Danny YountCase StudyBy Luke

Shelley

So who is Danny Yount?

As a self-taught designer, Danny Yount learned everything he knows the hard way. It was the work of Kyle Cooper that lead him in the direction of main title design."It wasn't until I heard about what Kyle Cooper was doing with Imaginary Forces that I was able to get a clear sense of what I wanted to do," Danny told Desktop in an interview, "From that point on I made it my goal to design main titles. To me it was like gravity – it seemed to be the most logical thing to do. I spent a year building a reel and refining my skills."Yount is now one of today's top main title designers for film and television working with Cooper at one of the most prestigious main title firms in the industry: Prologue.

By Watch The Titles

What has Yount done…Before Prologue, Yount served as a creative director at Digital Kitchen where he designed the Emmy award-winning main title for Six Feet Under. His main title for The Grid was nominated for an Emmy. His 1960's-style animated main title sequence for KISS KISS BANG BANG calls into mind the best work of main title design legend Saul Bass and was nominated for an AD&D award. His most recent work includes the visually spectacular main title sequences for Iron Man, RocknRolla and The Book Of Eli…

By Watch The Titles

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) Iron Man (2008) RocknRolla(2008) The Book Of Eli (2010)

Catalogue of WorkThe Grid - 2004

The Sopranos - 1999Future Weapons - 2006

Blue Cross Children’s Hospital

Six Feet Under - 2001The Reaping - 2007The Invasion - 2008

Iron Man - 2008RocknRolla - 2008

The Book Of Eli - 2010The Colony - 2009

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - 2005Sherlock Holmes - 2010

Iron Man 2 - 2010

A Sequence by Yount

http://www.watchthetitles.com/articles/00156-The_Invasion The Invasion (2008)

The Invasion (2008)As soon as the title sequence begins the audience are thrown into a blast of stars, planets and meteors. This has been used by Yount to signify the genre of the film. The space feel is cleverly converted into a blaze of different cells and organisms which could connote possible narratives of the film including tampering with cells to create something new. The typography used in this sequence is fairly small and insignificant through the duration of the sequence. Yount may have done this to draw the audiences attention away from the titles and focus their attention on the background. The font used has a futuristic look to it (rounded edges, crisp and slick) which could imply the period of time or place in which the film could be set (future/space).The music used is very heavenly and could be considered as unworldly which could indicate that this film is set on another planet or about possible visitors to earth.Overall this sequence gives audiences watching a clear understanding of the key information needed to what the film and helps them to understand possible themes or issues raise through the film.

Another Sequence by Yount

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)http://www.watchthetitles.com/articles/0015-

Kiss_Kiss_Bang_Bang

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)The sequence opens with a ‘Saul Bass’ style which could indicate when the film is set and what period of time (1960’s).The colour (including black, white and orange) are very slick as the contrast each other creating this amazing visually world. This, again, could represent the era in which the film is set.Images of buildings and ‘highway’ bridges could identify the urban city (i.e. New York) in which the film is set. There a lot of men with guns featured throughout the sequence which could show the possible themes or events in the film but could also identify the genre (crime/thriller). There are splats of orange and white which could represent blood shied or death which is featured in the narrative.The typography used in the title sequence is very small and sharp which show the seriousness of the plot and the idea that there are no jokes throughout. The type is small for most of the sequence which could mean that Yount want the audience to focus on the imagery.Overall this is a slick sequence that goes hand-in-hand with the rest of the film, and gives audience a head up of the key information needed to enjoy the movies.

Word from the man himself…

http://www.watchthetitles.com/articles/00157-Danny_Yount_interview