Digital content creation/production studio yU+co added to the humor of Hot Tub Time Machine with an opening title sequence that sets the perfect tone, with a fast-paced photo collage of the history of hot tubs. yU+co also created a closing title sequence that offers a pitch-perfect parody of the classic Motley Crüe music video "Home Sweet Home," only with cast member Rob Corddy playing the part of lead singer Vince Neil.

The History of Hot Tubs in Pictures
According to yU+co art director Synderela Peng, the concept for the opening titles centers on a photo collage that hilariously depicts the history of hot tubs, especially people partying in hot tubs. Set to the '80s pop metal classic "Turn Up the Radio" by Autograph, the collage begins with rudimentary drawings of prehistoric man in hot tubs, then quickly swish pans to an array of photos through hot tub history—from the Renaissance to the turn of the 20th century and up to modern day. Among the stand-out photos are shots of a baby in an old wooden tub and a trio of senior women soaking in a tub littered with empty beer bottles.

"We wanted the open to complement the tone of the film and set the mood," Peng says. "The concept simply was to show the history of people and hot tubs—from cavemen to modern day—obviously with a lot of funny pictures along the way."

Although some of the photos are stock, the bulk of them were actually shot by yU+co designers at what may be the company's first (and only) work-related hot tub party. All of the photos were tweaked digitally to adjust their color so they resembled old, faded photos with smudges and watermarks. They were then composited with objects, backgrounds and people that were either added in or taken out to spike the comedy.

"For example, we added beer bottles and drug paraphernalia to some of the stock images," says Peng. "We also stayed true to the esthetic of the time with a color palette and a logo that has a decidedly '80s feel to it."

End Titles: Motley Crüe Redux
The ending title sequence begins with the start of the classic Motley Crüe music video "Home Sweet Home," their paean to the good and bad times of life in a rock band, with one significant difference: actor Rob Corddry, who wears a blonde wig and tight spandex, plays the role of lead singer Vince Neil.

Based on a concept from director Steve Pink, the yU+co design team took Pink's footage of Corddry shot on an empty stage and edited it into the original video, which was up-resed from a VHS copy to give it an appropriately degraded feel. In addition, yU+co contributed to the concept of freeze-framing on the altered video and adding touches of lightning, smoke, geometric shapes and grids and the occasional snakes, bats and skulls with wings—all recognizable clichés found in most '80s hard rock and heavy metal album covers.

"We had so much fun with this, and how could you not?" adds Peng. "We did a lot of research on '80s album covers: the font choices, color schemes, and so on. The freeze frame technique, which already has an inherent '80s sensibility, compliments the video perfectly. We saw this as purely a graphic design assignment and it was great fun because we were given the freedom to be creative with typography and backgrounds, rather then trying to create some big visual effect."