Generations of Koreans gracefully sashay through the main titles of Apple TV Plus’ Pachinko, a joyful homage to family that precedes a story in which the ties that bind are not always occasion for happiness.
Elastic’s Angus Wall and Nadia Tzuo worked with Pachinko series creator Soo Hugh to design the sequence, which was drawn from notes she scribbled while writing the series treatment. The title sequence is composed of two distinct parts – in part one, the past is evoked through a series of fading photos, while part two features the cast in various phases of dance in the middle of a colorful Pachinko parlor. The sequence is set to a version of The Grass Roots’ “Let’s Live for Today.”
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Based on the novel by Min Jin Lee, Pachinko tells the story of four generations of Koreans. As World War I breaks out in Europe, the story’s central character, Sunja (Kim Minha, Youn Yuh-jung) is forced to immigrate to Osaka, Japan from rural Korea, unknowingly bringing generations with her. Koreans were treated as second-class citizens by the Japanese at that time, and that racism follows the characters all the way to 1989, including to Sunja’s smart, educated and successful grandson, Solomon (Jin Ha).
Pachinko premiered March 25 on Apple TV Plus, with new episodes dropping on Fridays.
READ MORE: Variety
CREDITS
Client: Apple TV Plus
Design Studio: Elastic
Creative Directors: Angus Wall, Nadia Tzuo
Animators: Lucy Kim, Trix Taylor, Zack Citro, Chavilah Bennett
Editors: Nathaniel Park, Rachel Fowler
Designers: Nadia Tzuo, Carlo Sa
Typographer: Ben Woodlock
Color Pipeline Management: Andrew Young
Senior Producer: Paul Makowski
Producer: HJ Kim
Deputy Head of Production: Zach Wakefield
Executive Producer: Luke Colson
Executive Producer / Head of Production: Kate Berry
Managing Director: Jennifer Sofio Hall
Color Studio: Primary
Colorist: Kya Lou
Color Assistant: Ale Amato, Corey Martinez, David Oh
Color Producer: Diane Valera
Color Coordinator: Jessica Clark
Executive Producer: Thatcher Peterson