A surprise cast member in
Jane Campion’s much-anticipated crime series Top of the lake is a terrific set
of opening credits based on a painting by Seraphine Pick. Apparently the
original concept was to use images showing the painting evolving as Pick made
it, but in the end the final work was filmed along with details of some of
Pick’s signature elements and then animated by Leonie Savvides.
Pressured no doubt by trying to
fit a handful of sub-plots into a TV 'hour', the credits run very fast. After getting over the
intrigue of working out whether you're watching the real thing, a photograph or a
painting, they come to an end before you can catch your breath. This is definitely not
Tony Soprano chomping on a cigar cruising through New Jersey in his own goddamn
sweet time. But they are definitely worth viewing in their own right.
You can see the complete sequence of individual
frames from the credits here
