The black-and-white spot that Ferro designed for Dr. Strangelove
employed his quick-cut technique—using as many as 125 separate images in
a minute—to convey both the dark humor and the political immediacy of
the film. At something akin to stroboscopic speed, words and images flew
across the screen to the accompaniment of loud sound effects and snippets
of ironic dialogue. At a time when the bomb loomed large in the fears of
the American public (remember, Barry Goldwater ran for president
promising to nuke China) and the polarization of left and right—East and
West—was at its zenith, Ferro’s commercial was not only the boldest and
most hypnotic graphic on TV but also a sly, subversive statement.
Dr. Strangelovewas key to Ferro’s eventual shift from TV to film.
And working with Kubrick was the best possible introduction to the movie
industry, since this relationship allowed Ferro to bypass the stultifying
Hollywood bureaucracy. Ferro was free to generate ideas, and Kubrick was
sufficiently self-confident to accept (and sometimes refine) them. For
example, once the sexual theme of the opening title sequence was decided
upon, Kubrick wanted to film it all using small airplane models (doubtless
prefiguring his classic spaceship ballet in 2001: A Space Odyssey). Ferro
dissuaded him and located the official stock footage that they used instead.
Ferro further conceived the idea to fill the entire screen with lettering
(which, incidentally, had never been done before), requiring the setting of
credits at different sizes and weights, which potentially ran counter to legal
contractual obligations. Kubrick supported it regardless. On the other hand,
Ferro was prepared to have the titles refined by a lettering artist, but
Kubrick correctly felt that the rough-hewn quality of the hand-drawn
comp was more effective. So Ferro carefully lettered the entire thing
himself with a thin pen. Yet only after the film was released did he notice
that one term was misspelled: “base on” instead of “basedon.” Oops! Inci-
dentally, Kubrick insisted that Ferro take “front credit” rather than “back
credit,” a rare and significant movie industry protocol.
Ferro’s work is not always immediately identifiable, although he
has reprised his signature style from Dr. Strangelovea few times since 1964.
Stop Making Sense,the Talking Heads concert film ( 1984 ),The Addams
Family: Family Values( 1993 ), and Men in Black ( 1997 ) all employ his
distinctive hand lettering. But Ferro is less concerned with establishing a
personal identity than he is with creating titles that support the movie they
frame. Ferro defines each problem according to the ethos of the specific
film; hence, titles for The Thomas Crown Affair ( 1968 ), with its quick cuts
and innovative multiple-screen technique, or Midnight Cowboy( 1969 ), with
its lyrical narrative sequencing, are individual works born of the same vision
and purpose—to introduce another artist’s work.
tuis.
(Tuis.)
#1