tcm 25th anniversary open

Turner Classic Movies came to Versus with a concept centered around bringing iconic characters from its film library together within a shared environment. We embraced the idea and, after several rounds of design exploration, Versus Creative Director Justin Barnes and I began looking for a way to capture the spirit of what TCM wanted while giving it a stronger visual identity.

That led me back to remembering when TCM premiered their 31 Days of Oscar campaigns from 2008 and 2009. Those promos used a minimalist black stage where iconic moments and characters from multiple Oscar-winning films seamlessly transitioned and morphed from one classic movie into the next. I used that as a point of inspiration, reinterpreting the approach for a new generation of promos. Turner responded enthusiastically to the callback and quickly embraced the concept.

One of the biggest challenges was combing through TCM’s extensive catalog to find memorable characters and moments that could be isolated cleanly and integrated into a new environment without relying too heavily on the original scene around them. It was a massive undertaking, but also one of the most rewarding parts of the project.

The final piece moves quickly and is intentionally packed with detail, many characters, and visual moments layered throughout the composition. There is a lot to discover, and it often takes more than one viewing to catch everything.