Back in 2015, Radiohead was asked to craft a song for the opening sequence of the James Bond film Spectre. Ultimately, the decision was made to discard Radiohead’s “Spectre” over Sam Smith’s dull but Academy Award-winning “Writing On The Wall”.
It wasn’t right for the film, what we did. So we thought, “Great! Then it’s ours. We can finish it how it’s meant to be and we can release it.” So that side of it was really positive, you know? But I guess there’s lots of people interested in who does [the Bond theme]. There’s a lot riding on it and the song we did was just too dark or whatever, so that’s fine. [It] means we get to have it back and it’s ours and we got to put it out. We’re really, really proud of it. – Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood
Notes from the films creator: Star Wars is one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises to date, containing one of the most unique universes in sci-fi fiction. Not only is the universe incredibly iconic, so is it’s title sequence (the famous title crawl). Designed by Dan Perri, the title sequence is one of the most recognizable introductions in the history of film.
Growing up in the 90s where Star Wars was released on VHS, the franchise really sparked my imagination as a child. It not only let me exercise my imagination but also supplied me with some of the happiest memories as I watched it with my family. After re-watching “The Empire Strikes Back,” I decided to use this as a chance to create a homage in the form of a title sequence. This would also serve as my senior “thesis” at SVA and took me the whole semester to complete.
The style and tone of the animation was inspired by the James Bond title sequences. The music was a rejected song from the newest Bond film, Spectre, sung by Radiohead. I really wanted to play on the concept of Luke trying to find himself and true purpose, so the music and inspiration felt fitting.
Enjoy!
Designed, directed, and produced by Kurt Rauffer
Instructor: Daniel Oeffinger
Music: Spectre by Radiohead