The Memory Police Title Sequence
Title Sequence
Style Frames
Illustration
The Memory Police is a 1994 novel by Yōko Ogawa that tells the story of an island where things habitually disappear from the inhabitants' memory. Those with the ability to remember live in constant fear of Memory Police, a force tasked with removing anyone with the ability to recall forgotten objects.
A film adaption of The Memory Police was announced in 2020. The following title sequence utilizes talent currently attached to the project as of early 2026.
Final Sequence
Unlike other books in the dystopian genre, Ogawa takes a more melancholic approach to her story. By doing so she creates a pensive, dream-like tone throughout the novel.
Similar to the tone of the book, it was important for the sequence to be distinctive, but not flashy. The sequence depicts key elements that have already been forgotten or are doomed to be forgotten by the end of the book.
Style Frames
What is memory? How do we know when we've forgotten something? The messy lines are representative of someone who is in the process of forgetting. There is uncertainty in shaky lines that eventually come together to create something recognizable, but something is still missing and it might never come back.
Process
The final effect was created by layering vectors with the "tweak" effect in Illustrator. This allowed for a controlled chaos that could be edited at any point while still maintaining a consistent style. Additional texturing and displacement in Photoshop created a hand-drawn feel.
Moodboard
The overall mood needed to focus on reflective tone while showcasing the loss of memory. Since memory is so personal, the hand-drawn style and textured worked best.
