DIG
Main title design and trailer graphics for Dig, a suspenseful crime thriller — including a title reveal built from practical dirt effects shot and composited from scratch.
Overview
Dig is a suspenseful crime thriller, and I was brought on to design the main title and create graphics for the trailer. During early discussions about the title reveal, it was floated as an idea that the title could animate on using stock footage of dirt blowing across the screen — a literal, tactile nod to the film's title. It's the kind of detail that sounds simple in a meeting and turns out to be much more interesting to actually pull off.
After searching for existing stock footage and coming up short of anything that matched what I had in mind, I decided to just shoot it myself.
Process
I set up a small practical effects stage at home — a white card as a clean backdrop, actual dirt gathered from the side of my house, and a shop vac running in blower mode to send it flying across frame. I filmed several passes of the dirt blowing offscreen, then brought that footage into post to clean it up, color correct it, and composite it directly with the main title design.
A small practical effects setup — white card backdrop, dirt gathered from the side of the house, and a shop vac in blower mode to send it flying across frame.
Filming several passes of the dirt blowing offscreen before bringing the footage into post for cleanup, color correction, and compositing with the main title.
Behind the Scenes
Behind the scenes video of the actual take used in the main title.
The finished main title, composited with the practical dirt effects shot for this project.
Everyone on the project was happy with how it turned out, and it's exactly the kind of problem I like most — a design need that doesn't have an obvious off-the-shelf solution, solved by finding (or shooting) something new and folding it into the workflow.
Trailer
Outcome
The dirt-blowing title reveal was a perfect ending to the trailer. Adding a small practical effects detail made it read as far more tactile and real than a stock or fully CG solution would have. I was very happy with the final execution