Karin Fong and Steve Fuller of Imaginary Forces set out to immortalize the films tale in a stylized, mythological way. Director Rob Cohen sets the third installment of the Mummy films in China, where trouble-seeking father-and-son duo Rick and Alex O'Connell (played by Brendan Fraser and Luke Ford, respectively) unearth the Dragon Emperor.

Fong and Fuller drew inspiration from the filmmakers attention to detail to portray an accurate and historic China. The sequence is a gorgeous brushstroke painting that comes to life, using a palette of stark and contrasting colors. Viewers take an epic journey through the adventures and landscapes seen in the film, from the Himalayas to the desert, bridged together by Chinese calligraphy of the five elements -- water, wood, earth, metal and fire.

On The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, I turned to Imaginary Forces because I knew that the main-on-end titles needed artistry of an unusual nature, says Director Rob Cohen. I had hoped for lyrical and visually graphic animation that would sum up the journey of the film. Karin Fong and Steve Fuller came in with the most beautifully detailed boards and, although there were other bidders, it was a slam-dunk from the first presentation. Their execution was impeccable and dealing with them was a pleasure. It would be difficult to imagine a more forceful and elegant experience.

Rob shot much of the film in China, explains Fong. The sets and cinematography are gorgeous, on a scale that is just stunning. This inspired us to look at Chinese classical art in setting the tone. So for example, we turned to master calligrapher T.Z. Yuan for the ink brush writing. Theres a level of authenticity we were going for, while still including the stuff that makes it a fun movie like a giant Yeti in the sequence. This is a majestic retelling of the story in a form that makes it larger than life.

IF composed scenes similar in style to a graphic novel, building tension and transitions using brushstroke silhouettes of recognizable characters from the film, with 3D models provided by Rhythm & Hues and Digital Domain. The IF designers also shot real paint splatters and brushstrokes to stay true to a hand-painted aesthetic. Exercising restraint by staying away from slick animation helped to capture the mythic nature of the sequence.

We played around with the idea of creating a legend from the story, adds Fuller. A stripped-down version using Chinese painting as the medium instead of glossy fully-rendered elements. A brushstroke painting is so beautiful in its simplicity. A single stroke can represent a man or an action. Our appreciation for that one gesture drove everything. We wanted to people to relive a simplified, raw version of the story they just experienced. This was the elegance we were going for in our design.

Having the confidence and support of the director is key to designing a sequence like this, since we are retelling the tale so stylistically, concludes Fong. Rob always liked the abstract stark power of the Chinese ink and we remained true to this idea. He fully encouraged how we sought to turn the film into folklore, as we went about imagining the grand adventure as an epic painting.

Project Title: The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Main On
End Title Sequence and Opening Main title Card

Designed & Produced by: Imaginary Forces (IF)
End Title Sequence:
Design and Art Direction: Karin Fong, Steve Fuller
Designers: Karin Fong, Steve Fuller, Arisu Kashiwagi, Jeremy Cox
Animators: Jeremy Cox, Chase Massingill, Gary Tam, Ken Tanabe
Editor: Corey Weisz
Inferno Artist: Rod Basham
Calligrapher: T.Z. Yuan
Design Assistant: Andrew Chung

Opening Main Title Card:
Design and Art Direction: Karin Fong, Steve Fuller
Designers: Lauren Hartstone, Sean Eno, Jeremy Cox
Animators: Orlando Costa, Sean Eno
Design Assistant: Andrew Chung

Production Team:
Producers: Kathy Kelehan, Suzanne Potashnick
Executive Producer: Maribeth Phillips
Coordinators: Heather Dennis, Michele Weinberg, Sabrina Mossberg
Head of Production: Ben Apley

Studio: Universal Pictures
Production Company: Alphaville, Beijing Happy Pictures Ltd.
Director: Rob Cohen
Executive Producer: Chris Brigham
Producers: Sean Daniel, Bob Ducsay, James Jacks, Stephen Somers
Post Production Supervisor: Lisa Rodgers
Editor: Kelly Matsumoto, Joel Negron

About Imaginary Forces

IMAGINARY FORCES (IF) is an entertainment and design studio based in Hollywood and New York. Its award-winning work spans the diverse industries of feature film production, entertainment marketing and promotion, corporate branding, architecture, advertising and interactive media. IFs recent work includes identity packages for Spike TV, USA Network, Lifetime, and MTV, as well as effective and compelling broadcast advertising for Nike, Sears, Toyota, Pontiac, Smirnoff and Lexus. In entertainment and media marketing, IF created campaigns for such films as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, Transformers, and National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The company also designed and produced main title sequences for Nims Island, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Number 23, Spider-Man, Seven, Mad Men, Chuck, and Band of Brothers, and produced the highly successful Blade trilogy. Most recently, the company designed the media installations for the award-winning HBO retail store in Manhattan, outdoor multimedia experiences for Wynn Las Vegas and Wynn Macau, and co-created the New City exhibit, part of the MoMAs Design and the Elastic Mind show and the first architecturally-considered virtual environment. For more information on IFs services, contact Danixa Diaz, Director of Business Development.