the role of the graphic designer in a motion picture.

(Title sequence by Olivier Marquézy)
Another subject that I had this semester was User Centered Design Research. It wasn't super-creative, but extremely time consuming and sometimes very annoying, because we had to produce a bunch of method cards that sometimes were not relevant at all to our research. I found the topic very inspiring though. My reearch subject for this class was the role of graphic designers in motion pictures, which is a topic I choose because it felt useful in relation to my career. I've always been a movie freak, and when I realised that it can be combined with graphic design it became very interesting. People actually do this for a living. For this class I read a couple of books, found some interesting articles and blogs etc, but also interviewed people in the business; graphic designers who work on films. For instance I got in touch with a movie editor who edited and made the awesome title sequence for Blue Valentine; Jim Henton. I also interviewed a French designer who works on title sequences for movies; Olivier Marquézy. This is what he told me:

About You
1. What is your name?
Olivier Marquézy
2. What is the name of your company?
Deubal (but it's not a company, just a name for the studio)
3. What is your official work title?
nothing official. depends on the job: graphic designer, director…
4. For how long have you been working in this company?
i've been working on my own since I left school, ie 1996
5. What did you do before you started working here?
I worked somewhere else! we had another studio with other working mates, but it was the same kind of non-organisation
6. What kind of education do you have?
classical print graphic design
7. What kind of professional background do you think is essential to someone who wants to do what you're doing?
I think studying stills is very important: photos, paintings, layout and typography… I think the most important is not to forget that you make 25 stills per seconds and each of these image has to be nice, even if the conbination of them has to be perfect too… Opening credits are melting graphics, typography, motion, rythm, ciemeatography, tempo… I often think that motion is above but not for the good reason. You have to focus on composition and rythm to have something that gets you into the movie, not just nice for itself. Never forget that you don't work for yourself but that you take part of a bigger adventure.
8. Did you always want to be working with movies?
No, I never thought I could be into this, untill I realised this could mix my love for music (and rythm) and for typography.
9. During your own studies, did you feel that you got enough knowledge about this field in design?
It was not part of my education, I learned all this animation stuff by myself, working with other animation directors. But thanks to my education, I think I have quite good skills in composition and typography.
Now you have a lot of this kind of education, motion design diplomas etc. I think it's a good thing when it's part of a broader artistic education, not just for itself.
10. How did you enter this business? How did you get this job?
My first job as a freelancer was to create an animated opening title for a short movie of a just met friend. At that time I worked somewhere where they had a 35 mm animation stand, so we used it to shoot animated prints. I didn't know anything about  stop motion, but convinced everyone that I could do it. And the result was quite fine for a first job.
11. Why do you think that people hire you over others?
Most of the time it's because I've already worked with someone they know (or the editor, or the post-producer…). And of course when people feel comfortable with our work. It's very rare when somebody calls you only because he knows your work. Then I don't know. It's a very peculiar relationship with the director because you work for the final touch, the movie is nearly finished, and usually you're quite short in time. So people have to trust you. Sometimes it must be reassuring for directors to know that others have trusted you. 

Your Work
1. Can you give an example of graphic design work in a movie that you have been working on?
Opening credits from Mathieu Amalric's Tournée (On Tour) 
2. What was your role in that particular project?
directing the title sequence
3. What other people, and from what disciplines, were working with you on this?
just one fx-composite artist
4. Roughly, how many people usually work on a project like this?
from one to ten, depends on the time and budget. Usually in my case, 2 to 4 people are working.
5. How much did the plot of the movie play a part in your choice of design?
enormous! and the music too
6. Were there any obstacles along the way?
none! from the first feeling to the final cut, it was like an extended improvisation, with a lot of (positive) implication from the director.
7. In what way do you think that your design contributes to the story?
cannot tell really… but I think (the music does a lot in this) it gives a nice kick in the movie
8. Have you received any awards for your work?
none
9. Do you only take jobs where you think that the movie is going to be good?
no… sometimes you have the ability to work freely on a nice idea… even when the movie is baaaaaaaaaaaaaad…
10. Do you feel that you have much creative control over your work, or are you usually directed by someone else?
creating titles is the most free working space for me at this moment, because I usually work directly with the director who wants to be amazed and give the finest final touch to his movie. So it's very motivating and stimulating. There are no perturbing stages like in other motion design disciplines (advertizing,TV identity…) 

