THE GALLOWS POLE

Motion designer Ed Kevill-Davies collaborated with Shane Meadows and Lucas Roche to create the title sequence for the Director’s highly anticipated first period drama, The Gallows Pole. The three-part BBC series transports us into the desperate world of David Hartley (Michael Socha) and the Cragg Vale Coiners, counterfeiters fighting for the survival of their community against the backdrop of the coming industrial revolution in 18th century Yorkshire.

The titles follow Hartley across the Moors, tailed by six mythical stag men who, in the series, guide Hartley’s actions through a series of hellishly bleak visions, snippets of which are glimpsed here. The title sequence also provides historical context around events in the series via fictionalised newspaper headlines, whilst showing us the post-apocalyptic scenes from Hartley’s potential future.

To fully bring life (or the opposite…) to Meadows’ detailed and grim vision for the sequence, Ed experimented with Midjourney, harnessing the AI tool to generate an initial world of bleak and abominable imagery which was further honed and manipulated in the studio. The final kaleidoscopic college is a fusion of folk-rock and psychedelia inspired visuals that convey the bleak and destructive nature of Hartley’s existence.

Colour grading and picture finishing for the series was completed by Paul Harrison and Owen Hulme at Residence Pictures, part of the Coffee & TV Group.