The Irish Influence Main Titles

At the beginning of 2021 I was approached by Boston College about their new live interview series “The Irish Influence,” where each week different Irish cultural figures were interviewed about Ireland’s impact on shaping America.

In typical 2021 fashion, these talks occurred live over Zoom, and as such they presented a number of challenges. The most pressing being production value: the variable picture and sound quality that we’re all used to by now. I was asked to come up with a solution that didn’t involve setting up a studio in every guest’s home.

I proposed elevating the overall production value with an opening title sequence that would serve as the series’ branding: it would give the show a strong style, tell a narrative, and settle people in for an hourlong conversation. By setting a cinematic tone early, viewer’s expectations shift: this wasn’t another obligated work call, this was something to be enjoyed. The pre-existing language of TV titles provided an opportunity to convey what the show was about, who was going to be on it, all while raising the typical Zoom production value to tempt college students away from rewatching VEEP and into checking out the educational series instead.