The Business
1. Do you think that graphic designers in film receives enough credit for their work?
nope! and most of the times they are much forgotten in the production process and have minimum time and money to archieve their work (talking about titles). For the rest, I think France has a lack of culture about the role of an artistic director, that could be involved from the beginning of the process to the poster choice.
2. Do you consider your field of design to be much different from the field of, for instance more print-based design or branding?
25 times per second different.
3. Do you think there's a misunderstanding among the general public about your profession? For instance, what does your parents think you do?
opening credits for Spielberg.
4. If you would educate people about your discipline, who doesn't know anything about it, what work and what designers would you refer to them to look up?
You have to talk about the Pink Panther and James Bond, then you can tak about Saul Bass and others…
5. What kind of design awards are out there for the type of work you do?
I know D&AD award, SXSW festival, and Citrus Cell festival too. There might be others I think.
6. Do you think that people in the movie business (for instance directors or producers) have a good understanding of the graphic designer's creative process?
no. I think they're amazed when it works, but are not into it as image, music or narrative process. Untill they see the results they usually don't imagine the need of a graphic designer.
7. Can you give an example where one designer's work has made the impression of the whole movie much better?
no
8. Can you give an example where one designer's work has made the impression of the whole movie much worse?
no
9. If you're a freelance designer, what do you think is the ideal way of approaching people in the business for potential jobs?
I'm actually thinking about making this easier.
10. If you ever need legal help, is there a specific union for graphic designers in movies?
don't know !

intangible asset number 82.

I saw this documentary a little while ago. It's about a Melbourne jazz musician who travels to Korea to learn about rhythm and music, from a completely different view point than what we Westerners usually do. I found it very interesting and inspiring, I definitely recommend it.

oscar predictions.

Well, just because I'm an Academy Award freak (I sort of have a database of passed winners in my head along with other super geeky facts about the Oscars), I thought it'd be funny to predict the outcome of Sunday night's big event. This is my list of who I THINK is going to win and (in brackets) who I WISH will win.

BEST PICTURE
The Social Network
(I didn't like this movie, it f*cking sucked, but since the Facebook guy became Man of the Year in Time Magazine, I reckon their useless movie about it will win. The real best movie of the year, and possibly of all time is, of course, Black Swan. No doubt.)

BEST ACTOR, LEADING ROLE
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
(He really deserves this, he was beyond amazing in The King's Speech.)

BEST ACTOR, SUPPORTING ROLE
Christian Bale
(I think that Bale will win because he's in a film about boxing, the Academy loves that shit. I really hope that Geoffrey Rush will win for The King's Speech however. The movie would have been nothing without him. He's also from Melbourne, which makes me wanna vote twice for him.)

BEST ACTRESS, LEADING ROLE
Natalie Portman
(Natalie Portman. No doubt. F*cking best performance I've seen in my life. If she doesn't win it's a scandal.)

BEST ACTRESS, SUPPORTING ROLE
Helena Bonham Carter
(This is a tough one, because there are two other nominees from a boxing movie in this category. But I think Carter will win because she's portraying an historic person, and of course she does it pretty damn well.)

BEST DIRECTING
David Fincher, The Social Network
(Bullshit movie, again, but critics seems to love it to bits and its topic is sooooo important, so of course Fincher will win. I hope of course that Darren Aronofsky will win for Black Swan.)

