Wicked Title Sequence

Title Sequences are my favourite aspect of graphic design. I believe a powerful and engaging title sequences is what keeps butts in the seats that little bit longer. If you bore the audience straight away with an ugly and dull sequence youre setting them up for a fall. The first 10/20 minutes of a film are crucial especially in the age of online streaming where you can pick and drop films in seconds. 

For this project we were asked to take a book and make a tv show 30 second title sequence. My favourite theatre show on the planet happens to be Wicked, which thankfully was a book first! So using the costumes, actors and sets used in the theatre, I drew them in a low poly vector style which is simple but effective.

To start the project I wrote down the key scenes that were crucial to the story line, but not enough to spoil it. These are the scenes;

- The Time Dragon Clock
- Elphabas Birth
- Going to The University of Shiz
- The Emerald City of Oz
- The political unrest between humans and Animals
- Love affairs and flying monkeys
- Glinda the Good
- Defying Gravity 

I have designed the piece using direct screenshots from the play. For example the scene between the Governor of Munchkinland and Nanny at the birth of Elphaba.

For the cast list I have chosen characters that I thought would work well. 

Elphaba - Alice Fearn (Current Westend Elfie)
Glinda - Sophie Evans (Current Westend Glinda)
Oz - Iain Holme
Fiyero - Bradley Jayden
Madame Morrible - Madaleine Pestch
Doctor Dillamond - James McCavoy

I really enjoy working with minimalist designs. (Mainly because I cant draw faces but shh!) 
During this project I was having some personal difficulties with my mental health. I had a really slow start to the project and couldn't find my love for it despite Wicked being my favourite story. 

Above is the progression of me getting into the project. 
I started by creating the first character, Elphaba. (Image 1)
This was basic, and I was happy with it. So I started to create the other characters. 
During this time making others I started to play with Shading. 
Over the next week I had adjusted the design 4 times and had a finished character that i was happy with. Multiple shades of colours and shading adding depth and character. 

Each character went through multiple stages during the day.

So that the Characters are editable as this is a motion graphic piece, I had drawn and grouped each limb separately so that each section could be individually moved in after effects.  

Some parts I drew never made it into the project or did in very close up views like the clock which you see at the start. 

Piecing the piece together was simple when i found the music. 'Green' By Todrick Hall from his youtube film 'Straight Outta Oz'. Straight Outta Oz is the second solo studio album and original musical written and produced by American singer-songwriter and YouTube celebrity, Hall. 

Using the songs 4 beat progression I was able to grab 30 seconds of the chorus which works wonderful with the subject. The words are 

"

They want that green money
But the, the green lies
And the grass ain't greener on the other side
To get that green money
Would you walk that green mile
Then pose for the camera while you wave and you smile
For the (green)

Come and get it
C-Come and get it

Won't you get it, forget it
I'll bet that you're gonna regret it, oh
Tonight you got the green light
But once you go green, you're green for the rest of your life"

This song is of course written about the green skin of the witch, although Straight Outta Oz is a modern take on the wizard of oz, the basic theory of the words still well applies for the story of wicked too. 

When the words GREEN are said, I broke up the scenes with a flash of the word GREEN to connect the song to the piece and to reinforce that green is such a big part of the world of Oz and its inhabitants. 

The font I have used is very similar to the book and the theatre show. 
I haven't found what the original font is called, but the one I have used which is similar just slightly higher is called Ravenscroft.