Concept and creative process
Opening titles for an historical drama serial set in Ancient Egypt during the latter part of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, written by Philip Mackie. The turbulent and ambitious Cleopatra dynasty was symbolised in the title sequence by the Pschent, the Double Crown of Egypt composed of the Red and White Crown, Deshret and Hedjet representing Lower and Upper Egypt respectively. It represented the unity of Egypt and the total control of the Pharaoh over all of Egypt. The Pschent was joined by the Heqa sceptre or shepherd’s crook, most notably held by Tutankhamun in his sarcophagus, and the Nekhakha or shepherd’s flail, emblematic of the power of the Pharaoh as the shepherd of his flock and the provider of food. The three-dimensional symbolic artefacts were computer-generated and transformed into a trail that stretched back into infinity, symbolising the dynastic ambition of the Cleopatras.