Sandman Title Sequence

The Sandman Title Sequence

A conceptual title sequence created for a TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s 1989 comic series “The Sandman”. The piece objectives of the piece were to create a visually engaging, story-relevant introduction to the show that could satisfy the expectations of existing Sandman fans while providing visual intrigue for casual fans of dark fantasy or gothic fiction. The piece was constructed over two weeks with a cut limit of 25-30 seconds. All assets for the sequence are originally modeled. The piece was also requested to be scalable, having the potential to shift/evolve in future seasons of the show.

Concepting and Storyboards

Symbology is an important element of narrative of The Sandman books. These storyboards played with recognizable and meaningful symbols from the source material, all of which had a distinct correlation to characters and emotions in the text. For instance, the symbols of this sequence correlate to the three key characters of the first Sandman arc. Through this use of familiar symbology, along with a dark and gothic tone, the piece pays tribute to the original 2D imagery of Gaiman’s work and demonstrates the tone of the show to new viewers.

This contributed to the scalability of the sequence; new symbols could be introduced to the title sequence as the show progressed into its later seasons, as new characters or events were introduced.

Horror

Drama

Suspense

Symbology

Motion Development

I designed the 3D models to mirror symbols and objects from the original comic series, working to draw existing fans into the show. The stark, monochromatic imagery speaks to the dramatic tones of the show’s subject matter. Typography was chosen to match the machiavellian aesthetics of the source text and further the dramatic, royal tones of the show, communicating its overarching tone to the viewer.

Alternates