Often movie titles summarise the mood and storyline of the film. But with the movie Elizabeth: The Golden Age, the task was to also introduce the main characters, establish the political environment and accompanying issues in order for the audience to fully appreciate the movie to come.

It seemed appropriate to follow the film director’s request to utilise stained glass windows as a technique to deliver the information and to reinforce the religious undertones of the story.

There were many issues, but amongst them was the decision of how to graphically depict the appearance of the lead character. Determining whether the image should be modelled on portraits of Queen Elizabeth, or adopt the features of the actress Cate Blanchett who played the lead character. The latter prevailed.