Show Package: Mr. Good? Gåten Eirik Jensen

Show Package: Mr. Good? Gåten Eirik Jensen / Mr. Good: Cop or Crook?

2021 – 2022

I was honoured to be asked by the Norwegian production company Monster to be a part of their team working on Netflix's first Nordic documentary series, "Mr. Good? Gåten Eirik Jensen" ("Mr. Good: Cop or Crook?"), to create a visual identity and graphics package for the series.

This true crime tells the story about the Norwegian policeman Eirik Jensen who was accused of drug smuggling and corruption, asking the question of whether he worked within or outside the law with his informant, the hash smuggler Gjermund Cappelen. Jensen's question of guilt is also woven into a larger context of criminal history and informant activities in Norway.

The filmmakers at Monster asked me to be part of their team early on – before filming had concluded and editing began – to create and plan a visual universe for the series. By working closely with the producers, editors and directors this way we could plan in advance what part of the story could best be told through visuals and infographics, integrating them in the edit from the start.

The complexity and scope of the delivery was large and included a logo, a short intro sequence (so no one will skip it!), templates for text (lower thirds, location and time indications, attributions), intro and end credits, infographics such as event timelines and overviews of criminal networks, text messages exchanges, sound logs, maps, graphics for archive material and facsimiles, as well as design and animation of an epilogue.

Design solution

Concept

The motion design should partly reflect the series’ genre conventions, but it was also important that the design was distinct. A strong concept laid the foundation for all the deliverables, based on the idea of two sides, and what lies in-between.

The two main characters, the cop Eirik Jensen and the criminal Gjermund Cappelen, seemingly residing on opposing sides of the law, are telling two different and conflicting stories. Is one of them flat out lying, or does the truth ambiguously exist somewhere in between?

The two sides overlap. The story is full of contrasts, but it's not black and white — the series explore the gray area that lies in-between. This is also the main idea behind the graphic concept: two opposing sides, and the reality residing between them. Key words like “overlap” and “intersection” became the foundation for the motion design and is implemented in several ways:

Colour

The use of colour is conceptually grounded. Inspired by police sirens, a bright, blue colour, contrasted by a similarly bright red make up the basis of the colour palette. These contrasting colours also represent the two sides of the story and the idea of operating inside or outside the law – protagonistic and antagonistic – or put simply, being "good" or "bad". By overlapping these colours, a third colour with a pink hue appears, hinting at an ambiguous "gray area" between these two oppositions.

The palette is completed by adding supporting colours inspired by the series' urban cinematography. Each character appearing in the story is represented through their own colour. The use of unexpected bright hues breaks with familiar true crime conventions to give the series uniqueness, but the overall look is dark and texturised to maintain recognisability within the genre.

Composition and textures

The way the infographics and timelines are composed is also inspired by the "overlap"-concept. By placing different elements on its own layer and plane within a 3D-space, a visual connection could be made between different kinds of information.

The visual universe is digital (inspired by the characters primary means of communication through texts), but gritty. Pixelated textures and optical distortions give the graphic elements a more tactile and filmic feel. Glitches and jittery camera movements add a sense of unease to the timelines and text exchanges, indicating that something is off or hidden, hinting at how Jensen and Cappelen use a code language in their text messages.

Typography

Several different fonts were selected for different purpose of use, in order to maintain both tone and readability throughout the series. A narrow font with a rough "in your face"-feeling is used for the logotype – as if depicting Eirik Jensens personality. A supporting font family used for on-screen-text is inspired by the typography used by motorcycle brands. This is a hint to Eirik Jensens interests and upbringing, as well as his early police work with motorcycle gangs.

An underlying grid-system is used as a basis for all the typographic elements, to create hierarchy and a sense of connection even though the tone and style of different scenes vary.