IF creative director Tosh Kodama highlights the suspenseful elements of the Invasion main title

Responses by Tosh Kodama, creative director, Imaginary Forces.

Background: For the sci-fi show Invasion, showrunners Simon Kinberg and David Weil didn’t want to create a typical invasion show. Instead, Invasion focuses on an alien takeover as seen through many different cultures and the emotional toll this menacing presence above Earth exacts on people. The title sequence was no exception, as it focuses on the dreadful moments of what happens to humanity without explicitly showing aliens or spacecraft.

Design thinking: Our idea was to show humanity—almost in the opposite sense—through its absence. This show is very global in that it takes place in London, New York City, the Midwest and Tokyo, so we used several recognizable shots of these cities throughout as well as empty locations and environments in our sequence. When we show humans, they are isolated; this feeling of solitude shows the colossal scale of what’s happening and how they’re trying to navigate this new world.

This emotionally driven show is very much about character relationships, so we were conscientious about how to portray the humanity of each character in each frame. Whatever their issues are as an individual, they’re bringing them into this new reality. Even in silhouette, the characters have a weight to them.

Check out Tosh’s full discussion with Commarts here: https://bit.ly/3DKVzRw

 

Read more about Invasion here:
• Visual Atelier
• Stash Media