What If 'The Empire Strikes Back' Had a 'Bond'-Style Title Sequence?
The result is as amazing as you think it would be. Search your feelings. You know it to be true!
Sure, the Star Wars opening title crawl is iconic. You don't mess with what works.
But what if you did tempt fate using another iconic title sequence style—from the Bond films?
That's just what Kurt Rauffer did with The Empire Strikes Back for his School of Visual Arts senior thesis. Get ready to have your force awakened.
Beyond creating an homage to The Empire Strikes Back through the lens of a Bond title sequence, Rauffer taps into emotional journey of our hero Luke Skywalker grappling to accept his new role as a Jedi and his inextricable link to Darth Vader. Using Bond title sequence hallmarks of calling back to the previous story and foreshadowing significant events about to unfold, Rauffer gets to the heart of Empire—Luke's search for identity which he can only understand once he sees himself through his father's eyes. Radiohead's rejected Bond song Spectre certainly helps with the feels, too. And now that the Force has awakened, the familial significance of the lightsaber that Rauffer deftly uses to frame the sequence rings with even more resonance (and a nod to 2001: A Space Odyssey to boot!).
Rauffer credits the Facepunch community and Ash Thorp's Main Title Design class on Learn Squared as key resources that helped him finish his senior thesis. In addition to those resources, be sure to check out our previous articles on creating title sequences. And if you just need more Radiohead, we've got you covered there, too.
What do you think about Rauffer's homage to The Empire Strikes Back via the Bond title sequence? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Source: Vimeo
