Take a BTS peek at how Plains of Yonder directors Katrina Crawford and Mark Bashore (Emmy-nominated here and here) and designer/animator Cian McKenna strung together the titles for the Apple TV+ series Time Bandits.

Mark Bashore: “Time Bandits has a lighthearted, lovably clunky, and playful visual style with a 80’s throw-back charm. We began the project by conceiving and pitching several concepts dealing with cosmic forces, time travel, and the ensuing battle for the time travel map.

“As the show centers on an 11 year-old boy and history buff extraordinaire, we approached the material through that lens. Katrina conjured up the idea of a cat’s cradle that was manipulating the strings of time and space by two all-powerful floating hands.
 

“The showrunners also wanted to make the titles for each episode special, so we added a space-time kaleidoscope containing odd and quirky objects unique to each episode.”

 
“We really loved the idea of giving those strings an 80’s laser-light quality and we launched from there. The hands eventually turn the cat’s cradle and reveal the title within the strings. When we sketched it out on paper, it felt like it matched the tone of the show well; exuberant and a little bit mischievous.

“The showrunners also wanted to make the titles for each episode special, so we added a space-time kaleidoscope containing odd and quirky objects unique to each episode. As an added bonus, composer Mark Mothersbaugh created a custom score for the kaleidoscope section of each episode title.

“Ultimately, we strove to create a title that, although technically complicated, had a child-like charm hearkening back to simpler times in 3D animation. Cian was able to work his magic and craft the 3D work to match this mood – everything moves in a way that appears intentionally simple.”

Watch finished titles for Time Bandits episode 2:
 

 
 

 
Client: Apple TV+

Production: Plains Of Yonder
Director: Katrina Crawford, Mark Bashore
Animation/VFX: Cian McKenna
Editor: Mark Bashore, Katrina Crawford
EP: Paul Williamson

Music: Mark Mothersbaugh