The last film of director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient), before he died in March 2008. What you see here are the opening credits followed by the closing credits, separated by a second of black video.

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency is based on a series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith about the first female private investigator in Botswana. By emulating the characteristic look of hand-painted wood (in some African countries signs for local shops and billboards are typically hand-painted), Airside established a certain African look-and-feel for both credit sequences. The color scheme was inspired by the bright colors of African textiles.

A character representing the leading lady, Mma Ramotswe (in the film played by Jill Scott), points out the location of the film – Botswana – in the opening credits.

The closing sequence is based on a horizontally scrolling animation that starts with white pickup truck driving through an African landscape inhabited by indigenous animals. The sequence is basically an animated reprise of key scenes and characters from the film with title cards simply placed on top.

Anthony Minghella was reportedly more than pleased with Airside's contribution to the project. On Airside's website, he is quoted saying that their work on the titles was "meticulous, perfectly judged, beautifully executed and achieved with minimal fuss and a real sense of enthusiastic collaboration."

This TV film was a pilot for an upcoming TV series of 13 episodes produced in 2008.

Founded in 1998 by Alex Maclean, Fred Deakin and Nat Hunter. This London-based cross-platform design agency covers a wide range of design activities ranging from (motion) graphic and website design, mobile content, illustration, music videos and commercials.

more about Airside

Full credits

Film director
Anthony Minghella

Production Companies
BBC, Mirage Enterprises, The Weinstein Co.

Links

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