Dear readers,

It is a rare thing for Art of the Title to publish an editor’s note but the time has come to provide an update. Many of you are likely unaware that, since 2018, Art of the Title has been a one-person operation managed by myself, Editor-in-Chief Lola Landekic. It has been my honour to be a member of the small Art of the Title team since 2011 when I joined site founder Ian Albinson and then-Head Writer Alex Ulloa and took on the role of Managing Editor. For the last 13 years, I have loved writing for and managing this site, being able to introduce a generation of creators and fans to the art of title sequence design and to highlight and champion the form’s diverse craftspeople. 

A hiatus

You may have noticed that new articles have become infrequent during the last couple of years. A great many challenges have arisen behind the scenes which have made running the site more difficult and have depleted it financially. Because of these challenges, the site will be on hiatus while I take a break and attempt to raise funds.

What will this hiatus look like? Text and visual content will remain online for now but new articles will not be published and video content will not be functional. With 4120 videos currently comprising the archive of title sequences, Art of the Title’s largest expense is video hosting. After the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Vimeo raised the site’s account fees from $200 per year to more than $4000 per year. Not many people realize the costs involved in running an archive as robust as this one so I believe it’s important to be transparent. There are also a myriad of other costs involved with keeping Art of the Title going including domain and image hosting, back-end development costs, software and service subscriptions, and fees related to research and materials gathering. The biggest toll, of course, comes at the expense of personal time and mental health. 

The site needs to raise $5000 in order for videos to come back online. A Ko-fi account has been set up for this purpose. I’d also like to invite brands and organizations that are interested in working together to get in touch about partnerships and sponsorship of the site. 

I apologize to anyone who is disappointed or inconvenienced by this hiatus. I’ve heard from many of you – especially all you teachers – wondering about the videos and asking when new articles will be published. I’m so glad Art of the Title has been a valuable resource to you! But now it’s time to give back. 

I’d also like to apologize to the designers and experts I’ve interviewed recently whose work and articles have not made it online.  If enough money can be raised – whether via sponsorship or through the support of readers like you – the site can return to adding new videos and articles.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude. Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed the site, many reading since its early days as a Blogspot blog and following along as the site grew and grew; to the designers, directors and artisans who have graciously lent their time and insight and shared their processes; to the assistants, agents, producers and account managers who have connected the dots; to the writers and illustrators who have contributed work for articles; to the organizers who have invited us to speak at their events; to the journalists who have asked questions of us and showcased our work as curators and editors; to the teachers who have invited us to their classes; to the sponsors who have pitched in along the way, particularly Paul Babb and Maxon; to our friends and family, who have lovingly nodded through so many impassioned spiels about title sequences and the lore behind it all. Your support, interest and enthusiasm have meant the world. I’m hopeful that, with the help of readers and a sponsor or two, video function and the publishing of new content can resume on Art of the Title. 

But if not, we’ve had a great run. To every thing there is a season. Turn, turn, turn.

Lola Landekic
Editor in Chief, Art of the Title