LOS ANGELES — Mill+ (themill.com) recently collaborated with 25/7 Productions and director Michael John Warren to create the opening titles for Fearless. The new Netflix series documents Brazilian bull riding culture and the grueling journey of riders from Sao Paulo to championships in Las Vegas.
Mill+ crafted opening titles that play a pivotal role in introducing viewers to the characters. Each scene works as a vignette, introducing a unique character’s personality and story using a distinctive, hand-painted look.
“We used oil paintings as an initial influence to create a tactile effect,” says Mill+ art director Helen Hsu. “The concept started with looser brush strokes but gradually got more refined to add realism and purpose. We wanted the titles to look and feel like a painting, while using 3D software to achieve the look. To avoid them looking too ‘3D,’ we had to repaint the frames multiple times.”
“The quality of the style was very important,” adds Mill+ creative director Clarice Chin. “The titles had to evoke meaning because of the very emotional, intense stories that are being told. Fearless is a documentary series with a lot of heart in it and it was crucial that we visualize that.”
Justin Demetrician, Tim Devlin and Viraj Ajmeri handled animation tasks for the project. Adam Scott served as colorist.