I was recently watching the 1960 film The Apartment which is one of my favourite Hollywood Classic flicks and while their opening credits are nothing really special they still had me wondering about how opening titles were created pre the advent of the computer. So I did a little search online and came across a mini -documentary called The Film before The Film. While I still have many questions about the process of creating opening titles during the past up period of graphic design I still found the documentary very interesting. I loved seeing how the design and purpose of the open titles changed over time. Oh and I also learned that the 1978 open titles to Superman were the first computer generated opening titles created for a film.
Now, we are Formatte! www.formatte.eu If you’ve ever seen a movie, you’ve seen opening titles of some kind. Opening credits have existed pretty much since the beginning of moving pictures, and they are as varied as the films themselves. “THE FILM before THE FILM” is a short documentary that traces the evolution of title design through the history of film. This short film was a research project at the BTK (Berliner Technische Kunsthochschule) that takes a look at pioneers like Saul Bass, Maurice Binder and Kyle Cooper by showing the transitions from early film credits to the inclusion of digital techniques, a resurgence of old-school style, and filmmakers' love of typography in space. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions contact us: filmbeforefilm[at]ntsdpz.com CREDITS: Research: Nora Thös, Damian Pérez Animation & Cut: Nora Thös, Damian Pérez Text & Translation: Nora Thös, Christian Mahler Sound & Dubbing: Damian Pérez Proofreading & Voice: Demetrius Papadakis Professors: Christian Mahler, Daniel Wangen Special Thanks to: Ian Albinson for his suggestions and corrections. Art of the Title for the wide range of opening titles.
Supermans Opening Titles - The First Ever To Be Digitally Generated in 1978
Úvodní titulky prvního filmu Superman z roku 1978 v HDV formátu. New video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiOZJJuXtYM
The Apartments Opening Titles (one of my fav 1960's NYC Hollywood Flicks)
The Apartment (1960) 125 min - Comedy | Drama | Romance - 16 September 1960 (France) A man tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue. Director: Billy Wilder Writers: Billy Wilder, I.A.L.