For Patrick McDonough, founder/creative director of PMcD, the package needed to convey the essence of the show — characters from different backgrounds on separate journeys until fates collide and lives are changed forever. To capture the elements of tension and danger, McDonough and his creative team in collaboration with Brian Kintz and the Starz team shot images of glass shattering and metal twisting as well as time-lapse footage of the Los Angeles skyline using the super high-speed Phantom digital camera (1000 fps), The show’s logo is seen projected over myriad surfaces and layered throughout the footage and graphic elements.

”The idea was to graphically illustrate the uneasy and volatile quality of the relationships seen in the show,” McDonough said. ”The high-speed photography of breaking glass and crushing metal visually suggests the random destruction of lives. We also wanted to capture the character of Los Angeles and give it a sensual quality. The time-lapse photography captures a feeling of chaos and the randomness of life in general.”

Race to Witch Mountain is a sci-fi adventure about two alien visitors and their search for their lost spacecraft. For the main title sequence, yU+co.’s concept was to tell the story of UFO’s from early sightings in the U.S. to present day, using archival newspaper headlines, film footage, photos and eyewitness accounts of UFO sightings. Set to a pulsating orchestral score, the tension-filled sequence immediately pulls viewers into this mysterious world with fast-paced editing of astonishing UFO imagery coupled with a subtle, yet powerful type design that animates on and off as if emanating from an extraterrestrial transmission signal.

For example, yU+co treated some of the clips with film scratches and burns to simulate aging film stock from the 50’s. They also added microfiche animations on the sections that covered the1980’s, and overlaid TV scan-lines to many of the clips that belonged in the 1990’s and later.

”Race To Witch Mountain represents the third time we worked with director Andy Fickman,” says Yu, who previously worked with Fickman on The Game Plan and She’s the Man. ”I’m proud of the fact that so many top directors like Andy, Zack Snyder, Ang Lee and many others continue to come back to us for titles. It says a lot about both the creativity we bring to each project and the collaborative nature between yU+co. and the director. This project was especially challenging, but we’re proud we could bring Andy’s vision for the titles to life.”

”The main title sequence started in the editing room by researching hundreds of pieces of archival UFO footage that would help us tell the story,” says Synderela Peng, yU+co.’s Art Director. ”We delineated decades of UFO discoveries, beginning with the 1950’s to the present day. We also spent a lot of time on details like treating the headlines and the film footage so they reflect the time period they were supposed to be from.”

”The main title went through several transformations,” Peng adds. ”Andy [Fickman, the director] was very specific about what he wanted in the final. He asked for a title sequence that built the mystique and the history of UFO’s and uses the wealth of footage that have been captured throughout time, mixing it with newspaper and magazine headlines to help inform the viewers on seminal UFO sightings. Typographically, we went with a classic font that was reminiscent of what you would see in 1920’s tabloid newspaper headlines.”

While the creative challenges were many, for David Garber, yU+co.’s Executive Producer, the approval process for using the archival footage proved to be extremely complex, requiring a coordinated effort with Disney’s legal team.

”There were some incidents where we had fallen in love with a piece of footage and how it fit into the whole piece only to find out Disney couldn’t secure the rights and we had go back and find something different,” Garber says. ”There was a lot intricate legal footwork happening. In the end everyone was happy with the way it came out and I think audiences are going to be struck by it.”

In addition to Race to Witch Mountain, other yU+co. projects include the re-teaming with director Zack Snyder (300) for the main title sequence of Warner Bros.’ Watchmen, and the overall visual design and motion graphics applied as visual effects for Lakeshore Entertainment/Lionsgate’s upcoming futuristic thriller, Game. yU+co. also created the cinematics for Capcom’s new release of the popular video game franchise, Resident Evil 5.

About yU+co:
Recognized as an industry leader in visual design and motion graphics with offices in Hollywood, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, yU+co specializes in digital content for all media platforms as well as for title design for film and television, visual effects and animation, theatrical logos, game cinematics and commercials. For more information, contact: Dianna Costello (feature film and television); or Michael Bennett (gaming/game cinematics and commercials) at 323-606-5050.

Web Resources:
Click here to view Race To Witch Mountain titles.
Click here for more info about yU+co.

Click here for more info about Race To Witch Mountain.

Creative Credits:
Project:“Race To Witch Mountain” main title sequence
Client: Disney

Design/Animation: yU+Co., Hollywood, CA
Creative Director: Garson Yu
Executive Producer: David Garber
Art Director: Synderela Peng
Production Coordinator: Annie Chen
Title Editor: Nikita Kleverov
Editorial Assistant: Brandon Muse
Layout Artist: Edwin Baker
Animator: Gary Garza
Animator: Alex Yoon
Animator: Danielle Leiser
Shake Artist: Alan Boucek
Roto Artist: Merlin Carrol
Roto Artist: Miljohn Ruperto