Ringling College of Art and Design

"Projectionists -- pull curtain before titles" This note was attached to cans of film reels containing Otto Preminger's 1955 classic, The Man with the Golden Arm. Before this, movie theaters didn't even open the curtain until the opening credits were over. The Man with the Golden Arm marked a turning point when film titles became more than just a dull roll of credits and became part of the artistic statement of the film itself. Preminger had collaborated with legendary graphic designer Saul Bass (Links to an external site.) to create a simple but arresting cut out animation that changed how we view the title sequence forever. Since that time, title sequence design has become an art form of it own, blending graphics, typography, as well as both traditional and experimental film and animation techniques to create unique visions that are sometimes more fascinating than the movies and television shows they were created for.

You will learn to:

• Introduce the principles and elements for graphic and motion design

• Apply storytelling techniques to create a visual narrative

• Utilize stop motion photography and digital imaging to create looping animations

Session 1: Title Sequences: History And Ideation Session 2: Visualizing A Storyboard Session 3: Animating Your Style Frames Session 4: Final Reel