Penny Dreadful_Title Sequence_Creative Direction

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The original title sequence for the Victorian horror series Penny Dreadful, which finished production but was cut at the 11th hour. The concept for Emergence was developed by myself along with my team at Showtime. It is chiefly derived from the dialogue: “Do you believe there is a demimonde? A half world between what we know and what we fear…a place in the shadows rarely seen but deeply felt…where some unfortunate souls are cursed to live always.”  

The series weaves together classical titles–Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, Stoker’s “Dracula”, and Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”–into a ensemble about tortured characters with striking dualities. The titles depict the show’s Victorian archetypes as figures frozen in time, set adrift in the dark limbo of their psyche. They are battling against their inner demons, which are manifested as creatures of obsidian, breaking out of the classical bodies of our protagonists.

The poses in the piece reference the naturalism of Victorian Pre-Raphaelite art that was contemporaneous to the show's time period. The scenes are imbued with allegorical themes from neo-classical art. Bernini, Carpeaux, and Michelangelo heavily influenced the style, as well as Gericault’s “Raft of the Medusa” in the final composition which depicts the attempt of escape by those “unfortunate souls” from their fate.

Client: Showtime Networks
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Directed by: Lauren Indovina
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Creative Direction: Jason Forrest Hogg
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Written by: Jason Forrest Hogg
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VFX: PSYOP

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Emerge_Frame Stills

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( Hello )
This is the work of designer / director Jason Forrest.

( Contact )
Los Angeles, CA
jason@forresthogg.com