Film Titles

PBS Premiere of Toni Morrison Film June 23

American Masters Presents Exclusive U.S. Broadcast Premiere of Documentary Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, June 23 at 8/7c on PBS and PBS.org/tonimorrison.

The film, which features our graphics and animation work,  is an artful and intimate meditation on the legendary Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author that examines her life, her works and the powerful themes she has confronted throughout her literary career.

Here is the trailer:

Our role as collaborators in the film was cited by the film’s co-producer and editor, Johanna Giebelhaus in this interview published in Filmmaker Magazine.

It was an amazing experience to be a part of telling the story of this extraordinary woman, whose writings and perspective are more relevant and important than ever in light of current events and the national conversation about systemic racial discrimination in the United States.

We are thrilled the film is able to reach an ever growing audience.

Julia Scotti: Funny That Way premieres this month

We are excited to announce the world premiere of Julia Scotti: Funny That Way at the Nantucket Film Festival’s NFF NOW At Home June 23-30, serendipitously during LGBTQ Pride Month!

The film, which features our main title design and motion graphics work, tracks the journey of a 65-year-old transgender comedian and the children she lost and found with comedy as their path to identity and healing

We were thrilled to contribute to director Susan Sandler’s tender, funny, and triumphant comeback story of “the crazy old lady of comedy.”

Art of the Title‘s Top 10 List includes Toni Morrison

Art of the Title has selected the main title sequence from Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am as one of the top 10 title sequences of 2019.

The sequence features the hands of Brooklyn-based Mickalene Thomas, assembling a collage from pieces of portraits of Toni Morrison by director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.

“The footage of Thomas’s collage assembly is beautifully buttressed by Kathryn Bostic’s lilting and contemplative jazz score, joined with credits designed by Declan Zimmermann and Perpetual Motion Graphics, and made whole through cuts and rotations by the film’s editor and producer Johanna Giebelhaus.”

Read more about these titles, and the rest of this past year’s top ten here.

Toni Morrison makes Rolling Stone 2019 10 Best List

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am was picked as one of the 10 best documentaries of 2019 by Rolling Stone Magazine.

The article calls the film “a textbook example of how to do a portrait of an artist correctly.”

We were honored to collaborate with director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and editor and producer Johanna Giebelhaus in bringing the story of this important and extraordinary woman to life, even as we grieve her loss earlier this year.

Read the complete story here.

 

 

PMG Work Featured in Sundance Toni Morrison Doc

We were thrilled and honored to create the visual effects and title design for Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, an engaging and intimate meditation on the life and works of the legendary storyteller and Nobel prize-winner, which is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2019.

Collaborating closely with with director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Producer/Editor Johanna Giebelhaus, we supervised the film’s visual effects and created all of the animated and still graphic elements, a few of which can be seen in this exclusive clip on Deadline.com.

From her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to ‘70s-era book tours with Mohammed Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room, Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics and colleagues on an exploration of race, America, history and the human condition as seen through the prism of her own literature.

Inspired to write because no one took a “little black girl” seriously, Morrison reflects on her lifelong deconstruction of the master narrative. Woven together with a rich collection of art, history, literature and personality, the film includes discussions about her many critically acclaimed works, including novels The Bluest Eye, Sula and Song of Solomon, her role as an editor of iconic African-American literature and her time teaching at Princeton University.

In addition to Ms. Morrison, the film features interviews with Hilton Als, Angela Davis, Fran Lebowitz, Walter Mosley, Sonia Sanchez and Oprah Winfrey, who turned Morrison’s novel “Beloved” into a feature film. Using Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ elegant portrait-style interviews, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am includes original music by Kathryn Bostic, a specially created opening sequence by artist Mickalene Thomas, and evocative works by other contemporary African-American artists including Kara Walker, Rashid Johnson and Kerry James Marshall.

The Congressman Main Title Sequence

We love films, and we love the art of the title, so we jumped at the chance to design and animate the main titles for The Congressman, released in Spring 2016.

The film stars Treat Williams as Maine Congressman Charlie Winship. Fed up with Washington and special interest lobbyists, battered by a media scandal and recovering from divorce, it is only after meeting a group of rugged and self-reliant lobstermen fighting to save their way of life that Charlie reconnects with the idealism that drew him to Congress, while discovering a second chance at personal happiness.

In addition to the main titles, the sequence had to communicate Charlie’s backstory to the audience by incorporating a series of archival photos and clips. Working closely with editor and co-producer Johanna Giebelhaus, our goals were to create a visual sequence recalling classic film titles of the 1960s and 70s with just a hint of a modern feel, and to find an elegant solution within the resources of an independent production.

We’re proud of the final sequence, anchored by a handwritten main title, evocative of both the lawmaker’s signature and the intimacy of the narrative. The tiles reference both the pieces of Charlie’s life, which may be falling apart or coming together, as well as the frame through which the illicit photographer is spying on him.  The sequence is rounded out by subtly moving rectangles and credits that frame the historical narrative and set the tone as we move through history to the present day.

We were privileged to be part of this production, with a first-rate performance from Treat Williams, and featuring both gorgeous photography and music by longtime friend Joe Arcidiacono.

The Congressman is now available on Amazon and numerous other streaming services and enjoying theatrical runs throughout the country. You can see the full schedule and list on the film’s website.