Concept and creative process
The titles were rendered in full colour for the fourth series of the popular show which invites members of the public to have their antiques and collectables examined and valued by experts. For the titles, the leading expert and presenter Arthur Negus was featured in a light-hearted animated opening, the scenario for which was typical of the programme content in its depiction of the valuation of objects, the surprise of the vendor at the estimated value, and the banter and discussion that was very much part of the show’s charm and appeal. There were a couple of changes in the animation from the original title for series 1, but other than those and the addition of more colour, it was identical. The animation was done as drawings on paper with 4 frame mixes, known as soft cuts, between key frames of the action, rather than full animation which would have required at least 12, or even 24 frames of drawn animation for each second of screen time. However, this style was well suited to the jauntiness of the title music, the Allegro from Wendy Carlos’s ‘Switched-On’ Moog synthesiser version of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 3.