animated, geometric forms in the German expressionist manner, they were
consistent with the experimental film-within-a-film concept that gave title
sequences momentary independence while serving the practical needs of a
motion picture. Moreover, this film launched the long career of Pablo Ferro
as title designer, trailer director, and feature filmmaker.
Yet, before he started designing film titles, the Cuban-born Ferro
(b. 1935 ), who had emigrated to New York City when he was twelve years
old—quickly becoming a huge film fan and aficionado of UPA cartoons—
had earned a reputation for directing and editing scores of television
commercials.
After graduating from Manhattan’s High School of Industrial Art,
Ferro began working at Atlas Comics in 1951 as an inker and artist in the
EC-horror tradition. A year later he began learning the ropes as an animator
of UPA-styled cartoons and worked for top commercial studios, including
Academy Pictures, Elektra Films, and Bill Stern Studios (where, among
other things, he animated Paul Rand’s drawings for El Producto cigars). In
1961 he founded the creative production studio Ferro Mogubgub Schwartz
(later changed to Ferro Mohammed Schwartz, Mohammed being a mythical
partner invented only to retain the cadence of the studio name). As a
consummate experimenter, Ferro introduced the kinetic quick-cut method of
editing, whereby static images (including engravings, photographs, and pen
and ink drawings) were infused with speed, motion, and sound.
In the late 1950 s most live-action commercials were shot with one
or two stationary cameras. Conversely, Ferro took full advantage of stop-
motion technology as well as shooting his own jerky footage with a
handheld Bolex. Unlike most TV commercial directors, Ferro maintained a
strong appreciation and understanding for typography such that in the late
1950 s he pioneered the use of moving type on the TV screen. He had a
preference for using vintage woodtypes and Victorian gothics not only
because they were popular at the time but because they were vivid on
television. In 1961 he created an eclectic typographic film sequence for
Jerome Robbins’s stage play Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You in the
Closet and I’m Feeling So Sad,an innovative approach that, similar to a film
title sequence, preceded the opening curtain and announced the different
acts within the performance.
After seeing Ferro’s commercials, Kubrick hired him to direct the
advertising trailers and teasers for Dr. Strangeloveand convinced him to
resettle in London (Kubrick’s base of operations until he died there in March
1999 ). Ferro was inclined to be peripatetic anyway; ever anxious to bypass
already-completed challenges, he agreed to pull up stakes on the chance that
he would get to direct a few British TV commercials, which he did.
tuis.
(Tuis.)
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