For the current re-release of the lauded series “Red Riding,” in select theaters nationwide starting February 19, Superfad was asked to design a title sequence for the chapter 1980, which focuses on the investigation into the Yorkshire Ripper murders and the police corruption surrounding the case.

Set against a backdrop of serial murders including the Yorkshire Ripper case, the Red Riding Trilogy is based on the books by David Peace and adapted for the screen by Tony Grisoni and deal with multi-layered corruption. Each segment was directed by a different filmmaker and presented as a serialized trilogy on British television and was recently united for festival screenings the current engagement via IFC.

“The opportunity to work with such an incredible team as Director James Marsh and Editor Jinx Godfrey was one we simply couldn’t pass up,” says Superfad’s Kinda Akash. “We started out by literally mapping out the geographical locations of the murders. This initial diagram, an exercise in familiarizing ourselves with the case, became more complex once more layers of information were added: how many women were killed where, how many times the police had investigated one location, travelled to another, and so on. The result was a web of lines and numbers, held within a geographical constraint, but otherwise bound by no particular order. It really reflected corruption, both of the mind of the Yorkshire Ripper and the police investigation.”

The tremendous complexity of this diagram and the lines that held it all together became the vehicle for Superfad’s sequence, literally framing figures in the edit, coming precariously close to their faces. The slow-creeping nature of the lines hint at the inefficiency that plagued the case, as well as the trepidation of police investigators and the murderer. The tone and pacing were set by Jinx’s edit and the voice of Bill Molloy, heard over the sequence, which evoked a chilling pathos.

“While the team certainly looked at the vernacular of serial killers,” continues Akash, “we arrived at the final look by coming across the following anecdote: apparently the sheer volume of investigative documents (papers photocopied over and over, looked over innumerable times) forced the police to reinforce the floors. That weight, that idea of paper being reused, handed off from hand to hand and getting soiled, played a large role in our stylistic treatment. In the end, we chose to edit down the amount of lines and information in the sequence; we just wanted to give enough information to illicit a bit of discomfort in the viewer, as well as help the images provide a context for the film to follow.”

About The Red Riding Trilogy
Sure to be one of the cinematic events of the year, RED RIDING is a mesmerizing neo-noir epic based on factual events and adapted for the screen by Tony Grisoni (FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS) from David Peace’s electrifying series of novels. An official selection of the Telluride, New York, Chicago and AFI Festivals, and acclaimed by critics an eminent accomplishment, the trilogy follows several characters in intertwining storylines united by the horror wrought by the “Yorkshire Ripper,” a serial killer who terrorized northwest England in the 1970s and ’80s.

The three films are directed by three notable filmmakers–Julian Jarrold (BRIDESHEAD REVISITED), Academy-Award(R)-winner James Marsh (MAN ON WIRE) and Anand Tucker (SHOPGIRL). Each boasts a stellar British cast that includes Andrew Garfield (THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS), Sean Bean (LORD OF THE RINGS), Paddy Considine (DEAD MAN’S SHOES), Rebecca Hall (VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA), and Peter Mullan (TRAINSPOTTING).

Click here to view the Red Riding 1980 titles.

Cast:
Andrew Garfield
Rebecca Hall
Sean Bean
David Morrissey
John Bradshaw
Warren Clarke
Paddy Considine
Maxine Peake
Eddie Marsan
Shaun Dooley
Lisa Howard
Jim Carter
Sean Harris
Michelle Dockery
Mark Addy

CREDITS

Directors:
Julian Jarrold
James Marsh
Anand Tucker

Producers:
Andrew Eaton
Anita Overland
Wendy Brazington

Executive Producers:
Liza Marshall
Hugo Heppell
Norman Merry

Writers:
Tony Grisoni
David Peace (Novels)

RELATED LINKS:
www.superfad.com
www.ifcfilms.com/films

SOURCES:
www.ifcfilms.com
hypeworld.com