Chinatown Smackdown.
50 years ago the martial arts legend Bruce Lee wrote material and pitched the idea for Warrior. In 2019, Cinemax finally brought it to life. The series creator Jonathan Tropper and his team approached Method Studios to create the opening sequence for the adrenaline-pumping new series.
Collaborating with the always wonderful and extremely talented designer Arisu Kashiwagi, we came up with the idea of introducing the audience to the world of Warrior through a heavily-stylized aesthetic similar to that of a graphic novel. Arisu established the minimal and controlled color palette, gritty textures, and the high-contrast look that was inspired by referencing retro Kung-Fu posters as well as contemporary illustrations.
We knew early on that we wanted to feature some high-energy martial arts combat scenes. To execute this, I developed a technique of using motion capture data of real kung-fu movements, simulated cloth dynamics on top of the animation, and dimensionalized all of the paint strokes to accentuate the close-quarters combat moves.