Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire

The series, set in an ancient fantasy realm, follows reluctant hero Kröd Mändoon (Sean Maguire), a “thin-skinned and underconfident freedom fighter” in his struggle against the evil ruler, Chancellor Dongalor (Matt Lucas).

TITLE: “Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire”

CLIENT: Hattrick Productions for BBC / Comedy Central

BRIEF: To produce titles that reflect the personality of the show: “A groundbreaking action-comedy that is equal parts workplace comedy and sword and sorcery fun.” Using actuality footage, the sequence had to introduce the main characters and incorporate cast credits and the eponymous Flaming Sword.

TREATMENT: The intention was to play it straight with the title sequence, creating the look of epic drama but letting the comedy shine through from the actuality footage of the characters. The visual style of the sequence references fantasy art of the ‘70s and fantasy films of the ‘80s, as well as more modern epics such as Lord of the Rings. The titles resolve in a character montage reminiscent of fantasy and sci-fi film posters.

HOW IT WAS DONE: Compositing and VFX were completed in After Effects, with additional 3D elements created in 3ds Max, using Fluid Dynamics to create the flaming sword effect. The end-board was produced by roto-masking and time-warping individual characters. These were composited with stock flame footage and logo artwork to create an archetypal heroic montage.