Jammertal
Motion graphics animation for feature film opening credits for director Etienne Heimann's dystopian thriller "Jammetal"
creative direction | art direction | design | motion design | 3d animation | project management
by Sebastian Kindel
CREATING A TITLE SEQUENCE
In the third film of screenwriter, producer and director Etienne Heimann, he is again dedicated to his favorite film motif: The sensitively detailed examination of the harsh characters, the local charme and the superficial harmony of his home region.
In the third film of screenwriter, producer and director Etienne Heimann, he is again dedicated to his favorite film motif: The sensitively detailed examination of the harsh characters, the local charme and the superficial harmony of his home region.
Bad Boy Chief Commissioner Robert Tuchowski will be transferred from the urban metropolis of Frankfurt to the quiet village of Katzenelnbogen. Already on the way in his red 74 Porsche Targa, he is unintentionally dragged into a network of criminal energies. In the course of "Jammertal", Tuchowski reveals a tragedy and plunges deep into a swamp of love, hatred and greed, in the middle of the country. Heimann mixes the plot with his typical shot of irony which only a "local" of the Eifel region is capable of.
In contrast to foreign productions, the title sequence in the German feature film never established itself as an own art form. It´s purpose is mostly to name actors, rights owners and film titles. With "Jammertal" this tradition has now been broken.
Like a prologue, the titles of "Jammertal" tell a decisive part of the plot and lead into the genre and atmosphere of the setting.
In an exciting contrast of urban complexity and rural expanse, the spectator follows Tuchowksi's red Porsche, which connects two contrasting worlds like a red thread. Borrowed encodings from Western and Roadmovies make Tuchowski's journey appear as a moment of self-knowledge, development, and inner maturity.
Like a prologue, the titles of "Jammertal" tell a decisive part of the plot and lead into the genre and atmosphere of the setting.
In an exciting contrast of urban complexity and rural expanse, the spectator follows Tuchowksi's red Porsche, which connects two contrasting worlds like a red thread. Borrowed encodings from Western and Roadmovies make Tuchowski's journey appear as a moment of self-knowledge, development, and inner maturity.
The fragmentary method of assembly is the image of Tuchowksi himself and illustrates his literal diremption: Hard cuts, overexposure, timelapse moments, analogue camera shots, dropped frames, hard color correction as well as technically motivated image distortions and mirrored images. Tuchowksi slides out of the habitual space of the urban diversion into the infinitely rural solitude.
The title sequence visualizes the confrontation with Tuchowksi's inner emptiness and loneliness. It allows the viewer to participate in his all-embracing, kafkaesque powerlessness. Supported are described associations and Tuchowski's personal loss through the lyrics of the theme song, produced by "Tatort" composer Matthias Frey and sung by the main actor Nick Wilder himself.
