In their latest opening titles for the SXSW Film & TV Festival, the design and animation crew at West Virginia studio Coat of Arms wrangle a collage of materials and techniques into a playful motion style they call Western Pop.

Clara Lehmann and Jonathan Lacocque, Coat of Arms CDs/co-founders: “Since 2018, we have had the delight and honor of creating the SXSW Film & TV Festival’s show open. With a multi-year partnership like this, artistic confidence and trust take center stage.

“That trust has allowed us to absorb and intentionally reflect the wonderful character of the artists, audiences, volunteers, and community that is SXSW. And while it’s exhilarating, some challenges arise as we try to create work that competes with itself year over year.
 

“This concept warps the traditional western motif by embodying fun colors, hand-drawn motion, odd photo-bashing, paper cut-outs, and outlandish proportions.”

 
“To avoid repetition and to be sure we’re creating work that entertains, we kicked off a study of the 2024 show open with concept exploration. Along with the Coat of Arms team, we carefully defined four concepts and presented them to SXSW. The Western Pop concept was selected to celebrate Austin and the ways SXSW brings everyone together in the Cowboy State.

“This concept warps the traditional western motif by embodying fun colors, hand-drawn motion, odd photo-bashing, paper cut-outs, and outlandish proportions. An energetic edit and animation keep audiences engaged as they spot new things with each viewing.

“To bring this concept to life, art director Elena Chudoba tapped into humor and hopeful play to create boards that are tangible but outlandish. The design and animation team brought motion to the style frames with a mixture of 2D keyframe and cel animation. Producer Grace Lawson proposed the uniquely composed music by Wally (Hayley and Dexter Carpenter). And Jennifer Pague lassoed every last bit of possible quirkiness with sound design and mix.”
 
 

 
Client: SXSW

Production: Coat of Arms
CD: Clara Lehmann, Jonathan Lacocque
Concept Development: Jonathan Lacocque, Clara Lehmann, Elena Chudoba, David Reyes
Design Director: Ryan Butterworth
Art Director: Elena Chudoba
Producer: Clara Lehmann, Jonathan Lacocque
Associate Producer: Grace Lawson
Designer: Elena Chudoba, Paige Lu
Animator: David Reyes, Peiqing Lu, Carly Johnson, Daiqi Cui, Jordan Knight, Meng-Hsueh Lin

Composer: Wally
Sound Design/Mix: Jennifer Pague