Airplan Studio | Playing to Survive

We’re thrilled to announce the release of the title sequence for Playing to Survive: von Cramm vs Hitler, a feature documentary that has just premiered on PBS International. This project tells the story of legendary German tennis player Gottfried von Cramm, whose athletic grace and personal defiance stood in stark contrast to the Nazi regime’s growing power in the 1930s.

Airplan Studio was honored to bring this project to life. Last year, this was one of our most exciting and creatively rewarding endeavors, blending historical narrative with a deeply personal story of resilience. The client brief was to craft a sequence that not only captured von Cramm’s on-court brilliance but also conveyed the tension and oppression he faced off the court — particularly his quiet defiance of Hitler and the Third Reich.

The creative challenge lay in balancing historical accuracy with emotional storytelling, weaving archival footage, tennis choreography, and abstract visual elements to evoke the duality of von Cramm’s public heroism and private turmoil. Technically, we incorporated period-specific imagery and hand-crafted transitions to align with the film’s haunting tone, offering a subtle nod to the shadows of the past that shaped von Cramm’s life. We took special care in using the pacing of the sequence to mirror the increasing stakes of von Cramm’s personal and professional struggles, resulting in a dynamic yet restrained visual experience.

Credits:

Director: Annette Baumeister
Executive Producer: Michael Cascio, David Thayne, Chet Thomas
Production Company: Sidewinder Films
Title Sequence by Airplan
Executive Producer: Donat Aron Ertsey
Executive Creative Director: Benjamin Kalaszi
Head of 2D Animation: Gabor Filkor
Head of Character Animation: Adam Wator
Animation Direction: Airplan
Producer: Donat Aron Ertsey
Creative Direction: Benjamin Kalaszi
Art Direction: Léonard Dupond
Illustration: Léonard Dupond, Benjamin Kalaszi
Character Design: Benjamin Kalaszi
Cel Animation: Timea Horvath Adam Wator Attila Fekete Benjamin Kalaszi Vitez Gyurko
Clean up & Color: David Lizom, Zoltan Reindl, Vitez Gyurko
Compositing Lead: Gabor Filkor
Compositing & 3D Animation: David Dell’edera
Production Coordinator: Petra Katona
Music: David Bowie “Heroes”