Othello
Tony® & Academy Award® winner Denzel Washington stars as Othello, the noble Moor of Venice and commanding warrior-general. Opposite him, Tony & Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal portrays Iago, the ambitious lieutenant and masterful manipulator.
Spurned for promotion, Iago’s relentless quest for vengeance against Othello and his wife, Desdemona (portrayed by Molly Osborne), plunges them into a shocking web of deception and betrayal.
Creative Role: Art Direction, Design, Animation
Brief
I was approached to design and direct a short animated advertisement for a new interpretation of Othello on Broadway. I was given the key art and title card, and my task was to incorporate these visual elements while ensuring the animation worked seamlessly as a cohesive whole with the established assets.
Style Analysis
In order to cohesively work within the established visual language of this project, I first needed to analyze the mark marking forms used for the illustrative show art. From that point I was able to deconstruct which gestures are used to create the show art. From there I deployed an array of techniques ranging from explorations with physical charcoal mediums, digital brushes, as well as procedurally generates forms to create an animated library of textures and marks.
I explored motifs that evoke both the fangs of a snake and the "O" in Othello to design Iago's sword.
Story Boards
01. “I am not what I am” animates on. In the background you can faintly see Iago’s name in charcoal texture.
02. “I am not what I am” duplicates in succession down. The camera starts to move down trying to keep up with the speed of the text.
03. “I am not what I am” duplicates filling the entire screen. The camera starts to pull back.
04. Camera pulls back as the duplicated text is revealed to make up the white of the spotlight. Iago is seen kneeling before Othello.
06. As Iago starts to swing the camera cuts to a close up of the sword swinging down.
07. As the sword starts to swing back it very quickly match cuts to a snake recoiling. The black and white inverts quickly for added intensity.
08. Cut to a snake in a coil with a pattern made up of the letter “O”. The snake flashes his tongue as he slithers off frame.
09. The snake slithers off revealing the type of Jake Gyllenhaal.
10. The charcoal wipes off previous frame to reveal the title card.
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Studio: Aka
Client: Barrymore Theatre
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Chief Creative Officer: Miky Wolf
Director: Dennis Moore
Creative Director: Aaron Coleman
Producer: Tom Coppola, David M Shum
Design: Dennis Moore
Animation: Dennis Moore