Concept and creative process
Opening titles for a long-running anthology series of one-off sitcoms, many of which launched other classic comedy series. This was the generic title for the ‘Comedy Playhouse’ strand. The designer created the ‘Comedy Playhouse' logo half a dozen times in the course of the sequence, each incarnation in a different style, created in colourful plasticine animation. The animation was shot single frame on film by a rostrum cameraman with the animator working directly beneath the camera on the animation table. The length of the individual scenes within the sequence was determined by a frame count of the music, which became the blueprint for the shoot. Some of the logos were made from flat pre-cut lettering and shapes laid down in position. Others began as whole logos and were deconstructed under camera and filmed in reverse, so that they appeared to form themselves. Stop frame animation is a painstaking labour of love.