I spent some time between projects recreating/reimagining a shot from my favorite game of all time, Final Fantasy VIII.
It was a real delight exploring a cinematic language that pays homage to the original, combines the black & white photographic style of the intro credits, and also felt new and modern. Side note, I love that that game basically has 2 intro sequences and they both rock in different ways.
I like the overlaid footage in sections of the original sequence, but it feels dated.
To respect that creative choice, I decided on something like projection mapping or a double negative effect where the footage appears over top of the gunblade. I feel like this creates an intimacy between the story and the iconic gunblade that represents the main character and Final Fantasy VIII so well.
There’s also something to be said about the game’s theme of compression here, too, and forcing elements to occupy the same space and time.
The black & white versions are some of my favorites. I love the original black & white intro credits sequence. It’s a great storytelling device to give the player a taste of what’s ahead without revealing the whole menu.
I feel it captures the spirit of high school age photography, probably pretty close to what those teen protagonists might have actually shot. It also incorporates a sense of Laguna’s journalist era and the imagery in the Occult Fan magazines.
I think there’s a lot more here that could be explored stylistically in a full remake of the cinematic or game remake/sequel/etc (though I have plenty of thoughts & feelings on the “necessity of” vs “the desire to see” a game remake).
