Marvel Studios
Infinity War & Endgame
Main Title Design & Concept Development
Marvel Studios Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame were a huge moment in cinema, tying up years of heroic storylines into the universe’s most epic battle. Our team worked with Joe and Anthony Russo over about 2 years on Concept Development and Title Design for these films. This collaboration was special and everyone felt the responsibility to deliver for these characters and the audiences who loved them!
Year
2017 - 2019
Client
Marvel Studios
AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE!
With the release of Infinity War & Endgame Marvel Studios marked a major milestone in their cinematic universe as well as creating a pop culture moment that will leave an indelible mark in film history. I was proud to collaborate with Joe and Anthony Russo and their team to produce the Opening Titles, some concept development, and the epic Main On End Title Sequence for Endgame. Here is a brief look at what our team contributed to these films.
INFINITY WAR
During production of Avengers: Infinity War we were asked by Marvel Studios and the Russo Brothers to design and animate the Opening Title for the film. In our initial discussion with the filmmakers, we discussed how this movie finds a team of heroes spread across the galaxy who have all been through their own battles and struggles. They wanted this title to open the film on a grand scale with a sense of importance and, most importantly, hope. This would set the tone for the audience who was about to follow a journey across space and time over the course of two films. It needed to meet that moment.
Our creative team designed a beautiful logo that kept some level of consistency from previous Avengers films, while also standing on its own for this movie. The Avengers “A” dominates the frame and provides the backplate for the film title to emerge. The 3D letters have imperfections, scratches, and the appearance of wear on their surfaces to mimic the state of our heroes at the start of the film.
ENDGAME
THEORIES ON TIME TRAVEL - Concept Development
If you have seen the movie (I would say spoiler alert, but…come on), you know that time travel plays a big part in Avengers: Endgame. Our team was engaged as consultants to work alongside the writers and filmmakers on the rules around and depiction of time travel could be used within the film.
Time travel in movies is an oft-used plot device and there are always rules and limitations that need to be adhered to in order to avoid disastrous complications. I am sure we can all name at least 3 of our favorite examples. So with that in mind, our team partnered with the research team at Marvel Studios to help them define the mechanics of time travel, how it might look within the film, and how they would explain it to the audience. No small task, but that is what made it so exciting.
Our team began with defining some broad research topics and supporting visuals to explain our approach to the filmmakers.
Time Travel Diagrams & Concepts
The initial Research Topics facilitated some really interesting and deep conversations about time and disrupting the delicate architecture of the multiverse. Our next step was to develop some visual diagrams and early concepts around time and how to visually depict it within the film.
Below you can see a selection of simple diagrams to explain our proposals around a multi-threaded/parallel view of time and how it can be disrupted.
Finally, our creative team designed some initial concepts for how the time diagram that the Ancient One draws in the film could look. It is interesting to see how the final scene shows nods to some of our initial ideas and concepts.
Banner’s soul leaves Hulk. Similar to our “Borrowed Soul” proposed theory.
Final Time Diagram with colored Infinity Stones that can splinter the timeline.
Our most notable contributions to the film Endgame were probably the Opening Title and Main on End Title sequence. The Opening Title was made to feel unique from Infinity War while also keeping some similarity in the composition and animation to act as a bookend to these two films.
MAIN ON END TITLE SEQUENCE
The Main on End was a huge moment for me and the entire creative studio. You could argue that Marvel Studios was largely responsible for the resurgence of the title sequence as a creative canvas within cinema. They were the first major studio to make it a hallmark of their films since the 1960s & 70s. So to take on the title sequence for the largest film they had made to date was both daunting and creatively irresistible.
As the Producer, I built the creative team for the project and managed the process from pitching concepts through final delivery of the 2D and Stereo sequences.
Final Endgame Title Sequence
One of the most rewarding moments was seeing our title sequence out in the world and watching audiences erupt at the end when Robert Downey Jr. got his final curtain call with the rest of the cast. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t give me goosebumps.
Audience reaction from opening weekend.
Studio: Perception
Chief Creative: John LePore
Art Directors: Doug Appleton, Russ Gautier
Head of Operations: Kris Barone
Senior Producer: Eric Daly
Production Coordinator: Chloe Soares
Artists: Alex Davidson, Kevin Guinto, Greg Herman, Tilmann Kerkhoff, Vlad Lysenco, Justin Molush, Alex Rupert, Houhan Wang
"Thanks for everything. You’ve been a rock star!"
— Adam Cole
Post-Production Supervisor at Marvel Studios