Robin Hood.
Some audiences have seen the 1938 Errol Flynn classic version of Robin Hood. If they like comedy they have probably seen Mel Brooks’s take on Robin Hood. And if they were alive in the early 90’s they probably even saw Kevin Costner’s take on the hooded hero. But no one had seen a Robin Hood like filmmaker Ottto Bathurst was about to bring to the screen with his high-octane take on the classic ‘steal from the rich and give to the poor’ tale.
This was a challenging process because the director purposely gave us very little to go on. Bathurst wanted us to just watch a cut of the film and generate ideas that spoke to us. So… we did! To us, the new, modified, medieval weaponry felt like a character in the film so we based a direction off that. And our second concept was based on the main gold heist in the final act of the film that was paramount to the story. But then… a few days before our presentation a little birdie close to Batthurst told us that he was hoping to see a concept that used the look of the ‘wanted poster’ he had designed and used in the film. So that’s where our ink print-inspired third direction came from.
Direction 01.
The exquisite detail of the weapons of Robin Hood is featured in this haunting sequence. Macro shots of weapons being prepared and used is juxtaposed with a rich atmospheric environment filled with smoke and sparks. 2D typography creates a powerful contrast with the critical focus elements of the featured backgrounds.
Direction 02.
One half battlefield mockup and one half Rube Goldberg contraption, this concept features a gold plated representation of the dangerous game the Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood play. The camera dynamically follows a chain reaction on the miniature battlefield, culminating in a literal payoff at the end.
Direction 03.
This sequence explores the dichotomy of Robin Hood’s existence with visually contrasting tableaus. Inspired by Banksy style street art, these graphic treatments are purposefully created as opposites, calling out the gap between the haves and the have nots, the powerful and the weak, and the brave and the cowardly.
