Pablo Ferro(1935-2018)
- Additional Crew
- Editorial Department
- Visual Effects
Not all of our most important filmmakers are the most well-known.
Hailed as a genius by Stanley Kubrick and described by Jonathan Demme
as "the best designer of film titles in the country today," Pablo Ferro
has distinguished himself in film for more than three decades as a
director, editor and producer specializing in graphic design, special
effects, sequences and main titles, trailers and print campaigns. A
significant influence on the "look" of the 1960s, he may have had an
even more decisive impact on the world of advertising. In addition to
creating and designing some of the more striking TV and print ads of
the decade (one highlight was creating the corporate logo or Burlington
Mills with fast-moving multicolored stitching animation for a classic
commercial campaign), Ferro helped bring the "hard-sell" visual
razzmatazz of cutting-edge advertising techniques to Hollywood films
that strove to reflect the changing social scene. Often pointed and
satirical, much of his best film work has been in association with
directors once allied, to varying degrees, with so-called
countercultural values such as Kubrick. Ferro may be best known as an
early master of quick-cutting and for using multiple images within the
frame. In his commercials and title sequences, he would create a
continuous flow of imagery that drew upon a wide range of graphic
materials from various media. The goal was to sell a product, a movie
or an idea by visualizing abstract concepts with a thought-provoking
mixture of animation, live-action, clips from newsreels, still
photographs and original art work. His style of montage seemed
strangely apt for the dawn of the age of media overload; Ferro found
the poetry in the potential cacophony of too much information. With a
strong foundation in animation, Ferro was a filmmaker in his own right.
He produced and helmed a number of experimental shorts, pioneered the
use of video for narrative storytelling and did second unit work for a
number of his assignments. Despite a decided fondness for high-tech,
another Ferro trademark is his elongated hand-drawn lettering--such as
in the title sequence of Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove"--which emphasized
the all-too-human hand of the artist in the filmmaking process. Raised
on a remote farm in Cuba, Ferro emigrated to NYC with his parents as a
teen. In 1953, as a high school student, he began teaching himself
animation techniques from a book by Preston Blair (a frequent
collaborator with celebrated animation director Tex Avery at MGM) with
which he and two Brooklynite friends joined Abe Liss to build their own
animation boards and stand for their own modest animation studio. The
teens were able to shoot artwork with a 16mm Bell and Howell camera
that photographed single frames. The young Ferro expanded his interest
in the cinema working as an usher in a 42nd Street theater that
screened foreign films. Ferro sharpened his graphic sense working with
Stan Lee (the future editor of Marvel Comics) at Atlas comics where, as
a penciller, he churned out a reasonable series of EC-inspired horror,
sci-fi and adventure stories before segueing into animation. He landed
his first job at a studio that produced black-and-white commercials.
There he got firsthand training from a legendary animator, former
Disney veteran William Tytla, who was best known for animating the
devil in "The Night on Bald Mountain" sequence of "Fantasia" (1940).
Ferro learned his lessons well, graduated to animation director and
toiled at various NYC-based animation houses. In 1997 Ferro had a
stellar year, creating the title designs and sequences for the Oscar
award winning films "Good Will Hunting", "As Good as It Gets", "L.A.
Confidential" and "Men in Black". Some of his other credits for this time
period include the remake of "Dr. Dolittle" (1998), Forrest
Whitaker's "Hope Floats" (1998), and the HBO biopic "Winchell" (1998)
which we are happy to report did received a Golden Globe Award as well
as an Emmy. Also in 1998, Pablo entered into his 7th collaboration with
Jonathan Demme on the Oscar nominated film "Beloved". In October of 1998,
Pablo was honored with a Special Achievement Award, presented by
Michael Cimino at an Award Presentation at the Directors Guild of
America. A Night With Pablo Ferro, hosted by the Latino Committee of
the DGA was well attended by the industries finest. Pablo's peers and
admirers were there to congratulate him, and see a special montage of
his work, and attend the reception following the award presentation. In
his most recent collaboration with Sam Raimi and Kevin Costner, he
created the nostalgic title sequence in "For Love of the Game" (1999). On
the small screen, Pablo has created titles for HBO's "Witness Protection"
(1999), the new NBC pilot M.Y.O.B. (2000), as well as the new FOX pilot
"The Street" (2000), a Darren Singer Production. In addition, Pablo has
again been recognized by his peers, and has won the DaimlerChrysler
Design Award for Film Design in 1999. The Daimler Chrysler award has
honored elegant and innovative task solving, in activities ranging from
human-powered flight to compelling visual persuasion. Spouse -
(1957-1967) Susan Aurora Ferro, Model, artist / Divorced Daughter -
born c. 1965 Joy Michelle Moore, Business Manager, Publicist Son - born
c. 1957 Allen Ferro, Film editor, screenwriter
