In the shadowy night a man jams a needle in his arm. His veins are pumped full of secrets–poison? –super juice? –the mysterious unknown?
Remember this moment. The end of INDEFINITE will connect to the beginning.
By flashing the names early the film feels bigger. (That’s what I felt when I created INDEFINITE.) I wanted to honor the key figures that created the film.
But no. Names were foolishly dropped into the opening, turning credits into speed bumps.
Every name belonged in the closing credits—including the directors.
ONLY the comic book story cards belonged in that opening—punching the plot forward. Those cards locked in the gritty graphic-novel vibe.
The viewer’s mind should start racing with questions.
Who is this guy?
What’s that drug?
What now?
Then he masks up. The viewer is locked in for a ride.
Alternative Opening
I once dreamed up an animated title sequence for INDEFINITE, all 2D using After Effects.
Hand-drawn vines claw skyward. A laboratory door is opened. Orange liquid flows through test tubes. The liquid is placed inside vials. And finally, the vials are stolen.
The test run was not half bad.
But, I only animated the vines growing.
The full concept chewed up time. My skills were super soft. I spent countless nights trying to make the vines look “decent”.
The 2D animation idea was scrapped.
Below are the concept drawings Co-Director Christopher Kuiper created for the animated title sequence.
Christopher Kuiper’s skills came to the rescue. He nailed the comic book art for INDEFINITE.
The 2D animation should never have been tried. Chris’ art was embedded in the original concept.
My animated detour was a waste of time.
P.S. I deleted the animated vines video. I wish I kept the file to share in this post.