Warner Bros.
DC Comics
Main Title Sequence
Titling
2D Animation
Animation
Motion Design
Typography

The Suicide Squad

We’re always thrilled when we get a call about a James Gunn project, and this one was no exception! 

We were tasked with using our design and typography expertise to devise a system that tied all the graphic elements in the film together. We created a main title sequence, subtitles, an end crawl as well as a custom treatment for the Warner Bros. logo animation.

A Unified Typographic System

We were tasked with using our design and typography expertise to devise a system that tied all the graphic elements in the film together. We created a main title sequence, subtitles, an end crawl as well as a custom treatment for the Warner Bros. logo animation.

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“We love working with James and his team because we know it will give us an opportunity to do something special with typography. He loves type that has personality and believes that it contributes to the tone of the film — and of course we agree!”

The Warner Bros. Logo Treatment

Prior to making the custom Warner Bros. opening logo treatment, the filmmakers shared the poster designs that they were developing to promote the film. The vintage war movie visual theme was very prominent, so we wanted to lean into that for our treatment as well.

The details below like the osprey helicopter in the film poster and the concrete wall from the prison really tie the WB logo to both the story and the universe of the film.

Reference:

Play WB Logo
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Main Title Sequence

When James Gunn briefed us, it was pretty clear he was looking for treatments that were evocative of 60’s caper war films. So, after watching the film  we started looking at titling made for films like ‘Dirty Dozen’, ‘The Great Escape’ or ‘The Guns of Navarone’ and this really informed our exploration. From there, we scoured the internet for all the reference and inspiration we could find that was relevant, including films, printed ads, album covers, and others.

This research led us to explore a bold and bright stencil solution. An added benefit was that it was very legible when placed over the frenetic montage sequence that it’s set over.

Of course the badass music track (“People who died” by Jim Carol band) pushed us towards a punk rock color scheme that worked wonderfully with the vintage type.

Play Main Title
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Main Title Typography

Alpha Midnight, a 1969 typeface designed by Hiroshi Yamashita, was the base and inspiration that would be modified so heavily that it ended up becoming its own unique typeface.

This type treatment is bold and bright enough to sustain legibility over the footage it lives on. And, of course, it stays true to the 60’s vibe we were after. The stencil also gives it a military quality that feels very appropriate for a caper war film.

For a secondary typeface, Garage Gothic, by Frere-Jones Type, worked as a perfect pairing for our stenciled letterforms. A tall sans-serif with quite a bit of grit and personality, inspired by tickets given at parking garages in NYC.

Optical Title Treatment

In the 1960’s all titles were composited over the footage using an optical printer… Meaning, the type was printed directly onto the film. This process made the type a little soft around the edges, added some little imperfect bits and created some very subtle color bleeds.

We achieved a very similar effect, digitally, by stacking layer styles, blurs and textures. We also added some film grain and a very subtle gate weave to further sell the effect.

The Subtitles

Part of the story takes place in Corto Maltese and all the locals speak Spanish. That meant the film needed subtitles. Where some look at subtitles and cringe, we saw it as an excellent opportunity to grow our typographic system.

We treated the subtitles throughout the film like a kinetic type assignment, where the words animate on as the characters say them. This movement added another level of expressiveness and style to the scenes.

All the subtitles were set in Template Gothic, by Barry Deck. A typeface that, while extremely legible, embraces its imperfections and oozes personality.

End Crawl Design

Our design system  flows naturally into the end crawl. Small details like the character icons and the bullet holes in the dot leaders really make this a unique end crawl design.

The designs were passed off to Scarlet Letters, who ultimately set all the type and animated the end crawl.

Conclusion

“An epic movie needs epic typography.”

Project Credits 
  • Executive Creative Director
    Erin Sarofsky
  • Executive Producer
    Steven Anderson
  • Producers
    Dylan Ptak
  • Creative Lead
    Duarte Elvas
  • Visual FX
    Cory Davis
  • Animator/Designers
    Andrei D. Popa
  • Cat McCarthy
  • Josh Smiertka
  • Ally Munro
  • Andrea Braga
  • Additional Artists
    Jake Allen
  • Matt Miltonberger
  • Tanner Wickware
Client Credits 
  • Client
    Warner Bros.
  • Film Director
    James Gunn
  • Producers
    Josh Levinson
  • Simon Hatt
  • Peter Safran
  • Editor
    Fred Raskin
  • Assistant Editor
    John To

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