# Opening credits of Sherlock and other BBC series: toys, animation, or real life processed somehow? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-credits-of-sherlock-and-other-bbc-series-toys-animation-or-real-life-processed-somehow/704252 "2014-11-10T17:46:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-credits-of-sherlock-and-other-bbc-series-toys-animation-or-real-life-processed-somehow/704252/1 "2014-11-10T17:46:07Z")
The opening credits of Sherlock and other BBC shows have opening credit scenes that I can’t figure out. They are typically shot from high overhead and show street scenes, with cars, buses and pedestrians moving on well-known London streets. In one sense, they appear to be real-life scenes, but just processed somehow to make them “jerky”. Sometimes, though, they seem like stop-motion animation, with toys moved around a constructed neighborhood, or some other animation technique. Then I look at the pedestrians, and their movement seems much too fluid and realistic to be animated. Does anyone know how these scenes are done? And does the technique have a name? Thanks, J. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-credits-of-sherlock-and-other-bbc-series-toys-animation-or-real-life-processed-somehow/704252/2 "2014-11-10T17:54:06Z")
They look like real street scenes sped up to me, with some cuts to make it jerky. (Which has surely got to be a whole lot cheaper than animation.) ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-credits-of-sherlock-and-other-bbc-series-toys-animation-or-real-life-processed-somehow/704252/3 "2014-11-10T17:54:08Z")
> **[Tilt–shift photography](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt%E2%80%93shift_photography)** > > Tilt–shift photography is the use of camera movements that change the orientation or position of the lens with respect to the film or image sensor on cameras. > Sometimes the term is used when a shallow depth of field is simulated with digital post-processing; the name may derive from a perspective control lens (or tilt–shift lens) normally required when the effect is produced optically. > "Tilt–shift" encompasses two different types of movements: rotation of the lens plane relative to the image pl... ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-credits-of-sherlock-and-other-bbc-series-toys-animation-or-real-life-processed-somehow/704252/4 "2014-11-10T18:02:00Z")
I’ve never watch Sherlock before, but here’s the opening credits: [BBC's Sherlock Opening Titles - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZABO1mNuSc) The first shot is of Piccadilly Circus, and it definitely is the real Piccadilly Circus. Various different methods have been combined though to jazz it up. Obviously some kind of miniature-faking (possibly tilt-shift, but I’d guess more likely some post processing) technique has been applied to the camera and also time effects ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-credits-of-sherlock-and-other-bbc-series-toys-animation-or-real-life-processed-somehow/704252/5 "2014-11-10T18:06:31Z")
It’s definitely tilt-shift. I have used this feature on my DSLR camera to shoot pedestrians in vegas and it’s the exact same effect as seen in the opening credit scenes in Sherlock. Here’s an [example](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XboAeIjcs2E&t=2m19s) (not mine). ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-credits-of-sherlock-and-other-bbc-series-toys-animation-or-real-life-processed-somehow/704252/6 "2014-11-10T18:35:49Z")
Some of the bumpers on Project Runway in New York are hyper realistic. The street scenes look almost fake but perhaps it’s the opposite of Sherlock. I think both are very attractive. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-credits-of-sherlock-and-other-bbc-series-toys-animation-or-real-life-processed-somehow/704252/7 "2014-11-10T19:37:54Z")
It just the [Koyaanisqatsi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirH8PADDgQ#t=1m07s) technique. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-credits-of-sherlock-and-other-bbc-series-toys-animation-or-real-life-processed-somehow/704252/8 "2014-11-10T19:49:42Z")
> [@dofe](#): > > Here’s an [example](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XboAeIjcs2E&t=2m19s) (not mine). Because I love getting hits on my flickr account, [here’s](https://www.flickr.com/photos/9634145@N03/7925626440/in/set-72157631393510414) an example that _is_ mine. Also a [Wired](http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2014/08/how-to/take-tilt-shift-photographs) article on the technique. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-credits-of-sherlock-and-other-bbc-series-toys-animation-or-real-life-processed-somehow/704252/9 "2014-11-12T11:55:31Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It just the [Koyaanisqatsi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirH8PADDgQ#t=1m07s) technique. That’s time lapse. The issue here is how everything looks in the individual shots, which someone correctly pointed out is tilt shift.