Call Me Mister (1986)

Concept and creative process

The opening titles for a drama series in which an Australian ex-cop turns undercover detective. In his signature multiscreen design style, Alan Jeapes created a dramatic complex mosaic of visuals using programme footage, beautifully choreographed to the music. It is a masterclass in how to establish a leading character and the environment he operates in, how to animate and vary the scale and composition of the multiscreen images and finally how to put it all together in a film optical, using an equally complex matting process. Jeapes used a similar multiscreen technique on a number of other programme titles throughout his long career, notably ‘Spender’ and ‘Newsday’. A frame by frame analysis of ‘Call Me Mister’ reveals just how meticulously planned this sequence was.