Concept and creative process
Titles for ‘Lovejoy’, a drama series about a shady antiques dealer starring Ian McShane. Lovejoy had been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for dealing in stolen goods. He emerged from prison determined to find out who had framed him. The title sequence obliquely referenced several aspects of the antiques trade, from auction sale lots of paintings and drawings to antique objects, such as coins or firearms, that come under the hammer. It also hinted at the fakes and forgeries that come up for auction, passed off as genuine works of art, in a world where hopes and dreams can be realised or shattered by expert opinion. The scenes for the titles were filmed live action in a small studio and edited in the Graphic Design cutting room. The title lettering was prepared as photoset artwork and filmed from backlit Kodaliths under a rostrum camera. The credits were composited with the film backgrounds in a film optical. The programme title itself was made as a metal plaque and filmed, affixed to the frame of a painting and surrounded by broken shards of glass.