Conjuring a cast of whimsical characters, Brighton studio Form Play stages a series of gently comic vignettes (in the spirit of Saul Bass) for the title sequence of the 2024 Playgrounds, The Art Department festivals in Eindhoven and Berlin.

Catharine Pitt, co-founder/CD: “The inspiration behind the titles came from The Art Department’s core principle, ‘Play & Explore’. Our biggest challenge was to reflect the wide range of disciplines and experiences celebrated at the Festival including VR, animation, drawing, sculpting, plus staying curious and discovering new skills.

“The titles are shown several times during the festival, so our biggest creative challenge was developing a sequence that the viewers wouldn’t tire of quickly. It needed to highlight the speaker’s names, but also entertain the audience and build excitement for the next event.
 

“To make the action easier to follow, we adopted a simple design aesthetic that gives enough space to both titles and movements, allowing the subtle character expressions to shine.”

 
“We had already decided on a story-driven sequence but rather than opt for one long narrative, we devised lots of unrelated micro-stories about creativity. It’s a format that we believe helps to hold the audience’s attention as each segment lasts for just a few seconds but leans into a humorous scenario.

“From a technical perspective, it forced us to pare down the story arcs to a few key beats. To make the action easier to follow, we adopted a simple design aesthetic that gives enough space to both titles and movements, allowing the subtle character expressions to shine. You can watch it many times and still discover little nuances in the way each character behaves.”

“We love the rhythm of these tiny segments because you can really squeeze the storytelling arc to humorous effect. The simplicity in the design allows each segment to shine despite their brevity. The 90-second animation was created using frame by frame animation in TVPaint and After Effects.”
 
 

 
Client: Playgrounds

Production: Form Play
Designer/director: Mark Davis, Catharine Pitt
Animator: Mark Davis
Additional animation: Lana Simanenkova

Music: White Bones, Epidemic Sound “New York Chase”
Sound design: Epidemic Sound