Deep State (2018)

Max Easton thought he was out. A former British intelligence operative, Easton was living in another part of the world, in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife. But how did he get there?

In FOX’s new espionage drama Deep State, he gets pulled back in. Allegiances are murky, information is unreliable, relationships are a lie and nothing is black and white — except the opening title sequence. Created by London-based studio MMMultiply, the opening sequence sets up the themes, mood, and central character of the show, ushering us through geographic locations and surveillance footage, through fog and fire and smoke. Mark Strong’s Easton is the complicated, mixed-up man on a desperate chase to prove his mettle as a father and tie up loose ends in order to make good. But the truth is a myth and the smoke is in everything.

The theme, composed by Dan Berridge and featuring lyrics from the Talking Heads’ “Once In A Lifetime,” is an unexpected treat. A Clint Mansell-esque piano melody is paired with distorted flutes and rough electronic scratches while a dark voice articulates his confusion. The questions are familiar but the cadence is different, edged in gloom, reeling with shock and anger. As the visuals move from light to dark, the music becomes heavily distorted, descending into a heavy wave of glitches, static, and cymbals. In the closing frame, Mark Strong’s eyes gaze out intently, folding into the angles of the title text and daring us to join him on a journey back into the dark.

A discussion with Deep State main titles Creative Director MICHAEL PEARSON of MMMultiply and Composer DAN BERRIDGE.

Michael, give us a little background on yourself and on MMMultiply.

Michael: MMMultiply began in 2012 when myself and Pete Aldridge, Managing Director, joined forces to start a creative studio that would focus on building a small, multidisciplinary team to work on anything from promos to branding projects to 360º campaigns and beyond. I was keen to build a team that would have a clear desire to be creative in different areas. We met at Ravensbourne College where Pete studied motion graphic design…

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