While there has been a trend of shortening opening title sequences on television or even doing away with them altogether, this year’s Emmy nominees for Best Main Title Design prove there are still shows that value the power of a good intro. The 2019 Emmy nominees for Best Main Title Design are: “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” (Netflix), “Game of Thrones” (HBO), “Star Trek: Discovery” (CBS All Access), “True Detective” (HBO) and “Warrior” (Cinemax).
All five of these main titles share similarities in emphasizing symbolism and iconography present throughout their respective shows. Two of the nominated creative directors have previously won Emmys for previous seasons of their respective series, Angus Wall for “Game of Thrones” and Patrick Clair and Raoul Marks for “True Detective,” both for the first seasons. So what will win the Emmy for Best Main Title Design this year? Let’s take a closer look at each opening credits sequence and be sure to make your predictions.
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“Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” — Creative Director: Lisa Bolan
The opener for “Conversations with a Killer,” Netflix’s true crime docuseries on Ted Bundy, evokes a researcher poring over newspaper clippings, photographs and audiotapes to uncover the truth about the serial killer. We see photographs of Bundy’s victims smiling for the camera, blissfully unaware of the tragic fate that would befall them. The sequence moves methodically with a vintage effect that is more than a little unsettling. Bolan, the creative director, earned two Emmy nominations last year for her designs on “The Alienist” and “Altered Carbon.”
“Game of Thrones” — Creative Director: Angus Wall
While “Game of Thrones” has famously tinkered with its main title sequence to reflect the events of the episode to come, Season 8 presented a major overhaul of the credits we’ve come to know. This final season sequence is similar to past seasons in showing a 3D map of Westeros, but this time it begins north of the Wall and progresses south to King’s Landing, passing through the Red Keep and beholding the Iron Throne. Creative Director Wall won for the show’s first season titles in 2011 as well as for “Carnivale” in 2004.
“Star Trek: Discovery” — Creative Directors: Ana Criado and Kyle Cooper
“Star Trek: Discovery” was not nominated in this category for Season 1, but the Season 2 credits changed enough to qualify and be nominated this year. While sharing the same overall creative design as the first season, with “Star Trek” iconography sketched on faded paper, the Season 2 titles include several new elements. There is the famous Vulcan salute, the Red Angel, and the “USS Enterprise” captain’s chair among other symbols relevant to the plot of Season 2. Criado is nominated for the first time while Cooper collects his 10th nomination winning in 2009 for editing the Best Picture montage at the Oscars.
“True Detective” — Creative Directors: Patrick Clair, Nic Pizzolatto and Raoul Marks
Much like “Game of Thrones,” the credits to “True Detective” have been widely celebrated as one of the best aspects of the show, and Season 3’s opening naturally follows in the footsteps of its predecessors. Throughout this sequence, we see dramatic slo-mo shots of stars Mahershala Ali, Carmen Ejogo, Stephen Dorff and Scott McNairy in the past and present juxtaposed with the hazy Southern Gothic setting. As expected, there is an air of intrigue and mystery as we are presented with images of the Ozarks. Clair and Marks both won Emmys for the first season of “True Detective” in 2014 and “The Man in the High Castle” in 2016.
“Warrior” — Creative Director: John Likens
The opening credits for “Warrior” give a taste of the stylized martial arts action present in the series as well as the Tong Wars of 1870s Chinatown, San Francisco. Red is splashed all over this intro, bold and vibrant against black and white backgrounds with beautifully choreographed shots of fighting between paintbrush stroke transitions. This is the first Emmy nomination for Creative Director Likens. This is also the only Emmy nomination for Cinemax this year.
So which TV series will take home that Emmy for Best Main Title Design? “Game of Thrones” could pull off a massive sweep for its final season, winning this category alongside many others. There isn’t much precedent of a show winning Main Title Design with anything other than the original title sequence featured in Season 1, so it’s possible that voters will look beyond “Game of Thrones,” “Star Trek: Discovery” and “True Detective.” This may be the only Emmy nomination for both “Conversations with a Killer” and “Warrior,” but we just saw last year how “Counterpoint” was able to win this category with no other nominations, even beating heavily nominated series like “The Alienist,” “GLOW” and “Westworld.” All five opening credits are meticulously designed and visually stunning, so it is bound to be one of the most competitive categories at the Creative Arts Emmys.
PREDICT the Emmys now; change them until September 22
Be sure to make your Emmy predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their TV shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before winners are announced on September 22. And join in the fun debate over the 2019 Emmys taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our television forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
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