Entertainment USA (1986)

Concept and creative process

The titles for this already well-established weekly show, launched in 1983, were ready for a rebrand. The show contained a mix of entertainment news, film clips, interviews and music from a different US city each week, presented by Jonathan King, who also wrote and performed the series title track ‘I’ll Slap Your Face’. The new titles were created by designer John Salisbury from illustrations by Chris Tucker and existing publicity photographs of Jonathan King, which he filmed in the BBC Rostrum Camera Department with Colin Hancock in a complex shoot involving multiple camera passes and matte runs. The pyrotechnics and light effects were added optically at Aerial Image and the sequence was edited by Graphic Design Editor Dave Farlie. The new sequence re-used the existing series logo and location map device designed by Marc Ortmans to resolve the ending. The programme was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 1987.