POY – Katrina Crawford & Mark Bashore | The White Lotus – Season 3 Main Titles

Beneath the sun-drenched backdrop of Thai luxury, HBO’s The White Lotus unravels a world where privilege, pleasure, and pain simmer until they combust. For the latest season, Plains of Yonder reunited with creator Mike White to craft a visual prelude as rich and layered as the series itself: a collection of ornately painted murals that act as chapter headings. Each frame teems with hidden narratives—lush jungles, ancient temples, and idyllic villages collide with scenes of maritime disasters and epic battles, their details whispering the show’s central themes of excess, exploitation, and the fragility of paradise.These murals are more than decorative—they’re puzzles. Zoom in, and steaming lagoons morph into metaphors for secrecy; serene landscapes crack to reveal societal fissures. Plains of Yonder’s work mirrors the show’s darkly comic soul, blending opulent beauty with hints of decay. By weaving colonialism, class divides, and existential dread into every brushstroke, the studio transforms each title card into a storyboard for the chaos to come. After all, in The White Lotus, even paradise has a price—and these visuals are its haunting receipt.

Production Co.: Plains of Yonder
Directors: Katrina Crawford & Mark Bashore
Executive Producer: Paul Williamson
Lead 3D Artist: Mauro Gimferrer, Makmac
3D Artist: Marcos Coral, Makmac
3D Artist: Arturo Gulín
3D Artist: J.A. Durán
Editors: Mark Bashore & Katrina Crawford
Still Photography: Dan McComb & Katrina Crawford
Color Grading, 2D Animation and Compositing: Jeremy Stuart
Additional Illustrations: Torin Bashore
Photoshop Compositing: Lezio Lopes
Additional 3D Experimentation: Austin Marola