He created a number of typefaces, keeping in the mind the specific aesthetic and conceptual demands of his films.
He was a talented typographer, artist and composer. Ray’s work especially can be read in relation to the modernist graphic design principles and sensibilities. Among auteurs who designed title sequences for their films, Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Mani Kaul are notable examples.
He carved out his own distinctive style and his studio Ram Mohan Biographics also designed striking live action title sequences. Ram Mohan, known as the father of Indian animation, crafted a number of title sequences for Hindi films. Animation became an important medium for these sequences when colour film began to gain precedence. In contemporary films, motion graphics and animated sequences are frequently used to familiarize the viewer with motifs and images that will resonate while watching the film.
Another prevalent practice is to intercut the title card with scenes from the film. Sometimes, the title sequences are designed to act as puns or metaphors to the text of the film. Then title sequences began acting as backstories or prologues for the film in order to manage the duration of the film or advance the plot quicker. The earliest title cards looked like the opening pages of a book – simply stating necessary information. The evolution of title sequence from a means to convey information to a designed sequence has taken decades. Depending on the contemporary art movements and technological advancements, the aesthetics vary and these three points can be used to trace the evolution of title sequences through the 100 years of Indian cinema. The main constituents of these sequences are text, visuals and sound. It set the tone and mood for the film by the choice of typeface, visuals and music all of which create a theme for how the makers want the viewers to engage with the film. So, the artistic side of the practice began to emerge with calligraphers, type artists, illustrators and designers being employed to create this ‘film within a film’ that could either act as a prologue or an epilogue. With the advent of sound films or ‘talkies’, the credit sequences primary function was reduced to providing information related to the artists who worked on the project. Title cards were of great importance in the age of silent films in order to convey narrative points and dialogues etcetera.
The dissertation is a compilation of the various facets of title sequence design in Indian cinema, including the history, elements, techniques and the most notable artists.
0 kommentar(er)
