The best television shows feel like fully realized worlds in which we can immerse ourselves entirely as viewers. And the best opening title sequences open the doors to those worlds at the start of each episode, quite literally setting the tone for a series, establishing a language for the show, and beckoning viewers inside. When thinking about shows on air right now that do this most successfully, The White Lotus undoubtedly comes to mind for many.
Season three of the acclaimed series is streaming now on Max, dominating the cultural discourse just as season one and season two did before it. The whodunnit-social-thriller-dramedy from the brilliant mind of showrunner Mike White is up to its usual tricks in its third iteration, including another strikingly compelling opening sequence. White tapped creative studio Plains of Yonder for the third successive season, with the studio’s co-founders Mark Bashore and Katrina Crawford leading the charge. Bashore, Crawford, and their Plains of Yonder team had set the bar ridiculously high for themselves with the titles they designed for the show’s first two seasons, but they met the challenge with another thoughtfully conceived sequence that speaks to themes of this specific season while tapping into wider ideas connecting seasons one, two, and three.
As an avid The White Lotus viewer myself (I don’t live under a rock!), I jumped at the chance to chat with Bashore and Crawford directly about the process behind their latest title sequence, making titles for different seasons of the same show, and working with Mike White. Our conversation is below, edited lightly for clarity and length.
Can you walk me through the progression of creating the opening titles for The White Lotus season one, then season two, and now season three? How do you maintain cohesion and through-lines, while also creating distinct title sequences that feel unique to each season?
MB: All three seasons’ titles have a language that developed, and that doesn’t get talked about much. People just think, It’s whatever, it’s a title sequence. In season one, we pitched wallpaper, which is a still form; it’s better for print and rooms than for film. So we accidentally developed a language of making films out of still art. They animate and move a little bit, and we’ve developed these interesting slide moves in the last two seasons. Season one started us on this journey, with these wallpapers based on fictional suites in the script. We had to think, How do we tackle a season two that isn’t wallpaper but is still in the language of still art, and uses interesting, decorative metaphors? In the case of season two that was frescoes, and then on to season three.
We accidentally developed a language of making films out of still art.
So that’s the language— it’s always fun. It’s very challenging editorially, because, as a filmmaker, it’s much easier to edit things that move, and you can get a groove on the flow and the motion of a camera. There’s no motion in the camera here, it’s just a piece of still art. So, it could have been the world’s worst title sequence, actually. When we first pitched it, we were like, Oh my God, we just sold wallpaper.
KC: We have to create motion in different ways, whether it’s shadows or 3D effects, or even water flow— there are different things we’re doing to create that energy. Because even though we’re working with material that isn’t innately flamboyant, the show has a lot of energy, and it’s our job to match that and bring you in.
With each successive season, you have a little bit more framework in place, in good and bad ways. There are these different levels of hierarchy when you get into season three. Things that you’re creating or doing have to fit The White Lotus— that huge umbrella. And then there’s the country the season is taking place in. That’s a big part of it for us too— Hawaii is not Italy, Sicily is not Thailand. We really want you to smell it and feel it.
Then you have the overarching season theme. So, this season is a little bit more about religion, enlightenment, and the various ways people escape their inner demons. Season two was a little bit more about sexual things, and season one was more about colonialization. This season, surveillance and being a watcher, being a witness, is a unique theme, too.
MB: This season is not sunny, vacation-y, and beachy; it’s dark. I’m talking about our titles but also the show. The colors are darker, it feels hotter.
What was the development and ideation process like for these season three opening titles? How involved was showrunner Mike White throughout?
KC: The whole process, from pitching, development, and then making it was 10 months. We’re very thankful that Mike calls us long enough in advance that we’re able to do more involved projects like this. Mike’s awesome. He knows exactly what he’s doing, so it’s really lovely. He has very specific things to say, and they’re very clear in the writing. Even though they’re making the show at the same time as we’re making our title, it’s never felt like, Oh, that really changed in some jarring, crazy way. But at the same time, he gives us a lot of freedom.
‘Hey, guys, everything is so cool. I just wanted to tell you that.’ And that was the call.
MB: He gives us a ton of freedom. I think in three seasons, he’s nixed one shot, which is incredible for this industry. When we did season one, and we built all these wallpapers, we were well into it and we kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. We were like, There’s no way we’re going to make this before they kill something. Then the phone rang, and it was, “Mike White wants to talk…” and we were, Yeah, I told you, this is the one where everything gets reworked. And he says, “Hey, guys, everything is so cool. I just wanted to tell you that.” And that was the call.
Katrina goes through the scripts and creates a psychological profile for each character, and we build these scenes from that. I think that’s why there’s a lot of success because that research is pretty intense. So Mike is looking at imagery and probably connecting it to whatever that character is in his mind’s eye, so he’s always super complimentary. “I love that you chose a such-and-such for that character!” Maybe it wouldn’t be exactly what he would do, but he gives a lot of freedom. It makes you want to work hard for somebody like that.
[Mike White] gives a lot of freedom. It makes you want to work hard for somebody like that.