I think it's completely outragous by the way that The Social Network has been nominated in so many categories (Best original score? Are you f*cking kidding me?). If I haven't mentioned it enough, I'm just saying that the plot, idea and movie itself is stupidly pointless. It's a movie about Facebook, for crying out loud! Facebook is not the best invension of all time, people. It's a bloody website! It didn't have enough drama in real life to carry a big movie like this. I saw it at the movies and didn't understand what all the fuzz was about. I then saw it again at home, but then I liked it even less. The Social Network is a hype movie, which is why it will win. It's a motion picture landmark of what was talked about in 2010. But that doesn't make it a good movie. A good movie, in my opinion, is a movie that stays with you, that makes you think. I've seen two movies this year that has left me with this; Black Swan and The King's Speech. They deserve to win, not an unnecessary movie about Facebook.

If you ever wondered how you go about winning an oscar, just watch this trailer. The Social Network has used a lot of these things and actually reminded me a lot about it.

black swan.

In high school I used to get obsessed with a couple of movies. They were beyond favourite movies and I could sometimes completely dissappear into them, I guess like a typical teenager who seeks escapism in a small town. I've been longing for a movie like that; a movie that could completely sweap me away, to take my mind elsewhere and send it into a new direction. I've been craving it. Which is why I feel so excited to tell you about this movie I saw the other day; Black Swan. What can I say other than that Natalie Portman deserves at least two Oscars for her performance. The story is quite simple; Nina is a ballerina. She gets the part as Swan Queen/ Black Swan in the ballet copany's new take on Swan Lake. She is the perfect pick for Swan Queen; innocent, perfect and beautiful. But to do the role as the evil twin Black Swan, she has to go into the scary territory of letting loose. Which turns into more than just a role, obviously. What I liked most about this film was the complexed yet simple psychology of Portman's character. I really didn't like Nina because she was so annoyingly weak, but at the same time I felt for her. She works so hard and she never gives up, you see her pain and feel her worries. As the movie builds up toward the end things get crazier and crazier. You wonder what's real and what's not real. Only because it explores the realities of a crazy person, and to some extent the mind of somebody creative who wonders into the darkness for the love of the art. This is a new take on Swan Lake but in the form of a psychologic thriller. Just like when "Oh Brother, where art thou" used The Odyssey as the base for the story. I just love it when movie makers does that; turn old and told stories in a new way and create lovely little analagies. It makes you see things differently. The familiar becomes forreign. As for the hero of this story, she is not sweet and innocent. In my opionion, the greatest moment of this movie is when the Black Swan enters the stage and change our perception of what a hero is.

home.

I've just seen the most beautiful documentary ever. Watch Home here for free.

the runaways.

I saw this movie a few weeks ago and it actually rocked balls! I usually don't like musician bio pics (such as Walk The Line and Ray and so on), because they're always about drug addiction and depression with a rock 'n roll redemption in the end. Sure, this one has that too. But in a different way. In some ways it reminded a little about this movie. This movie actually makes me wanna know more about the real band and the actors are insanely good. That Dakota Fanning chick (seen from War of the Worlds and a bunch of other movies) is a-maz-ing! The scene in the grocery store is unreal. The fact that she's only 16 or whatever is just jelousy in its true form.

exit through the gift shop.

Okay, I guess I'm sort of waking up from my non-posting coma. Here's one I was meaning to tell you about; an awesome movie with Banksy, called Exit Through The Gift Shop. When I went to see it with a friend a while back I didn't expect anything. Little did I know I was going to walk out of that theatre with a big smile on my face and a lot of contemporary art knowledge in my head. Oh, and additional proof of the fact that many many people in the creative business are complete idiots.

elizabethtown.

I don't know how many times I've seen this movie, how many times I've thought "well, this time I sure as hell will find it too cheesy", or how many times I've been wrong and instead fallen deeper in love with it. This is the kind of movie that I save to watch only now and then, because it's too nice to ruin. I love it for so many reasons, maybe for new reasons everytime I watch it. Anyhow, I saw it today and it's still my favourite.

adventureland.

