/Halloween Ends | Opening titles
The pumpkins to end all Halloween movies!
Anyone who knows our creative director, Zenon Kohler knows he grew up watching 80’s slasher films, in particular Halloween (and has a figurine or two of the infamous Michael). So when we had the chance to work on the opening titles for Halloween Ends, he and the Squeak team did everything they could to secure the project.
Collaborating closely with the director, David Gordon Green, we were able to workshop ideas and bring the title’s creative vision to life in a tight turnaround.
Die-hard fans will have noticed the splitting pumpkins in the opening are perfectly matched to jack-o’-lanterns in seven of the 13 Halloween films. The idea initially came from Green to film each pumpkin splitting apart on set. However, to give us more control over the lanterns and the gory pumpkin innards, we suggested changing the opening to a full CG sequence. In the end, this was the best approach as the concept changed slightly from the original brief and we had more room to accommodate the creative.
We used the replicas from the set to model our design, ensuring they stayed true to the original films. We of course added a little flare with more mould and decay, heavier colour tones and some extra design to give off more creepy and realistic looks.
Our attention to detail didn’t just stop at the jack-o’-lanterns, we keenly focused on the credit fonts too. In a homage to Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), the team had to matched the blue typeface by creating it from scratch since the Season of the Witch was made in 1982, and the typeface doesn’t exist as a font.
The font and colour were important to get just right as they not only served as a tribute to the film but also reminded audiences that the two stories both veer away from what the audience is expecting.
With a tight deadline and interesting project material, the Halloween Ends Opening Titles was a fast-paced and thrilling project to be a part of.
Check out our handy work and see what other magic the Features & Television team worked on throughout the whole film!
Credits
Client
- Company
- Blumhouse Productions, Universal Pictures & Miramax
VFX
- Titles Creative Director
- Zenon Kohler
- VFX Executive Producer
- Marcus Bolton
- Titles Producer
- Jessica Vines
- 3D Previs
- Rob Conn
- 3D Modelling
- Andrew Kimberley
- 3D Textures
- Alex Pinches
- 3D FX & Lighting
- Phil Jackson
- 3D Lighting & Pipeline support
- Cam Wright
- Compositor
- Brad Coomber
- Compositor
- Bruno Ribeiro Profeta
