This is a blog about writing, and writing is about words. As writers we put words together and then sometimes pull them back apart, trying different combinations we create little worlds out of nothing but words - the ultimate Lego set.
So, it makes sense that most of our inspiration comes from reading other people's words, and I'm sure most of us could wallpaper entire rooms with the black and white pages of prose that have inspired us.
Today though I am thinking about how visuals -completely devoid of words - have inspired me. Specifically, I am thinking of the new opening sequence to the HBO show Big Love. My husband and I have been fans of this show since the beginning, and each season it just gets better and better.
However, my husband never liked their opening title sequence - he thought the whole thing was too "on the nose", and while he had a point - I liked the song they chose and the way it told a mini-story in it's minute and a half running time. Much like the cover on a book - it set the tone.
Here's the old opening.
Now in it's fourth season that just started a few weeks ago, Big Love has a new opening and all I can say is WOW. Yes, all caps. It is that good. Visually it is like a chocolate layer cake for the eyes. Rich, complex, and so good I don't want to stop eating - or in this case watching - it (Not the best analogy, I know, but I am on a trying-to-lose-the-baby-weight diet and chocolate cake that I cannot have is a bit of an obsession with me right now).
Anyway, here's the new opening title sequence.
This is without a doubt the best opening title sequence ever, and I am officially obsessed with it.
Now I don't know exactly how this will inspire me. All I know is that it's seared into my brain to the point where it's playing on the backs of my eyelids and that somehow, its influence will seep into my writing somewhere along the way.
So, what's inspired you lately? What do you think of these two very different openings? And are there any opening sequences for TV shows that you absolutely love?
