Framestore and Whisper Films have created a brand new fast-paced title sequence for this weekend's broadcast of the 2016 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix on Channel 4. The coverage was the first broadcast within Channel 4's three-year deal with Formula One World Championship Limited.
The brief was an opportunity to create an entirely refreshed look and feel for Formula 1 coverage, capturing the speed, thrill, dedication and glamour of F1. Co-Directors Sharon Lock and Ian Spendloff worked with Whisper Films Producer Tim Hampel and Executive Producer Sunil Patel to create the piece, looking beyond the world of sports for inspiration and seeking out the finest examples of title sequence design across film, drama and television.
Eager to push the genre beyond a traditional edit of archive material, Framestore's artists used mirrored and multi-layered elements to create highly stylised designs. Footage was combined with more detailed graphic overlays to create a string of small vignettes, which transition seamlessly to make up the full 50-second title sequence. Carefully crafted glitches convey the intense speed and energy of the sport, with strong, bold typography introducing the location of each race.
"This was an incredible opportunity for the Design Studio at Framestore to showcase our collective skillset across a full title sequence," said Sharon Lock and Ian Spendloff. "Our greatest challenge came in knowing where to start - with decades of archive footage available to us [from Whisper Films]
, we really had every creative freedom. The resulting film is something entirely new for Formula 1, and our creative success is testament to both the team's talents and a strong working relationship with Whisper Films."