Watch those storyboard frames on Michael Riley's profile.

The Back-up Plan is a rom-com slash Jennifer Lopez vehicle about a woman who dreams of getting pregnant but  hasn't found the right man yet. Her back-up plan is artificial insemination, but on the very day of the procedure she meets “Mister Right”.

The gleeful and stylish animated title sequence for the new Jennifer Lopez movie The Back-Up Plan was designed by Shine. We see a woman strolling the streets, as "New York icons graphically morph into baby iconography," explains Shine's creative director Michael Riley.

“Director Alan Poul knew he wanted an animated title sequence from the start,” recounts Riley. “He wanted a title sequence that would clearly set up the audience for a romantic comedy.”

The stylized design of the title sequence echoes the visual language of “limited” animations of the 1960's and 1970's period. “When Alan gave us the brief before pitching ideas, he said he wanted to reference the graphic language from some of the great classic romantic comedies,” Riley says. “The movie is set in present-day, so it couldn't be too nostalgic or retro. We looked at a lot of old title sequences from film and television for inspiration but didn't reference any of them specifically. We wanted to be original.”

Shine pitched four ideas total, and Alan picked one, says Riley. “The first idea we pitched told the main character's life story before the movie started.”

“I remember when we showed this first idea to Alan and editor Priscilla Nedd Friendly in the cutting room, they both said "Uh oh" when they looked at the first frame. That first board was totally off base, because the script had changed by the time we arrived to present the boards.

“Then, we walked through the second of four boards, which was a very stylized, graphic board of a silhouette walking through frame as New York icons graphically morphed into baby iconography. Alan thought the concept showed promise, but he thought it was too cold and stylized. So we came back for a second presentation with a board that had a much lighter, playful feel. That solved the design challenge for Alan.

The final project evolved quite a bit from the original storyboard. “Many of the jokes from final piece were in this second board. But many of the ideas and additional gags for the sequence came about through subsequent lively brainstorming sessions with Alan, Priscilla, Shine executive producer Bob Swensen, and myself. Many other ideas came about through collaborative conversations with the team at Shine.

“The character design and the illustrations were all original. Nate Wragg was our illustrator. He has many great styles, but this particular style felt just right to us. He drew many in-between frames so we were able to animate the characters in a simple, graphic way. Dan Meehan and Cory Shaw were instrumental in designing motion and transitions.

Who did the typography?
“Ryan Miziker was our calligrapher. He has a very natural, spontaneous style. Ryan also did calligraphy for us on Taking Chance, an HBO film.”

Michael Riley is the creative director of Shine, a creative design studio in LA. He has been directing and designing film and television main title sequences, theatrical trailers, television commercials and corporate identity packages since 1991. He has designed main title sequences for Traitor, Signs, Mad Money, and television title sequences for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Blade: The Series, Criminal Minds, Karen Sisco, Ally McBeal, Saturday Night Live, and many more. "I was very happy to work for DreamWorks on Kung Fu Panda. Maybe Gattaca, for Andrew Niccol; Band of Brothers for Steven Spielberg; or Standoff for Fox; or 21st Century for The United Nations," Riley answered, when asked what title sequences he is most proud of.

more about Michael Riley

Full credits

Film director
Alan Poul

Main title designed and produced by
Shine

Creative Director (CD)
Michael Riley

Executive Producer
Bob Swensen

Designer / Animator
Cory Shaw

Designer / Animator
Dan Meehan

Designer / Animator
Dru Nget

Illustrator
Nate Wragg

Calligrapher
Ryan Miziker

Links

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Comments (3):

6 May 10 • by: Jorrit

Nice!!

10 May 10 • by: bonnie stewart

Great title sequence. Loved the animation and calligraphy.

11 Jun 10 • by: Chris

Interestingly directed - I like what is done with the camera. I felt the Animation was too limited though for the smooth cam movements.
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