Join the Paris-based CG iconoclasts at Meat Dept. as they walk us through the process of working with JJ Abrams and LaToya Morgan to create the miniature madness of their titles for Duster, the new 70s-set crime thriller series on Max.

Kevin Van Der Meiren and David Nicolas, directors at Meat Dept.: “JJ reached out to us a while back when we made Black Holes, and then again after making the music video Very Noise, for Igorrr. Since then the idea of working together on a project grew.

“Last summer, as they started shooting Duster, JJ and and his co-creator LaToya Morgan proposed us to create the main titles. Based on the 1970s car chase feel of the show, we pitched a funny and explosive Hot Wheels sequence in a model scale Arizona setting. We did a little test and they loved it, so we started the look dev right away.

“The main challenge was to recreate this miniature feel in CG, using macro and tilt shift cinematography. Another challenge was to give life and character to the cars, and make them feel like real toys.
 

“The creative process was super fluid and fun. We kept throwing ideas and creating new shots until the very end of the production.”

 
“We modeled all the cars appearing in the show (based on set photographs shared by the Bad Robot team) trying to replicate the details and imperfections of these vintage cars. Same with the set design. Based on references from the shooting sets, we sculpted the landscapes, the buildings, the props, as if they were miniature models.

“As is often the case in our work, we didn’t want to simply mimic in CG what would be a real miniature shoot. We sought an interesting style to pique the viewer’s curiosity and attention. We combined the miniature scale of the objects and the depth of field, with the dynamics of real car chases and the physics of real cars. All this with a mix of miniature and realistic VFX creates an uncanny feeling.

“The last challenge was storytelling. Through the interplay between Jim’s red Duster and Nina’s blue Belvedere, the title sequence tells a small story, mirroring the one in the series. At this stage of production, we had decided with JJ and LaToya to enrich the sequence, episode by episode, gradually integrating new elements, clues, and easter eggs. So keep an eye open! Because each opening is slightly different.

“The creative process was super fluid and fun. We kept throwing ideas and creating new shots until the very end of the production. The collaboration with LaToya and JJ was amazing. We sometimes tend to go a little too far into the absurd, and they were able to guide us to create the perfect title sequence for the show.”
 
 

 
Client: Max, Warner Bros. Television
Show creators: JJ Abrams, LaToya Morgan

Production: Meat Dept.
Director: Kevin Van Der Meiren, David Nicolas
CG artist: Kevin Van Der Meiren, David Nicolas, Denis Parrot, Lino Grandi, Mario Hawat
Animator: Angelo Caramanica :
Visual effects artist: Anthony Maalouf
Modeler: Luca Giarrettino
Compositor: Fabien Feintrenie
Editor: Kevin Van Der Meiren

Music: JJ Abrams

Toolkit: Blender, Cycles, Octane, Houdini, Nuke, DaVinci Resolve