OVERSEEING ART DIRECTOR KIZAZI MOTO
HERDERBOY
In 2020 I was brought on board by Triggerfish Animation Studio’s as overseeing Art Director on Kizazi Moto Generation Fire for Disney+. Kizazi Moto is an anthology of ten short films written and directed by African creators from across the continent, broadcast on streaming platform Netflix. As overseeing Art Director I was present from early conception working with Triggerfish Animation to guide the creative under the Disney Brand.
As Art director across the series I worked with a diverse and incredibly talented pool of artists and directors ensuring that their vision was realised at the very highest standard for this exciting project. Working on 10 films simultaneously was challenging and rewarding. As a Visual Artist myself, I can speak to the Directors and Creators from a grass roots level and understand the creative challenges they face. 10 Films at once offers a challenge in that I needed to maintain the visual integrity for each piece while ensuring that thematically we hit the tone and quality established for the series.
HERDERBOY
Directed by Raymond Malinga – Uganda
On the wild frontier of the Chewzi Kingdom in the highlands of future Uganda, an elite trio of herders protect precious cyborg cattle from deadly spirits. Hidden amongst the herd is teenage stowaway Ndahura, who is desperate to prove himself as a warrior and become a legend like his three heroes. When the herders are attacked, Ndahura makes a reckless choice to take on a vengeful hyena monster that he must fight alone.
Art Direction Herderboy:
I was brought on board in 2018 to guide the visual direction for this short film. These were early stages. The project had already been selected as one of the 10 but we were looking for a direction that steered away from the traditional Disney brand and brought the aesthetic into a grittier space aimed at a slightly older audience. These are some early concepts we explored, trying to establish the look for the world of Ndahura, a young shepherd aspiring for greatness. We wanted to push the look in more a “spaghetti western” direction with framing, colour palette, scale and regional design specifics. Disney was clear they wanted to push the envelope. We tasked several artists to create versions of the Chwezi hills in an over cultivated version of the future. We drew inspiration from local flora and fauna. The challenge was to capture the currently lush landscape of Western Uganda in a more dystopian and arid version of it’s currently vast and beautiful rolling hills.
