How To Be a Heartbreaker

Title Sequence

5 Weeks — Fall 2021

After Effects, Illustrator

Project Overview

I was given five weeks to create an animated title sequence for a film or series of my choice. In this case, I decided to invent a fictional show, which I named, “How To Be a Heartbreaker.”

Inspiration

My idea for a title sequence was heavily influenced by melodramatic media— like film noir, and spy stories. Visually, I was aiming for something with strong contrast, bright pops of color, and an cool color palette— (hence, the many purples and blues in the final product). The dominance of geometry and pattern featured in many of my sources of inspiration was also something I made sure to implement.

Sketches & Storyboarding

I started by sketching various objects and settings that could be featured in the type of show I was creating. Once I had a clear direction I wanted to go with, I made a rough storyboard where I gave considerable thought to the on-screen composition, as well as how I would transition between poster shots. While the sequence has changed slightly, my general approach from the storyboard is still visible in the end product.

Sketches

Storyboard

Animatic

Following the storyboard, I created an animatic in After Effects to get a feel for camera movements, and general timing. Since this was the focus, many of my primitive illustrations acted as placeholders, giving me time to create finished illustrations later. The animatic is really where I started to perfect the transitions from scene to scene, and many of these transitions only needed slight changes in my final version.

Animatic

Final

Animatic

Final

Reflection

Obviously this project allowed to me improve on my illustration and animation skills. More importantly, I learned to have faith in my ideas and my abilities in animation. At first, I was unsure if I would be able to execute my idea properly. However, with a little encouragement from my professor, I gave it a shot, and found that it was something I could manage. As things started to fall into place, I became more confident in myself, which pushed me to work even harder to create the best work that I could.

How To Be a Heartbreaker

Title Sequence

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