Concept and creative process
The Nazi flag was used as a symbol in its own right to top and tail this powerful title sequence for the drama series 'Colditz'. A matte was also derived from the swastika and used to transition between the still shots of the exterior of Colditz Castle, which because of its apparent impregnability was used as a prison for allied prisoners of war who had a history of being difficult or who had already attempted to escape from other camps. Monochrome stills were shot on location at Colditz Castle and filmed with limited camera movements on a rostrum camera. Negative and positive high contrast mattes were shot using the shape of the swastika, enabling optical dissolves to be made between the film elements on an aerial image camera. The flag too was lit and shot on the table, directly beneath the rostrum camera.
Stills photographer - Michael Sanders.
Designer/Director - Alan Jeapes.
Winner of the Design & Art Direction Wood Pencil for Television Graphic Design 1973.
Winner of a Royal Television Society Award for Graphic Design.