HBO Intro Behind The Scenes

Kris White
2 HN recommenders · recommended in 2 months, 2014–2018
YouTube
37K views · 14 years ago · documentary · historical

A making-of video about the classic HBO intro from the early 1980s, made before computer graphics took over. It shows how the starburst, the chrome logo and the camera moves were built with physical models and motion control.

HN loves it as a record of brilliant pre-CG motion graphics, including a chrome logo literally built out of brass.

“A personal favorite: the motion graphics in this "making-of" video for a 1983 HBO intro”
Motion graphics & title designVisual storytelling & cinematography
#hbo#titlesequence#motioncontrol#practicaleffects#motiongraphics

3 comments from Hacker News

j
@jcl2014 · in “How We Did It: SNL Title Sequence”
A personal favorite: the motion graphics in this "making-of" video for a 1983 HBO intro: ▶ this video This is the pre-Tron era, where the easiest way to get a picture of a chrome logo is to build one out of brass. The starburst and light ribbon effects later in the video are similarly brilliant examples of pre-CG CG.
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C
@CharlesW2018 · in “The special effects for the computer display in “Escape From New York””
Nice! This takes me back to my days as a kid when I would pour over issues of Cinefex, which I'm very happy to see is still around. If you enjoyed this, you'll probably also get a kick out of how they made the legendary HBO intro from 1983: ▶ this video
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j
@jcl2018 · in “Light painting animations directly from Blender”
Great project! Reminds me of pre-CG special effects that were also achieved with motion control and long exposures, like the 1980 HBO opening animation: ▶ this video Or the slit scan technique used for the stargate sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey: link
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