If you produce any form of video or animation based content for TV, Film, The Internet, Mobile and Tablet based devices, you need to watch this film. “The Art of TV Title Design” by PBS Off Book, is a great short film that features some of the heavy hitters of Title Design talking about their craft.

Opening credits are quite often the first thing an audience sees when they watch a great film or TV show. While they are very memorable, more often than not they are not talked about in great detail. Even though they help set up the story, and close it out.Good Title Design is an art form, as much as any other aspect of the broadcast and film industry. The designers that create title sequences are asked to invent concepts that bring the core story out, and enhance the overall production themes, to create a visual experience that pulls the viewer into the film’s world.

In the video below some of the most inventive people working in the field of title design today, including the creators of the iconic Mad Men sequence, the hilarious Zombieland opening and the stirring end credits from Blue Valentine, discuss what goes into making a great title sequence. Featured in the short film are Peter Frankfurt and Karin Fong, Jim Helton, and Ben Conrad.