Concept and creative process
‘The Good Book Guide’ was a six-part series, a beginner’s guide to the Hebrew Bible, presented by Tony Robinson who looked at the Old and New Testament to find out why the bible is described as The Good Book. A commission from the Religious Programming Department, the brief was to create a title sequence that would attract a non-religious audience, but one interested in the rich history surrounding the Bible. The concept was literally to bring the Bible to life, from the moment it was seen in the title sequence as a book falling from the heavens, flickering open to reveal a rich history that was wide and varied but steeped in the visual iconography of the Bible. The ‘book’ was used as the central image from which a stream of images was revealed coming out of the pages, using live action, shot on 35mm film in a studio with motion-control cameras. The rich imagery was designed for live action (actors, animals, objects) to be juxtaposed with historical objects and scenes that represented different parts of the Bible. The aim was to explore the Bible both historically and in its modern form. Old Hebrew texts and the tablets of the ten commandments contrasted with TV evangelists’ on-screen representations. Actors played the parts of the angels and monks, together with doves, snakes, apples and fire. It was filmed in an atmospheric light to create an ethereal spiritual feeling of wonder and enlightenment. The title frame was on an actual book that was specially designed and made with the title created in gold ink calligraphy.