221B Baker Street.)

Simon carries Prologue’s legacy of impeccably crafted title work forward. His penchant for live action elements reminds me of my favorite work from Kyle Cooper, Prologue’s founder. Both Cooper and Clowes’ work leverage visual metaphors to foreshadow elements of the narrative ahead.

Both also bring a graphic designer’s eye to their framing. Credits appear in perfectly shaped lagoons of negative space, nestled between gritty textures and golden light. It’s a subtle art, one that Clowes commands with a mastery befitting Prologue.

Tip ‘o the hat to Ash Thorp.

Graphic Design—Now in Production

If you’re in LA, don’t miss the Graphic Design—Now in Production exhibition at the Hammer, showcasing the evolution of Graphic Design over the past decade. Title sequences curated by Art Of The Title (watch the montage).