3:19 opens with a spectacular 3D vision of the universe in which the earth, its surrounding planets and the sun are all part of a giant mobile that controls time. The intro also contains a 2D animation sequence picturing the beheading of King Louis XVI at the beginning of the French revolution. The elaborate title sequence for 3:19 was a collaborative effort between creative director Joss Monzon and the motion design studio OneSize.

The quote “polvo eres, y al volverás" (“dust you are and to dust you will return”) on the clock refers to a verse in the bible, Genesis 3:19.

How does the title sequence relate to the film's story?
Monzon: “The movie has something to do with dust, but I won't spoil it telling you more. 3:19 is a story of profound loss, courage, and humor. It insists that life does not end with our final breath, that significance can be found in the gaze of a stranger. As a group of young adults cope with the terminal cancer of their 26-year-old friend Ilan, in abiding by his ultimate requests, they discover in the process life itself."

"The stars and planets are a big mobile of the universe - a big machine, where everything moves perfectly and precise and we humans are part of that big perfect and precise machine, where nothing is a coincidence and chance doesn't exist."

“Paul Wollenzein and I came up with the concept inspired by the intro of Dave McKean's movie Mirror Mask. I am a fan of Dave McKean, and when I saw Mirror Mask's intro, I said I want to do something as cool as this. I was also very inspired by the intro of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, and by Tim Burton's obscure style of animation.”

What's the function of the animated sequences in the main title and the movie?
"The animation sequence was directed by me and Paul Wollenzien. The animations tell a parallel story, which was too expensive to shoot, because it's historical stuff. So, that's why my good friend Dany Saadia, the writer and director, hired me to create the concept and to direct the twenty minutes of animation. I had a lot of hats, I did the character design and the concept for the animation and art direction. Peter Nalli was the production designer, but also the art director. I was supervising the animation quality, style, light, colors, etcetera. Paul was directing the production pipeline and animation and was also art directing, so we were doing everything!"

Mucho Motion and OneSize also collaborated on title sequence of El Bufalo de la Noche.

more about Jose Luis Monzon

Full credits

Director (film)
Dany Saadia

Creative director opening credits & animation/
Original concept & art direction for the animation
Joss Monzon/Mucho Motion

Creative director opening & end credits
Rogier Hendriks, Kasper Verweij/OneSize

Director of animation
Paul Wollenzein

Art direction
Peter Nalli

Concept/Modeler titles
Ruud ter Haag

Animator/Modeler
Harm van Zon

Music
Robin Guthrie

Links

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Comments (2):

8 Aug 09 • by: Vanessa Maynard
...wow

16 Nov 11 • by: Kamren
I was so cosfnued about what to buy, but this makes it understandable.