Art of the Title (AOTT) is an

online publication Electronic publishing (also referred to as publishing, digital publishing, or online publishing) includes the digital publication of e-books, digital magazines, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues. It also includes the editing ...

dedicated to

title sequence A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with visu ...

design, spanning the film, television, conference, and video game industries. The publication is both an educational and historical resource and a contemporary publication, focusing on the creative process behind the design of title sequences. It combines interviews with filmmakers and directors, designers, and craftspeople with in-depth analyses and behind-the-scenes materials.

Overview

Art of the Title is the leading online resource of title design, with hundreds of title sequences available to view. The site features title design from countries around the world and aims to "honor the creators and innovators who contribute to the field, discussing and displaying their work with a desire to explicate, facilitate, and instigate."

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

has said that Art of the Title may well be the "best place to visit in search of more of these neglected wonders of film art."

Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...

called the site "a praiseworthy and priceless compendium" in 2011, and said, "Art of the Title's greatest achievement has been to single out and champion the journeymen designers who painstakingly sculpt opening ephemera." Art of the Title staff have been invited to speak at industry conferences and festivals such as

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

AIGA The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is a professional organization for design. Its members practice all forms of communication design, including graphic design, typography, interaction design, user experience, branding and identity ...

, PromaxBDA, MODE Summit, Gamercamp,

TIFF Tag Image File Format, abbreviated TIFF or TIF, is an image file format for storing raster graphics images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and photographers. TIFF is widely supported by scanning, faxing, word processin ...

Next Wave,

Nordic Media Festival The Nordic Media Festival is the largest media conference in the Nordic countries, Nordic region. Held annually in Bergen, Norway, the Festival features 100 speakers, and around 1,860 delegates attend, representing the full spectrum of the indust ...

, and TCM Classic Film Festival. They have also done several talks in partnership with the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

's Reel Comfort series.

History

Art of the Title was founded by motion designer Ian Albinson and launched in 2007 as a blog intending to highlight the design of title sequences. In 2008, Alexander Ulloa joined the site as Head Writer. In 2011, the site expanded with the addition of writers and editors Lola Landekic and Will Perkins in the roles of Managing Editor and Senior Editor, respectively. In 2011, the Art of the Title team curated the title design section of the ''Graphic Design — Now in Production'' exhibition, co-organized by the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, t ...

and the Smithsonian Institution's

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile (New York City), Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the ...

. The exhibition ran from October 22, 2011 – January 22, 2012 at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and then was taken on a tour including stints in New York, Los Angeles, Grand Rapids, Houston, Winston-Salem, and Providence. A comprehensive, illustrated catalogue produced by the

and featuring an 18-page section on title design curated and written by Art of the Title accompanies the exhibition. In 2012, the site launched a redesign developed in partnership with New Zealand-based studio CactusLab. The redesign adopted a responsive structure, allowing the site to "seamlessly adapt from desktop to mobile" and to provide "better cross-referencing of data alongside new bio pages for title designers and studios." In 2013, the site went down temporarily when its

Iron Man 3 ''Iron Man 3'' (titled onscreen as ''Iron Man Three'') is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Ir ...

article was linked from

Robert Downey, Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...

's Facebook page. In April 2015, the site announced an exclusive look at the James Bond ''

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...

'' title sequence, which turned out to be a

rickroll Rickrolling or a Rickroll is an internet meme involving the unexpected appearance of the music video for the 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up", performed by the English singer Rick Astley. The video has over 1 billion views on YouTube. The m ...

. Readers' reactions ran the gamut from outrage to kudos. In June 2017, site editors Lola Landekic and Will Perkins hosted a screening and discussion of films by designers and filmmakers

Saul Bass Saul Bass (; May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. During his 40-year career, Bass wor ...

and

Elaine Bass Elaine Bass (née Makatura, born 1927) is an American title designer and filmmaker. Elaine worked for 40 years alongside Saul Bass, a graphic designer, title designer, and filmmaker whom she married in 1961. Together, they developed many project ...

at the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

in Washington, DC. In November 2018, Art of the Title was the first publication to confirm news of title designer

Pablo Ferro Pablo Ferro (January 15, 1935 – November 16, 2018) was a Cuban-American graphic designer, film titles designer, and founder of Pablo Ferro Films. Childhood Born in Antilla, Oriente Province, Cuba, he was raised on a remote farm before emigrat ...

's death. Editor-in-Chief Lola Landekic contributed to Ferro's obituary in ''The Washington Post''.

SXSW Title Design Awards

From 2010-2014, Art of the Title facilitated and participated in the jury of the

Excellence in Title Design Awards, part of the

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

. In 2013, Ian Albinson hosted a discussion at the title screening event, and then announced the winners at the Film Awards. In 2014, Lola Landekic and Will Perkins gave a talk ahead of the Title Design Awards and hosted a discussion with filmmaker and designer Henry Hobson.

References

External links

Official WebsiteAn interview with Ian Albinson99% Invisible Podcast – Episode 28: Movie Title Sequences
Internet properties established in 2007 Canadian film websites Film and television opening sequences Film archives in Canada Websites about animation Online film databases Works about film

Overview

History

SXSW Title Design Awards

References

Further reading

External links