“Anger's a potent spice. A pinch wakes you up. Too much dulls your senses.” — Harry Beltik
In times of uncertainty and upheaval — which 2020 certainly was — people tend to gravitate towards that which is comforting. The voice of a loved one, a favourite food, a familiar song, warmth, television.
In 2020, the scripted series that Netflix subscribers turned to the most, with a whopping 62 million views in its first month, was The Queen’s Gambit, according to the streaming service. The tight seven-episode mini-series created by Scott Frank and Allan Scott is an adaptation of a 1983 novel by Walter Tevis and stars the enigmatic and wide-eyed Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon, an orphaned chess prodigy struggling with abandonment, addiction and other demons as she works her way up the ranks. Remarkably, the show bears no opening title sequence – just a simple title stamp during the beginning of each episode.
But in chess, opening moves are everything. It’s a beguiling bit of direction, allowing viewers to focus on Beth – and perhaps enjoy an uninterrupted binge experience – while saving some dazzle for last.
When the title sequence does arrive – a surprising closer capping off the show’s seventh and final episode – it’s a demonstration of skill, a celebration of Beth’s journey and a visual delight. The checkerboard abstractions are the brainchild of title designer Saskia Marka, most well known for her work on Babylon Berlin, which earned the top spot in Art of the Title’s Top 10 Title Sequences of 2018. The hypnotizing patterns used as the basis for the graphics were created by physicist-turned-animator David Whyte (aka Bees and Bombs) using the coding language Processing. The imagery, framed by dark vignetting and doused in dusty particles, is lifted to joyful heights thanks to the elegant, triumphant theme by composer Carlos Rafael Rivera. Watching the swagger of shapes in black and white transform, shift and dance, one can’t help but hear the warm echo of Beth’s last word: сыграем. Let’s play.
A discussion with Title Designer SASKIA MARKA and Animator DAVID WHYTE.
Congratulations on your work this year, Saskia! It’s been a difficult year to get anything done but you managed to work on three titles projects – Deutschland 89, the update to the Babylon Berlin titles and The Queen’s Gambit. How have things changed for you, given the pandemic and everything that’s going on?
SM: Thank you so much! I’m very thankful for the great projects I was still able to work on but it was definitely a challenge during lockdown and throughout the year, working, with the kids running around,…
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