Concept and creative process
‘Living Legends’ was the title of a series of programmes which investigated the truth behind various legends like Dick Turpin, Dick Whittington and Robin Hood. Designer Bob English recalls the experience of working on the title sequence for the series: “It was a title sequence I really enjoyed working on. Since I love reading about history, the solution came quickly to me - turning the pages of an old book would reveal a different legend at every page turn. I found a specialist book binder (they still exist!) from the Royal College of Art and Design. He made a beautiful antique book for me. The front cover of the book was graced by a gold embossed logo. I still have it!
Next it was a matter of coming up with scenarios that would speak to lovers of legends. Some scenarios were generic like the closing skull and bones. Some were specific like Dick Whittington’s cat or Robin Hood’s bow and arrow. All of these scenarios were shot in two days in a small live action studio. The zoom into the open book and that first page turn was the most difficult to pull off and sadly a bit clunky! The handless page turn was achieved by using invisible string attached to the corner of the page. Next step was an edit of the footage. This was not yet the digital age and the dissolves were completed at a film laboratory. The editor created two synchronised edits - the whole sequence without any scenarios, and a cut showing only the scenarios. Both cuts, with detailed marking indicating the required length of dissolves, were sent to the lab where they used the original negatives to create the transitions.”