Title Sequence: The Shape of Water

Motion Graphic Design

Assignment: Alternative Title Sequence

Film: The Shape of Water (2017)

A title sequence is a segment shown usually in the beginning or the end of a film that shows the film title, the key production members and main cast members. It uses visuals and sounds that relates to the film to establish the tone and mood of the film to the audience.

For this assignment, students are to create an alternative title sequence for a film or TV series of their choosing. The chosen film or TV series must be released between the year 2010 to 2019, and the narrative must be set in the past. The video produced must incorporate a sense of storyline that reflects the film itself, without giving away important plot points.

The film chosen for this assignment is “The Shape of Water” directed by Guillermo del Toro. The award-winning film, released in the year 2017, was nominated for 13 awards and won the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score at the 90th Academy Awards. The narrative of the film is set in 1962, during the Cold War.

Below are the posters for the film. It has no characters or objects shown in the poster, only a green backdrop with intricate designs and blotches for the first poster and an underwater scene for the second poster. I like how it seems simple, just a text in the deep blue sea but it also gives off an enigmatic tone. Not much is seen, but it still intrigues viewers. The colours and the use of water somehow has a calming effect as well. I want to try and reflect the same effect with my title sequence.

The main element that features throughout the story is water. From the title of the film, to the opening sequence, to the ending, and to the soundtrack of the film. They all have elements of water and I wanted to maintain as much of the elements from the film as possible.

Guillermo del Toro has a specific colour scheme, to fit the oppression era of the 1960s, which was teal. A lot of the characters are dressed in different shades of teal, along with the production set. The colour palette veered towards cooler tones because Guillermo del Toro wanted the noir-like, oppressive tone. He expressed the importance of using this colour scheme for his film, so I felt it was appropriate that I respect his vision and use them as well. Below is the colour palette used in the film and the illustration:

The opening and ending (shown below) of the film featured scenes that took place underwater. I wanted to incorporate a similar scene in the alternate title sequence. While the film did not feature extensive underwater scenes, colours of the seawater were used everywhere in the film.

I’ve decided not to illustrate any characters but rather show the scenes instead because what captured my attention when watching the film was actually the rustic retro visuals. The colours used in the film are mainly very green and desaturated, which hints at its dark nature. So, I wanted to entice the audience the way I was enticed when I first viewed the film, which was via colours and background designs.

There are five important scenes illustrated for this alternative title sequence: Hallway, Underwater, Laboratory, Bathroom, and River dock. The Hallway is the place of residence of the main character, Elisa Esposito. It is where she carries out her daily routine, her place of comfort and familiarity. The Underwater scene was featured during the opening and the ending of the film, and is the main central theme of the film. It was the suitable scene to introduce the names of the actors along with the objects that identifies the characters.

The lab scene was chosen because it was shown numerous times in the film. It is also the place where Elisa and Amphibian Man met and bonded. The lab has a peculiar teal-coloured tank with several pipes connecting to it with tiled steps leading to the tank. Elisa’s bathroom was selected because it was the scene when Elisa and Amphibian Man consummated their love. This goes to say that love transcends everything; it goes beyond what species one or the other could be, what means of communication they had to go through, the events that transpired that led to what happened. The river dock was the scene where the climax took place. It was the place where Elisa was to release Amphibian Man back to his home but instead Strickland caused a chaos and led to his death. In the film, the river dock was shown twice, once during a calm drizzling weather, and the other during a heavy rainstorm.

The names of the four main actress and actors (Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Michael Shannon, and Doug Jones) appears during the Underwater scene along with their associated items.

The laundry cart was illustrated as it represents the time when Elisa snuck into the lab to free Amphibian Man from the hands of Richard Strickland. This object serves as an item identification for Elisa as she tries to fight for his freedom.

The Occam Aerospace Research Facility identification card was used by Giles during their rescue operation. This card was forged by Giles (who is an illustrator) to bypass the security at the research facility.

The cattle prod is the main weapon of choice used by Richard Strickland to torture Amphibian Man. It first made appearance when Strickland enters the restroom as Elisa and Zelda was cleaning. As Amphibian Man continued to suffer at the hands of Strickland, this prompted Elisa to try aid Amphibian Man.

The date October 10 which landed on a Wednesday marked the day of the release of Amphibian Man to the river. Weather forecast predicted it would rain heavily hence providing access to the sea. It served as the film’s climax, with Strickland chasing them down to retrieve the creature back. I chose the calendar because of its significance and because it was the pinnacle of the film. It is a simple item but holds a large importance.