Antiques Roadshow (1993)

Concept and creative process

The title sequence for Series 15 of ‘Antiques Roadshow’ was filmed as a studio motion control shoot. The studio was dressed in the style of a grand dining room, with pictures on the wall behind a large dining table on which were displayed antique objects of all shapes and sizes, including a large wooden box with the programme logo inlaid in marquetry on the lid. Several identical computer-controlled passes were filmed of the complex arrangement of antique objects, some of which were mechanical. The filming was done in real time with several different camera moves which could be tracked and matched in post-production. This enabled programme footage to be composited on the move inside the frame of the painting on the wall behind the table set-up. The final moved was timed to arrive at the marquetry logo on the wooden box lid just as it opened. A matte was created in post-production to follow this action and enable a wipe to the first scene of the programme. The theme music was written by Paul Reade and Tim Gibson and published by Air Edel.