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

Tags: andor disarming films hbo hot spots main titles the case against adnan syed


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