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Fifteen seconds to set a TV show's perfect tone
Special production houses strive to take the art of TV title sequences to new highs.
from the March 23, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
"We wanted to send the message that this storytelling hour was like a fairy tale," he says, pointing out that he took this cue from the voice-over narration that drives the show.
"It's in another time and space," says Yu. He adds that the title sequence is a way to prepare the audience to leave everyday reality and enter this heightened, dramatic, and occasionally comic world of these women.
Yu drew inspiration from earlier TV animators, such as Terry Gilliam and Monty Python and the Flying Circus, both pioneers in the art of using two-dimensional graphic elements to tell a story.
"Even back then, they had a sort of retro but also contemporary look," says Yu, who says this combination fit perfectly with the tone of "Desperate Housewives." "The show is surreal, and retro in a way, but also very postmodern and we needed to find a visual way to include all that."
Once the visuals were complete, composer Danny Elfman was brought in to finish the project with his signature brand of music.
Budgets, audience retention, and artistic vision all play a role in whether or not a show gets a snappy title sequence. News divisions led the way, emphasizing the cold open to draw audiences in, says Lori Pate, executive producer at Lee Hunt, a TV strategy firm. "It's all about the immediacy of a story," says Ms. Pate, "rather than building anticipation for an upcoming narrative."
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