Concept and creative process
‘Shakespeare Shorts’ took scenes from the Bard's most popular plays and teamed them with familiar TV faces in the roles. It was part of the BBC’s Schools series ‘English File’ which introduced pupils to notable plays. It is the generic title sequence for that series that is shown first in this clip, with the ‘Shakespeare’s Shorts’ imagery and logo mixing on as the ‘English File’ logo mixes out. The whole sequence is layered and composited with atmospheric images suggesting handwritten manuscripts. The Shakespeare logo zooms in over the candle shot with matted-in flames visible through its shape as it resolves to the final textured form.