July 21, 2004

Pablo Ferro's Dynamite Titles

I mentioned Saul Bass here yesterday and if there's another film title designer who can hold his own against Bass it's Pablo Ferro. He is perhaps best known for his quirky hand-lettering style and quick-cut techniques as exemplified in DR. STRANGELOVE and the split-screen techniques that he developed for THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR. At Design Observer, Michael Bierut pens an appreciation of Ferro's latest title work for the indie film NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. Bierut's closing thought about Ferro's work on the DYNAMITE titles should ring as true for animation artists as it does for those in the design world:

In an age where computer-generated this and special effects that are within the reach of anyone who can afford a copy of Final Cut Pro, it takes real restraint, not to mention confidence, to stick with a simple idea, simply executed.

It's also interesting to note that Ferro comes from an animation background. He started working at New York animation studios in the early-Fifties at shops like Elektra, Academy, and Gifford Kim, as well as starting his own outfit Ferro, Mogubgub & Schwartz. Ferro credits his animation training for teaching him the value of each individual frame, a concept which became crucial when he began developing his quick-cut techniques. Here's an ARTICLE by Steven Heller examining Ferro's career and here is Ferro's own WEBSITE which is packed with film clips and articles.

Posted by AMID at July 21, 2004 08:57 AM