Concept and creative process
Titles for Nigel Kneale’s 1954 adaptation of ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’, George Orwell's story about a man who tried to rebel against the totalitarian state in which he lived and worked, directed by Rudolph Cartier. The title sequence designer gave nothing of the plot away but sought to create an atmosphere of dark foreboding by filming a swirling mass of billowing smoke in response to the music by John Hotchkis. The titles, set in a stencil sans serif typeface, were filmed on a rostrum camera and combined with the background in a film optical, played into the live programme on the night. The drama and incidental music were performed live with the orchestra in an adjacent studio, playing to a closed-circuit feed of the action taking place on the studio floor. The repeat performance, which took place four days after the premiere on 12th December 1954, was fortunately preserved as a 35mm telerecording.