Set in a bucolic but sinister small town in Vermont, WAYWARD is a genre-bending Netflix series about "the insidious intricacies of the troubled teen industry, and the eternal struggle of the next generation" (IMDb).
Landing this Main Title project ignited a fever dream of inspiration for me. As a longtime fan of creator Mae Martin and legendary actor Toni Colette, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate on what was sure to be an incredible show.
After a massive pitch effort with 10 possible ideas on the table, we worked together to hone in on the best approach.
We landed on a cold open with a simple title card that would set a jarring, foreboding tone.
The sequences were designed to feel raw and corrupted, like a memory that’s been mishandled or reshaped by force. I was heavily inspired by the chaos and DIY spirit of my teenage art-making years, and I unearthed old art and photography techniques from the 90s and early 2000s — including polaroid emulsion lifts, pigment transfers, and aggressive analogue experiments*.
I began by designing the wordmark. Once that was settled, I composited our typography with in-show footage, then exposed each frame onto Polaroid film and manipulated the emulsion in real time using heat, pressure, and chemical processes. The transformation was captured on an overhead camera rig, re-digitized, and reworked through VFX.
Each version broke differently — no two reactions were the same. I leaned into this process and developed a custom treatment for each of the 8 episodes. I liked how this mirrored the narrative: the same treatment applied again and again, with wildly different outcomes.
Arriving at the final episode, the question was: how unhinged can we make it?
The response: FULL SEND 💥
See below for a montage of all 8 episode Main Titles, followed by a peek at the process and a gallery of final frames.
*I want to give a massive shout-out to Netflix and the show creators for their support as I dove headlong into crafting the main titles in an unusual analog fashion. They gave me the trust and space I needed to create work I am extremely proud of, for a show & people I deeply admire. Thank you!
MAIN TITLES MONTAGE
BEHIND THE SCENES
Episode 101 "Tall Pines"
Episode 102 "Burrow"
Episode 103 "Break"
Episode 104 "Mud"
Episode 105 "Build"
Episode 106 "Mirror"
Episode 107 "Ascend"
Episode 108 "Leap"
CREDITS
Creative Director: Julia Deakin
Design + Animation: Julia Deakin
Production Company: IAMSTATIC
Executive Creative Directors: Ron Gervais, Dave Greene
Senior Producer: Nicole Labbe
Client: Netflix
Executive Producer, Creator & Showrunner: Mae Martin, Ryan Scott
Executive Producer: Euros Lynn
Post Production Executive Producer: Andrea Glinski
Creative Director: Julia Deakin
Design + Animation: Julia Deakin
Production Company: IAMSTATIC
Executive Creative Directors: Ron Gervais, Dave Greene
Senior Producer: Nicole Labbe
Client: Netflix
Executive Producer, Creator & Showrunner: Mae Martin, Ryan Scott
Executive Producer: Euros Lynn
Post Production Executive Producer: Andrea Glinski