These days, our expectations of a film start when the opening sequence flashes across the screen. Yet, with the focus so often on the big names rolling in the final credits, few give thought to the talent behind those first tantalising moments, which are integral to any good film.
And crucial to that is the movie title, its design and what it conveys to the audience. It plays a big part in the film's identity.
'The audience may not know about the background of the story. A lot of times, the prologue equence helps the audience understand the story,' says motion graphics designer Garson Yu Chi-hung who worked on John Woo's Mi:2 and Nicole Kidman's The Others.
'The whole thing is not about the title sequence. It's about the film. But it makes their film complete. When you put an elegant typeface to a beautiful picture, it is like a final touch. The audience feels, hey, this is like a complete dinner.'
Yu should know. In the past nine years, the Hong Kong-born designer has built up a formidable reputation as one of the leading title designers in Hollywood and has worked with such top names as Steven Spielberg, Tony Scott, Ridley Scott, John Woo and Ang Lee on films such as Saving Private Ryan, The Spy Game, Matchstick Men, Paycheck, The Hulk and, more recently, Something's Gotta Give. Yu is a bit of an unsung hero. While the films he has worked on have gone on to make hundreds of millions at the box office, Yu's name never makes it into the film credits. But that's fine with the baby-faced 43-year-old.
'A lot of times, the relationship between title sequence designer and the director is like that of a doctor and a patient. When they have a problem that needs to be solved, I will try to give them a solution,' Yu says.
