Two Cities is the title sequence for a fictitious TV show set during the turbulent days of the French Revolution. Frenchwoman Lucie Manette falls in love with Englishman Charles Darnay, who's hiding his true identity and purpose.

Concept

The series is based on Charles Dickens' 1859 historical novel "A Tale of Two Cities", set in London and Paris. The story is set before and during the French Revolution and revolves mostly around two men who are alike - not only in appearance, but in their love for the same woman.

I searched for inspiration mostly on watercolor paintings, as they are considered a unique way to creatively represent dreams, illusions, emotions and feelings using water-soluble pigments. This medium of art is still very popular nowadays, and since the based story has unexpected twists, lingering mysteries and suspenseful scenes, I believed this art direction would be appropriate to a current take on this tale.

Look Frames

For the final look frames of my piece, I had to decide between many important scenes to be portrayed during the title sequence. My decisions in which scenes to include were based in a way that it was possible for the viewers to understand and create the story inside their minds while watching the video. I then painted on top of different photographs to make them look more like the watercolor style, and then animated them being painted on sheets of paper. All names on the piece are fictitious.