Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Main Title by Territory Studio

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Main Title by Territory Studio

Territory Studio, Working closely with Director Joachim Rønning, we created the typography and main title for the opening sequence for Disney’s hit sequel ‘Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil’.

The film opens on an epic fly-through shot that travels throughout the magical kingdom in which the story is set. Our task was to design beautiful typographic cards to compliment and feel at one with this incredibly dynamic shot. The Director asked for a treatment that reflected the magical yet subtly dark nature of the film and the character of Maleficent, played by Angelina Jolie.

Style Development

We were asked to present a range of ideas and treatments to the Director. We experimented with how far we could push the integration within the environment and how to strike the right tone. One that wasn’t too moody given that this is a dark fairytale, it should also be a little bit of fun.

 

Main Title Look Dev

This was one of the most technically challenging title sequences Territory has tackled so far. The team developed a pipeline which integrated Adobe illustrator, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Maya and Nuke.

We experimented with numerous pyro sims in Houdini to create the illusion of flaking ash and a burning core to complement some of the magical elements in the film and help us resolve the text into the movement of the camera and environment.

Typography

Each character of the bespoke alphabet was individually modelled in Maya. The Director was very keen on titles feeling immersed within the environment of the sequence. Therefore one of the biggest challenges was to balance this integration against legibility. This was achieved by creating individual bespoke lighting and texturing setups for each title card to both complement the background and ensure they were distinctly readable.

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