How we work on Opening Titles design

A producer or director of a film approaches us to discuss the Opening Titles design. We ask them to tell us about the project—its story, time period, setting, and mood. If available, we also inquire about the creative team’s preferences, references, and previews of completed episodes. We offer references from our side as well. We discuss the format of the future credits.

For example, the following options:

• Title of the film on a black background for 5-15 seconds

• Title of the film and actor or group credits on a transparent background (alpha channel) for overlaying in the client’s editing

• Actor credits and the title of the film for 30-60 seconds on an artistic background made from processed film material or our own footage or graphics

• Actor and group credits with the title of the film for 50-90 seconds on an artistic background

We sign a contract and receive a deposit.

Next, we develop the design concept for the main title sequence. We create 5-10 realistic frames that provide an idea of the proposed visual style, create a logo/title for the film in one or several variations, select the font for the credits, write explanations, and compile everything into a presentation that we send to the client for approval. Sometimes the concept is accepted immediately; if it doesn’t meet their expectations, we make adjustments or create a new one until it satisfies the client.

If we agree that film material will be used in the credits, we review and select the necessary shots from the preview, or the client does this at the director’s discretion, after which they send us the selected material in its original quality. If we decide to use all our own material, we arrange filming and choose some of our existing content.

We receive the approved text for the subtitles and the music from the client. Often, by the time we start working, there is only a rough draft of the text, and there is no music at all. In such cases, we use the text we have with the intention of refining it later (preferably without changing the number of title cards), and we choose the music ourselves, which will be replaced with the client’s choice later. This situation is always detrimental to the outcome because composers rarely sync perfectly with the visuals. They have stricter rhythmic rules. We can highlight any sound accent with a flare at any point and place a hit on a strong beat. Composers cannot move their accents freely.

Then comes the most interesting part: we assemble the edit, place the credits text and title, perform color correction, animation, add effects, process the video material, add some magic, and refine it until we are satisfied.

Finally, we present the first version. After this, the client usually requests a couple of shots or names to be replaced. For some reason, they check the text of the credits on screen rather than in the agreed-upon document provided for our work. We copy and paste the text as is, changing only its appearance. Therefore, we bear the cost of correcting any editorial mistakes. Sometimes text revisions come months or even years after project completion.

After accepting the final credits, we sign an acceptance act and receive the remaining payment. We store projects for as long as our disks last to be able to make revisions if necessary.

Next, we await the film’s premiere, get permission from the producer, and upload the credits to promote our services online across multiple platforms. This is very important for us since new clients want to see what we do and how we do it. Often, clients cannot grant us permission to publish because rights are sold to a TV channel for the entire film, including the title sequence. But after the premiere, our portfolio no longer bothers anyone 🙂

Sometimes we are approached to produce final credits. We also do those, although it’s not as creative a task as our beloved opening titles.

We are always happy to take on new interesting projects! 🙂

“The russian wife” main title sequence

Our Main Title Sequence for “The Russian Wife” series by LOOK film company about the fate of a Russian woman married to a Syrian. Film director Sergey Pikalov. There were many versions with аrabic script letters, than producers decided that we should switch to something more neutral, and we have used ornaments as masks for chronicles and textures of fabric, which we have shot ourselves.

New Main Title sequence for “Alex the fierce 3” series

Alex the fierce. The case of orphans. Opening titles design.

We are thrilled to present the opening titles sequence for “Alex the Fierce: The Orphans’ Case,” the third installment in the gripping criminal-historical anthology series produced by Amedia. We worked closely with Amedia to create a visually stunning and captivating introduction that sets the tone for this compelling TV series.

The company’s exceptional filming expertise shines through in the footage captured for the titles, showcasing their talent for crafting immersive and atmospheric visuals. Building upon this foundation, our team added our own creative touches to enhance the sequence. We meticulously edited and graded the footage to ensure a seamless and polished look, and composed clean, elegant text to complement the on-screen imagery.

In addition to the visual elements, we also crafted a hand-drawn logo that serves as a striking focal point in the opening titles. This bespoke logo adds a unique and personal touch to the sequence, capturing the essence of the series and drawing viewers into the world of “Alex the Fierce.”

We are incredibly proud of the collaborative effort that went into creating this opening sequence, and we are excited to share it with audiences around the World. The combination of Amedia’s exceptional filming and our creative expertise has resulted in a truly memorable and impactful introduction to “Alex the Fierce: The Orphans’ Case.” We hope that viewers will be captivated by the artistry and craftsmanship on display in this dynamic opening sequence.

“Kesha must die” opening titles design

Our Main Title Sequence for “Kesha must die” series by production company “Marmot” and KION online cinema. Premiered December 1st 2023. The company’s artist sent us photographs of the herbarium. We dried and photographed some of the plants ourselves. We drew graphics and blots to imitate scientific information in the university herbarium pages. Animated some elements of the herbarium. Applied texture of an old paper and shadows, made from the shot tree leafs. Designed typography, looking like old stamps. Thank you for watching, more examples are in the “Motion demo”.

The Cerber series main title sequence design

Main Title Sequence design for the “Cerber” series by Vladimir Schegolkov. All the footage and handwriting here is our work. We have gathered plants in a forest, prepared scripts on paper, soaked in tea, poured a chokeberry syrup, filmed it all on a black paper background, moving a camera around on the small handmade dolly, edited the sequence, color corrected it, added some flying dust, and voila 🙂

“Bison Hunting” series Main Title Sequence

Bison Hunting Opening Titles

The opening credits for “Bison Hunting” for the Marmot film company and the 1st channel feature a gritty and intense design, reflecting the crime, detective work, and investigation themes of the show. The visuals also incorporate elements of the modeling agency and fashion industry, set against the backdrop of the Soviet era, to highlight the glamour and corruption in power. The credits use bold typography and dark, moody visuals to set the tone for the thrilling and complex storyline of the series. We have filmed neon signs in Varna city to add them to the visual story, have drawn hand lettering “Bison”, stencil digits and signs, color corrected it all, composed it with the rough masks to the whole story and voila:

Chernobyl. Sabotage. Main Title Sequence.

Our Main Title sequence for the “Chernobyl. Sabotage” series for Wink videoservice by film director Alexey Muradov. We filmed power lines and repeater antennas, flying dust, drew frames on paper with a rough pen, poured water, filmed boiling water, parts of old cameras, newspapers, burned holes in black paper in the sun with a lens, and kneaded it all into this montage. Enjoy 🙂


В прошлом году на платформе Wink вышел сериал “Чернобыль. Диверсия” режиссера Алексея Мурадова с нашими титрами. В этой работе мы не использовали материал фильма вообще. Продакшн обеспечил нам хронику времен Горбачева. Мы сняли бумагу с нарисованными грубо линиями и рамками тушью, кипящую воду, вышки электропередач, опоры осветления около стадиона, антенну ретранслятора на горе, старые фотокамеры из коллекции нашего друга, прожгли лупой на солнце черную бумагу, еще что-то прожгли, и собрали все в такую вот историю

Chernobyl. Sabotage. Opening Titles by Dmitry Puzyrev and Marina Getmanova (DiMarina.co)