Brooklyn-based creative studio And/Or dug through the archives to create the stark main titles for HBO’s four-part documentary, The Case Against Adnan Syed, produced by Disarming Films and Oscar-nominated director Amy Berg.
The documentary digs into the case made famous by the podcast Serial, taking a close look at the murder of 18-year-old high school student Hae Min Lee and the subsequent conviction of her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed. Syed went to jail in 2000 but has always maintained his innocence. He had been scheduled to get a new trial, but several weeks ago that decision was reversed.
“This story is loaded with archival evidence and documentation,” says And/Or Creative Director Kelli Miller. “We were given a ton of archival material to work with, from official police documents to personal photos to Hae’s diary,” says Miller. “The challenge was to make all of these disparate items work together to tell a cohesive story.”
And/Or also created more than 30 minutes of in-episode graphics for the series.
Working with Disarming, And/Or developed a series of split screens that allowed multiple pieces of information to be showcased at one time, visually adding richness to the story’s complexity.
“The team at Disarming Films had created a really strong rough cut of the open that built a clear story arc, introducing the drama and tragedy of the case,” says Miller. “It was our job to elevate that narrative through design and motion.”
The Case Against Adnan Syed is available on HBO 2 and on HBO on demand.
CREDITS
Creative Studio: And/Or
Creative Director: Kelli Miller
Executive Producer: Nika Offenbac
Head of Production: Diana Mandelare-Au
Animation Director: Olga Povarchuk
Design: Kelli Miller, Mike Batista, Larisa Martin
Animation: Olga Povarchuk, Mike Batista, Elliot Blanchard, Larisa Martin, Diksha Watwani, Crosby Ignasher
Disarming Films
Director: Amy Berg
Head of Production: Grace Sin
Producer: Ruchi Mital
Producer: Paul McGuire
Editor: Alex Keipper
Instinct Productions
Executive Producer: Jemima Khan
Executive Producer: Henrietta Conrad
Music: “Opening Title Theme” - Written and performed by Frally and Oliver Kraus
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