Imaginary Forces

Imaginary Forces Feels the Love in the Main Titles for "The Break-Up"

Los Angeles, CA – (June 2, 2006) – Love is swell! Especially when you have lots of photos to document how your affection has grown for each other. Imaginary Forces (IF) recently designed the whimsical main title sequence for the Universal Pictures comedy “The Break-Up” starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston as a couple who is doing just that. Working closely with Director Peyton Reed, Executive Producer Peter Billingsley, and Producer Vince Vaughn, IF Creative Director Brian Mah created the main titles, which weave together photographs to establish the couple’s loving relationship prior to the break up.

“The break up happens early on in the movie so the onus was on the title sequence to tell the story of this couple getting along for a two-year period,” explains Director Peyton Reed. “As soon as the sequence finishes, people have to relate to these characters and understand what the nature of their relationship was like through these normal photos. The challenge was to create an open that was simple and real in its storytelling, but wasn’t visually dull. Imaginary Forces did a great job in figuring out the best way to coordinate these stills and to bring kinetic movement and interactivity to them.”

“The Break-Up” tells the story of Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) and Gary (Vince Vaughn) who call it quits – and engage in mental warfare to force the other person to move out of the condo they share. In the process, they both realize they might be fighting to keep their relationship alive.

The main title sequence opens with a clip of Gary and Brooke at a baseball game on one of their first dates and then segues into fun and poignant photo moments as their relationship develops. The filmmakers wanted a simple intro that would draw the audience’s focus to the content of the photos with graphics playing a secondary role. To maintain a sense of authenticity, some 600+ stills were taken during the actual film shoot since Aniston and Vaughn were on-set together and in character. IF’s Brian Mah and his team then determined the best way to build a narrative of their relationship out of the photos.

“Peyton had shown us references from the film ‘Blade Runner’ where light streaks in and shadows come to life on a photograph,” explains Mah. “We took that idea and created moments like this along the sequence by using subtle accentuations such as twinkling lights or fading smoke. The idea was to have the accents be so subtle that you feel them more than you’re aware of them, which helped to bring the photos to life.”

IF also included transitions between photographs to create a panning effect around the couple’s photo collection instead of a slideshow presentation feel. Since the stills were taken digitally, some compositing was involved to make them appear to be tactile photos with bent edges and more texture.

Mah credits the open communication with Peyton Reed, Peter Billingsley and Vince Vaughn for a successful partnership. “There were so many variations to telling the story due to the number of stills. Vince Vaughn, who was one of the co-writers and producers, had specific ideas as far as showing the breadth of emotions that two people experience as a couple. The main titles had to demonstrate that they are growing closer, invested in their relationship and planning for the future. He, along with Peyton and Peter, was very respectful of our process and open to our design interpretation. We think the audience will really relate and be drawn into the story told through the photographs.”

Release Date:June 2, 2006

Designed & Produced by: Imaginary Forces (IF)
IF Creative Director / Art Director: Brian Mah
IF Art Director: Dan Meehan
IF Producer: Kathy Kelehan
IF Designers: Brian Mah, Dan Meehan, Joan Lau, Ronnie Koff
IF 2D Animators: Dan Meehan, Juan Monasterio, Orlando Costa, Sean Koriakin, Drew Tyndell, Brian Weaver
IF Editor: Danielle White, Jeff Gornbein
IF Flame Artists: Nick Rubenstein, Rod Basham, Matt Spencer
IF Coordinator: Alyssa Evans

Studio: Universal Studios