Before, a psychological thriller telling the story of Eli (Billy Crystal), a child psychiatrist grappling with the recent loss of his wife. He meets a troubled young boy with an eerie connection to his past and is drawn into a mysterious world “where memories intertwine with reality.”
The main title moves as if tuning a radio, scrubbing through static, and blending sounds until a familiar image comes into focus, only to be quickly obscured and lost within the memories. To accomplish this in production, Digital Kitchen’s approach was focused around how to capture as much as possible in-camera. The use of vintage camera lenses, including the radioactive Super Takumar Vintage, added unique visual effects, light distortions and color artifacts that enhance the sequence’s otherworldly feel. This method allowed the shots to feel as authentic to memories and hallucinations as possible, with subtle light effects, color artifacts and distortions intensifying the ethereal essence.
“We wanted this show’s opening sequence to feel both archival and modern, and by using a variety of vintage camera lenses and digital infrared cameras, we were able to successfully capture and achieve that dreamlike-quality effect,” explains Mason Nicoll, executive creative director at Digital Kitchen.
My role was as an art director, animator, and lead compositor. I was in charge of the final conform, project pipeline, and delivery.
Before | Main Title Sequence
Before - Main Title Behind the Scenes