Kyle Cooper: Difference between revisions

| name = Kyle Cooper

| image = =

| caption = Marina Abramović during the 2012 [[Vienna= InternationalKyle FilmCooper, Festival]]2008

| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Salem, Massachusetts]]

| website = "https://prologue.com/"

| imagesize =

| field = [[Title Sequence]] Design

| training = [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]]<br />[[Yale School of Art]]

| influenced_by =

| influenced =

{{for|the South African rugby union player|Kyle Cooper (rugby playerunion)}}

'''Kyle Cooper''' (Born July 13, 1962) is an American [[designer]] known for his work[[Title creatingsequence|main [[title sequence]]s for motion pictureswork. He has produced and directed over 350 visual effects sequences and main title sequences acrossfor a[[Film|motion broad array of filmpictures]] and various [[Broadcasting|broadcast mediums]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0178204/bio|title=Kyle Cooper|website=IMDb|access-date=2017-05-08}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==

Cooper was born on a Friday the 13th in [[Salem, Massachusetts]]. As a child, Cooper spent his days obsessed with sketching monsters.<ref name="aiga">{{cite web|url=http://www.aiga.org/medalist-kyle-cooper/|title=Kyle Cooper|publisher=AIGA|accessdatearchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705012216/http://www.aiga.org/medalist-kyle-cooper/|access-date=May 3, 2014|archive-date=July 5, 2014}}</ref> He was also fascinated by comic books, monster makeup books, and horror movies. Cooper stated in an interview with Revert to Saved that he had always wanted to be a film director, “I’ve always been interested in film and editing—more specifically, the juxtaposition of images in film or on a single page. However, I felt it more comprehensive to tell stories over time. Print design can provide great single moments, but I wanted to work with a sequence that had a beginning, middle and end". <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://reverttosaved.com/2009/03/26/from-the-archives-an-interview-with-kyle-cooper/|title=From the archives: an interview with Kyle Cooper|website=Revert to Saved|access-date=2017-05-08}}</ref>

After graduating with his [[Master of Fine Arts|M.F.A.]] from the [[Yale School of Art]], Cooper went on to work at [[R/GA]] (then known as R/Greenberg Associates) from 1988 to 1996, first in New York City and then Los Angeles. During this period, Cooper created the title sequence for the 1995 American crime film ''[[Seven (1995 film)|Seven]]'', a seminal work which received critical acclaim<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.indexbook.com/libro.php?435|title=Uncredited – Graphic Design and Opening Titles in Movies|last=Solana|first=Gemma|publisher=Index Book|year=2008|isbn=978-84-96309-52-54|edition=2nd|location=Barcelona|pages=|authorlink=|author2=Antonio Boneu|accessdateaccess-date=28 March 2010}}</ref> and is credited for inspringinspiring a number of younger designers for years to come. According to Cooper, at the time he made the title sequence for [[Seven (1995 film)|Seven]], main title sequences were behind what was happening in print, music videos, and commercials. Cooper has stated he aimed to create main titles that would raise the bar creatively for future title sequences.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://watchthetitles.com/articles/00169-Se7en|title=Stars Aligned for Se7en's Main Title|last=Wolting|first=Femke|date=2010-02-12|publisher=SubmarineChannel|author2=Remco Vlaanderen|accessdateaccess-date=2010-03-25}}</ref>

In 1996, Cooper founded Imaginary Forces with Peter Frankfurt and Chip Houghton. Imaginary Forces went on to become one of the most successful creative agencies in Hollywood that came out of the West Coast division of [[R/GA]]. “We have spent a long time building and refining a brilliant creative and production team… Keeping this group together as our own company is truly exciting,” commented Cooper about the name change.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/1996/scene/vpage/title-card-change-rga-la-becomes-imaginary-forces-1117435870/|title=Title card change: RGA/LA becomes Imaginary Forces|last=Weiner|first=Rex|date=1996-12-02|work=|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|publisher=Variety|via=}}</ref> Too involved by the business side of running a design company the size of Imaginary Forces, Cooper decided it was time for him to focus more on his creative work. In 2003, Cooper left imaginaryImaginary forcesForces and founded Prologue, a creative agency in which he works in a small team while concentrating on creating title sequences.

Cooper has claimed his greatest influence in his choice of profession is Stephen Frankfurt’s opening title sequence for ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird (film)|To Kill a Mockingbird]]''. Cooper also pulls inspiration from [[William Shakespeare]] – his former production company, Imaginary Forces, takes its name from a line in the prologue of Shakespeare's ''[[Henry V (play)|Shakespeare's Henry V (play)]]''. The idea to name the company after this prologue is based on the idea that opening titles often act like a prologue to a film. This of course can also be seen as an influence for his current company, “Prologue”. All that said, [[Wired (magazine)|Wired Magazine]] notes Cooper isn’t typically hired due to a signature “style”. He’s hired to "dig under the celluloid and tap into the symbolism of a film".<ref>{{Cite newsmagazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2004/06/cooper/|title=The Dark Genius of Kyle Cooper|last=Gibson|first=Jon M.|workmagazine=WIRED|access-date=2017-05-08|language=en-US}}</ref> This was a precedent he started with some of his earliest work, notably [[''Seven (1995 film)]]''.

* ''[[She-Devil (1989 film)|She-Devil]]'' (1989)

* ''[[Immortal Beloved (1994 film)|Immortal Beloved]]'' (1994)

* ''[[Mighty Joe Young (1998 film)|MightMighty Joe Young]]'' (1998)

* ''[[Dreamcatcher (2003 film)|Dreamcatcher]]'' (2003)

* ''[[Identity (2003 film)|Identity]]'' (2003)

* ''[[Iron Man (2008 film)|Iron Man]]'' (2008)