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INTRODUCTION
The team at Marvel Studios asked our team at Perception to help create some unique features for their new collection of shorts, I Am Groot. These shorts follow Baby Groot through a series of adventures, mishaps and mischief. For these shorts, our team designed a custom title card and two all-new versions of the Marvel Studios Fanfare: one used for I Am Groot Season 1 and another used for I Am Groot Season 2.
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TITLE CARD
Our team constructed a bright, Groot-inspired title card to close out each I Am Groot short. We watched the shorts early in the development process and we were immediately inspired by the variation and quirkiness of each short. We began crafting various concepts for title cards, and ultimately landed on a direction that celebrated Groot’s personality and childlike demeanor.
HAND-DRAWN TITLE CARD LOOK EXPLORATIONS
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FINAL CONCEPT
Our final direction shows a hand-drawn “I Am Groot” in green ink, surrounded by little drawings of leaves and Groot himself. This idea was inspired by how Groot would draw on walls and be a mischievous member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Concepts for the main title card
Because kids love to personalize their space, whether that is the walls by the bed or the window they sit next to in their parents’ car, we applied that to this title card. Thanks to his mischievous nature and love of doodling, we developed the concept that Groot would draw on the window next to his seat on the Guardians’ ship. This title card shows what Groot would have drawn there.
Look refinements of the main title card
We also animated the title card to include a hand-held camera and focusing effect to represent Groot filming his drawings, proud of them and wanting to show the Guardians. To create this title card, we used Adobe Photoshop, Cinema4D, and Adobe After Effects.
Final Main Title Card
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FAST FORWARDED MARVEL STUDIOS FANFARE: SEASON 1
Because I Am Groot is a collection of shorts, we didn’t want to include the full Marvel Studios Fanfare introduction to precede them. The Marvel Studios Fanfare is grand and includes such an intense build up of what is to follow. However, these shorts are light-hearted, quick tales. With this in mind, our team developed the idea of having Groot speed up the Marvel Studios Fanfare intro, using a classic VHS fast-forwarding effect for Season 1
I Am Groot Season 1 Marvel Studios Fanfare
We began conducting different motion tests and concept development tests to explore different fast-forwarding effects and land on our final look.
Marvel Studios Fast Forward Effect Motion Test 1
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A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
To create this fanfare, our team collaborated with Luma Pictures, who were also working on I Am Groot. We spoke with the team at Luma Pictures and sent them the temp of our design.
Marvel Studios Fast Forward Effect Motion Test 2
We asked if they could help design and animate Groot to show him clicking “fast-forward” on a remote and then popping into the frame and knocking over the camera at the end. After receiv- ing the Groot character animation from Luma Pictures, we applied it to our fanfare for our final design.
Marvel Studios Fast Forward Effect Motion Test 3
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FAST FORWARDED MARVEL STUDIOS FANFARE: SEASON 2
Our team updated the Marvel Studios Fanfare for I Am Groot Season 2 to celebrate a new batch of shorts. Keeping with the spirit of the I Am Groot Season 1 sped up Marvel Studios Fanfare, we kept the shortened, fast forward logo but changed the style. Instead of using a VHS design, our team opted to have the fast forward animation look identical to a user skipping through an episode on Disney+. This was a fun way to speed up the animation while also paying homage to I Am Groot's streaming platform.
I Am Groot Season 2 Marvel Studios Fanfare
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CONCLUSION
We had a great time exploring the many adventures of Groot in Marvel Studios’ new collection of shorts, I Am Groot. Groot is a fan-favorite character and we loved helping bring his mischief and humor to life. I Am Groot is now streaming on Disney+.
