This title sequence was created for David Attenborough’s documentary A Life on Our Planet. The use of elementals was a large focus throughtout the process of creation as I wanted to physically show the changes, and dangers that are present within our changing climate. I wanted to reflect on the urgency of the documentary within both the imagery and original score of the title sequence. Type was manipulated to interact with the elements on screen to reflect how our ecosystem is being destroyed by human development. I wanted the tone of the title sequence to reflect the worst case scenario of climate change to cause the viewer to feel responsible and urge them to change to a more sustainable lifestyle. I also used camera like panning movements to depict a fast paced and everchanging ecosystem as one evironment shifts into another. Overall, the goal of the title sequence was to leave the viewer with a sense of wrong-doing in order to change the environement for the better.

In the early stages of my process I created moodboards, colour schemes, and researched several reference sequences. I was originally inspired by a “paper” aesthetic and wanted to use flat imagery to depict my vision. After some exploration here with storyboards and sketches, I decided that the tone of the film was not being acurately represented in this style and shifted gears to a more photorealistic approach.

Title of Project: A Life on Our Planet Title Sequence
Length/Duration: 25 seconds (5 seconds per name/title)
Aspect Ratio, Image/Frame Size, Pixel Aspect, Frame Rate, etc: 16:9 at 1920px by 1080px 29.97 fps
Output: H.264 at 1080p
Approach: Use visible changes in climate such as melting ice, forest fires and flooding as inspiration for text effects. Use typefaces used within the documentary and reflect the time clock effect in the title to keep consistency within the film and sequence.
Project Summary: In the documentary film A Life On Our Planet David Attenborough describes his lifetime on earth. In his 93 years of living he had the opportunity to visit every continent and witness the impact that humanity has had on the planet. He uses this film as his witness statement, to urge human kind to do better as a sustainable society to an impending mass extinction. The target audience for this film is for those who may not understand or have turned a blind eye to their own habits that lead to climate change and to encourage them to change their ways for the entirety of the planet. With this project I would like to reflect that urgency within the title sequence, to leave the viewer with a sense of responsibility to change their actions.
Visual Elements: Fire, Lightning, Storm Clouds, Vines, Water, Ice, Rock, Trees
Software: After Effects
Technical Research/ Anticipated Problem Areas: The only issue that I foresee is the seamlessness of transitions and the believabilty of effects.

I used sketches and jot-notes to flush out several different ideas and variations throughout the creation process. This was the most effective and quick way for me to visualize my ideas and to determine where pieces would fit. Throughout this process I determined what elements fit with what position, how the type would be manipulated, what effects I would explore, and how I would achieve a unified aesthetic. Overall, I think the sketching and brainstorming process is the part of this assignment that I am most proud of because of how thoughful I became the deeper I explored each theme.

These are examples of early renders that I created to see visually how my ideas were coming together. Looking back, I found that this portion of my process was crucial in nit-picking what works and what doesn’t.

I created the audio using FL Studio with the assistance of my friend Mahlon Bast. We wanted to create a sense of urgency within the score and were inspired by the Stranger Things title sequence audio. We chose to use more synthetic sounds to contrast with the natural aesthetic of the visuals to create a technology based tone. This creates a balance between technology and nature to depict the cause and effect of climate change.