Roll credits!

Picture a dark cinema as the film comes to an end - everyone grabs their coats and makes a dive for the door as the credits begin to roll. But wait, what's this? An outtake? A bit more footage? A teaser for the sequel? Everybody slows in case they miss anything with one eye on the crowd around the exit. Sound familiar? From my video and motion graphics days I know just how much thought and effort goes into even a low-end credit sequence, and so I'm usually one of those still seated till the bitter end, tutting at the exiting crowd in the hope something interesting will round out the experience. And sometimes we are rewarded with just that - last night I watched American Ultra, a Nima Nourizadeh film that had passed me by until now. I'll steer away from making any commentary on the film, apart from to say that whilst I enjoyed it, the animated credit sequence stole the show - it was quite simply awesome.On investigation, it turns out it was the work animated work of Gary Leib, and it was so good I watched it 3 times in a row. It pulled together a couple of themes from the film in a way that the actual narrative slightly missed and hinted at a potential 'something' to come. Amazing illustration, mini-narrative and perfect execution - in short, I loved it and thought it truly added to the film experience. So if you're after a little something extra - check it out, and maybe next time think twice about grabbing your coat as the credits roll, you might just be surprised...