Cautionary Tales

Us

Film titles and campaign for a short film of Cautionary Tales

We had the pleasure of designing the film titles and campaign for ‘Cautionary Tales’ — a short film from the directors Us.

Cautionary Tales is the story of Aaron who as a child tragically pulled a funny face in the exact moment that the wind changed direction — permanently disfiguring Aaron for life. The film joins Aaron as a young man, he has grown up with his disfigurement under the pressure of being continually tormented by the wind.

The film titles and campaign introduce the film with a heavy dash of nostalgia — drawing on the graphic language of childhood fairytales. Our role was to tease the films concept without giving the idea away until the end credits.

  • communication: Film title sequence / Motion Graphics / Identity / Campaign / Posters / Print
The main poster was used across film festivals globally
In our teaser poster Aaron is feeling the pressure of his disfigurement and harassed by the ‘wind symbol’ borrowed from the BBC's iconic weather map
In the opening title sequence the wind teases Aaron and blows away the title graphics

In the closing credits we see the cast illustrated; each vignette depicting the characters’ own ’cautionary tale’
Full poster set:
Left: Limited edition screening poster
Middle: Global festival poster
Right: Teaser poster
Screening postcards: ‘The Boy who Pulled a Face’ & ‘The Girl who Told too many Lies’
Screening postcards: ‘The Girl who Swallowed a Pip’ & ‘The Boy who kept Touching Himself’
Screening postcards: ‘The Boy who Stayed in the Bath too Long’

Illustration: Giulia Ghigini
CG Animation: James Sindle