Concept and creative process
Titles for ‘The World About Us’, a long-running natural history documentary series, created in 1967 by David Attenborough when he was Controller of BBC2. These iconic titles became synonymous with the programme and were still in use until the end of its twenty-year run in 1987. This variation was made using the video technology of the day to create a four-way split of the original 1977 full-frame image of the rotating metallic globe. The 4-way split screen dissolved to a full screen close-up of a single moving globe, which instantly zoomed back and faded out. It left behind a 4 -way split screen background of a frozen frame detail of the globe in a kaleidoscopic pattern. In the centre of this pattern the programme title frame faded in, revolving and zooming up until it filled the frame.