Small Talk (1994)

Concept and creative process

Ronnie Corbett hosts a show which combines the observations of children with all the fun of a panel game. Contestants have to predict the answer a child will give or match an answer to a child. For the titles a dark blue textured background was created containing rotating speech bubble shapes and a 3D pale blue ‘ST’ circle which flew up to centre screen. The circle became the frame for portraits of the young contestants which were flown onto it, each one being replaced by the next. During the portrait sequence the 3D letters of the show’s title burst out of their speech bubbles and exited the shot. The letters ‘ST’ mixed in again over the last contestant’s portrait and rotated and metamorphosed into a speech bubble. The 3D letters flew back into frame to land upon the surface of the speech bubble and form the title of the programme, which rotated again and zoomed to lose the title and frame the speech bubble inspired studio set and the live audience.