- Born on Friday 13th 1962 in Salem, Massachusetts
- As a child spent most of his days obsessed with sketching monsters
- Received MFA from Yale school of Art
- Was the creative director at R/Greenberg Associates from 1988-1996
- Founded Imaginary Forces and then Prologue films
- Seven Emmy nominations and two win
- Has a “bold and unexpected style, conjuring emotional responses through his captivating narrative”
- He has directed over 350 main title sequences
- He enjoys title sequences because of the “juxtaposition of images in film” and prefers it to print design because “print design can provide great single moments, but I wanted to work with a sequence that had a beginning, middle and end"
What I find interesting and visually appealing about his work:
- He does a lot of designs where he mixes reality with drawings and other effects which makes it visually engaging because it is something the audience members don't see in real life which makes them curious.
- Most of his work has titles or images that come out at the audience to reveal something or change the scene which draws the audience in.
- Some of the titles he has done turn into butterflies or appear through a sparkle which will likely link to the context of the film and gives the audience a flavour of what is to come.
- He layers a lot of images and moves the text around the screen in interesting ways that are often satisfying to watch.
Kyle Cooper's opening title sequence of 'American Horror Story - Hotel'
The opening title sequence of AHS hotel is incredibly enganging and while the images are chilling and shocking the audience feels as though they can't look away and are drawn to it through some type of morbid curiosity. The first scene where the camera is focused on the hands in the wall is interupted by flashes of white light and the editing jumps around so that the hands change possition in a jerky motion. The camera then jumps out so that the audience look through a peephole so the hands are in the centre of the shot and when they reach out suddenly it acts as a jump scare. The fast paced editing and constant flashing and jumping images along with the jarring soundtrack assaults the audiences senses and actually becomes hard to bear and is severley unsettling. I think it is very effective because it perfectly introduces the series and sets the tone. The red glowing text reflects the signs used outside hotels and the use of excessive amounts of blood indicates what the series will involve. The unusual images of children and creatures climbing out of beds and the fitful mmovements creates an uncomfortable feeling in the viewers stomach which makes them apprihensive for what it to come.
Websites used for research:
jj
j
No comments:
Post a Comment