“From the outset of the project, we felt this subject matter called for a more mindful design approach than we’d seen in many other recent crime-related title sequences,” said Ian Bradley, creative director at Framestore’s New York studio. “With such a wealth of source material from the era to choose from, we decided to curate imagery that didn’t sensationalize the murders, but rather focused on the profound emptiness left behind in the community.”

The team developed new, bespoke disintegration effects to erode the original photographs, as if they had been discarded and left to deteriorate in the elements. To achieve this effect, Framestore created a method of distortion in-house using element footage of ink bleeds, washes, oil and paint mixes, driving smart vectors to warp the photographs.

This was a painstaking process of trial and error for each image, particularly keeping in mind the need to do justice to all those who were affected by these real life tragedies.