KC: I think that trust permeates the rest of the show. It’s super helpful for everyone working with Mike that he has a clear vision that’s articulated really well. Then people should be able to ladder up to that, and it should work well, as long as you have good communication.
The scripts are so rich, Mike makes our life very easy that way. There’s a lot to work with, a lot of themes, a lot of imagery, a lot of history, and all kinds of stuff.
The scripts are so rich, Mike makes our life very easy that way. There’s a lot to work.
I know some members of your team traveled to Thailand to get inspiration and to capture visuals from temples and other places for the titles. What was that process like?
MB: Katrina went to Bangkok for about 10 days to shoot stills and then came back with it.
KC: Basically, we start by being documentarians, and, in this case, we’re capturing actual imagery from Thai temples. It’s a bit like getting a bunch of tiles. Then, from there, we recombine all of those different bits, chopping them up and like a tile mosaic, creating new tableaus. So there are occasions where there’s some imagery that’s actually at a temple, but most of the time, you wouldn’t be able to find what we’re showing on the screen, because it’s all been re-contextualized and mixed. An eyebrow is from one place, an arm is from another place, this animal came from a different temple— and all of the pieces are combined to create new tableaus that are The White Lotus. It’s an interesting thing where you’re working with some source material, but then you’re painting with paintings. Collage or mosaic are probably the closest description of what we did.
There are bits from three temples in the titles. We had a Thai crew who worked in 103-degree heat on scaffolding. Pretty fun! I was really lucky; it’s nice when you have something like this that’s site-specific, country-specific, to feel it. I’d hear the sounds, the birds, the bells, and even the smell of incense when I saw the imagery. Then, it’s my job to try to translate that and bring that into the piece. There was this sense of awe. Like in some of these temples, there are paintings that go up 50 feet high, so being in that space you’re sort of overwhelmed, and I think that fits with The White Lotus. We certainly tried to cultivate that feeling in the titles; you’re kind of discombobulated or distrustful of what you see.
In the season three titles (as in the first two), there’s such visual richness that with each new episode, viewers will notice something new— a moment or a detail or an Easter egg. What are your personal favorites?
KC: For me, every culture draws animals differently, so I think a lot of the animals and mythological creatures are a real gem for me.
MB: I like that there’s this blurred line between man and animal in this one. In some cases, actual human heads on birds and things like that. Animal life stands in as a more powerful metaphor for human behavior than even images of humans.
I also like that there’s a theme that no one seems to have really picked up on yet— I don’t know if this is accidental, but all three titles end with water. The Hawaiian season titles ended with these rowers going into a wave, the season two titles ended with these overflowing fountains and these lotus ponds, and season three with this disaster at sea. The opening scene of season three is a body floating in water. It’s pleasing to me that we found some common themes that are through-lines.
KC: It’s a symbol that the wheels have really come off— we’ve even lost gravity. Everything’s floating and washed to sea, for better or for worse.
Water is just this awesome natural force that humans are ultimately powerless to.
MB: It’s that vulnerability. There is human behavior in the show and in our titles about the ego and lust and all this stuff, but then there’s something about the water that brings everything back down to size. You’re just actually an advanced primate floating in the water, waiting for your death.
I’d be remiss if we didn’t speak a bit about the season three opening title sequence song. At what level was your team a part of the song development process?
MB: It always varies. We’re usually making the main title well before we have the track, so we use temp tracks. We’ll try to get a little bit of a sensibility for pace. This year, the track changed fairly late in the game and was always in progress. We’re always adjusting the edit to the latest track so that when they do meet at the finish line, they feel like they were made for each other.
KC: We also share our edits along the way in the hopes that they’re helpful. The composer can see what we’re building and hopefully, at least energetically, we’re all trying to create some sort of arc.
Good art should do that; not be obvious and spoon-fed. It’s fun creating little whispering puzzles for people to decipher.
Now that season three is out in the world, and viewers are watching your opening titles weekly, how has the public reception been so far?
MB: People like a puzzle, and they don’t just want to watch a main title, or anything really, without their brains working a little bit. So it’s satisfying to know that it’s important for people to try and see what these titles are trying to whisper in their ears. Some people are interpreting these images in really interesting ways. Sometimes they’re wildly off, but it’s really fun that they’re seeing things. Good art should do that; not be obvious and spoon-fed. It’s fun creating little whispering puzzles for people to decipher, and they seem to be doing it again this year.
People have a lot of choices on what to watch, and it’s our job to really reward people for engaging with the material, and making it fun for them to be a part of the equation.
KC: It’s intentional to prime the brain so that as you’re watching the show, hopefully, you’re leaning in, looking at so many details, your brain’s starting to try to figure out information, but also thinking, I’m not sure I can trust what I’m seeing with my eyeballs. We tried to build in fun little clues, but there’s also an openness to it so that each person brings in their own experience and interpretation of the show. Then, each time you watch, you’re noticing more and you’ve seen more of the show, so that relationship is evolving with every episode. People have a lot of choices on what to watch, and it’s our job to really reward people for engaging with the material and making it fun for them to be a part of the equation.
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