The brief
An opening title sequence for a 90s style anime about two assassins in love who cannot beat each other. ONYX and JADE take the same contract and neither one blinks.
The rule was strict: motion graphics and still images only. No video model anywhere in the chain, so every movement had to come from code.
What we made
- DEAD EVEN, a 92 second opening at a true 1920 x 1080 and 24 frames a second
- A split-screen vertical cut at 1080 x 1920 for phones
- Turnaround sheets for ONYX and JADE
- Four style frames tested before the build: Jazz Cut, Cel 94, Fountain Noir and Ink Duel
- The full project packed with the frames, the code and the image prompts
How it works
Every frame is a still image moved by code and cut to the beat. Camera pushes, wipes, split screens and title cards are all written in Python and rendered with FFmpeg.
Where a character needed to actually move, such as a kick or a draw, the motion came from three by three sprite sheets cut into single frames. The turnaround sheets were the reference for every image, so both leads stay the same across the opening.
What we threw away
The opening went through six versions. Some textures crawled from frame to frame, so they were frozen back to the original art. One kick frame came back with a doubled leg. Our own first review missed it, and it was repaired by redrawing just that area.
The wide renderer was rebuilt so the master is a true 1080p frame, and a free anime upscaler doubled the art instead of a paid one.
Limits
This is concept work. The show, ONYX and JADE are made up, so there are no client numbers to report. The Japanese title lettering is set dressing.
Because nothing is a video clip, motion is limited to what stills and sprite frames can carry. Long continuous action is out of reach with this method.