This movie isn't exactly brand new, but I've just gotta tell you how awesome it is! First time I saw it it didn't strike me as a particularly great movie, just sort of average. But then I saw it again and liked it, saw it again and started digging it, saw it again because I was longing to see it, and now it's on the toplist of my work-background-inspiration movies. If you haven't seen it I recommend you seeing it - see it a couple of times and pay attention to the music - it's great! Other movies that has made it into my list include:

Religulous
Jesus Camp
Jurassic Park

mice in da house.

So there's tiny mice underneath my floor and around in the house. One theory is that they moved in the same night we watched The Exorcist, (because it was the first night I heard them) in a sad attempt to scare me. If you haven't seen The Exorcist this is basically what it's about (and pretty much just as scary).

the men who stare at goats.

Just remembered I went for my first Aussie-movie experience the other day and saw The Men Who Stare At Goats. It was great! Jeff Bridges as a hippie peace maker and George Clooney as a jedi warrior in the middle of the Iraqi desert. Doesn't that sound like an awesome combo or what!

the award for funniest actress goes to...

Two days ago Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for Best Actress in the movie The Blindside, three days ago she won a Razzie for Worst Actress in the movie All About Steve. Talk about an uneven year... I saw this movie on my flight to Australia and must agree it was pretty aweful. But she sure is funny and with a lot of self-distance. Way to go, Sandra!

dances with wolves.

And I just have to say that I love this movie. Yeah, it's old. I was 4 when it came out. I saw it as a child and now I saw it again. And yeah, it's a little cheesy and American - but that's why I love it. Or I don't know... it's just sort of contageously positive somehow. What I know is that I want to be an indian now, living in a tipi and hunting buffalos. After seeing Taking Woodstock last weekend I wanted to be a hippie as well, I guess I could be both simultaneously. It's all peace and love, man!

garden state day.

It's been a miserable and rainy day today so I watched Garden State. It's a pretty decent movie about a man who have to come back to his small-town home after 9 years for his mother's funeral, and simultaneously suffers from some kind of numbness for all kinds of emotions (perfect movie for a shitty day, right!). Of course he falls in love with the crazy chick in town, played by the lovely Natalie Portman, who transforms his numbness into feelings and litterly catches his tears in a cup. Don't get me wrong, I think the script was actually rather witty and interesting. It's all written and directed by Zach Braff however, who also happens to play the main character. Big fucking misstake, dude! Garden State could have been a brilliant movie with actual smart things to say. But Braff is just such a dork and when he tries to be emotionally vulnerable it's just pathetic. This is the guy from Scrubs and to me he just doesn't have what it takes to be anything else than funny. It actually bothered me throughout the whole movie and I think that's a shame.

living with the wild things.

I will now do as so many other bloggers have done and praise Where The Wild Things Are. Yes, it's a big hype around it, since the movie is out and all. A lot of hipsters around the world has embraced it because of its non-kids-movie approach, and the look of it is fenomenal to say the least. I haven't even seen the movie yet but just by hearing the music from it makes me imagine a masterpiece (I've kept the song "All is love" on repeat ever since I got the soundtrack). I can't wait until the movie reaches Europe! But really, the reason why I wanna praise Where The Things Are is because it was the first book I ever read on my own. I was 7 years old and probably had a little problem reading (who doesn't when homework books are fucking lame and boring). But one day my class went to the school library and we could pick out any book of our own choice. I saw the name Max on the back of one book and picked it out. Back in those days I thought that everyone with the name Max were as awesome as my cartoon hero Mighty Max. This Max were a bit of an anti-hero though and I remember the book to be a little frightning with all its monsters. But then there were something about it that made me borrow the book several times. I loved the illustrations and the idea of traveling to an imaginary land. And the wild side of Max was something that wasn't discussed in other books for children. My classmates borrowed books about horses and pretty things for instance. It's rather funny that my choice was about a missbehaving kid who's unleaching his inner anger with imaginary beasts... Perhaps it's not so weird that my creative alter ego name is Stingosaurus. That's what I call long-lived inspiration. Rawr!