Concept and creative process
George Martin presented ‘The Rhythm of Life’, a series in which he talked to some of the world's most influential musicians and singers about the meaning of music. The title sequence was a combination of live action filming and animation, composited in a post-production digital edit. A metronome on a piano, destined to become part of the programme logo in the finale, set the pace for the rhythm of the montage. String, wind and percussion instruments were filmed in low-key lighting as a background to the animation of sound waves and stave lines. These were filmed back lit on a rostrum camera and digitally composited over the instruments, entwining them and flowing over them with sinuous rhythmic movements. In the finale, the hand-drawn main title logo animated on along its own stave lines over the reprise of the metronome.