Six Point Harness Adds Animated Sequences to "How to Become a Tyrant"

The atrocities perpetrated by some of the world's most famous and dangerous political dictators are at the heart of How to become a tyrant, the Netflix series that debuts on July 9, but executive producers Peter Dinklage and Jonah Bekhor and Jonas Bell Pasht of Citizen Jones wanted to find a way to represent brutality that wasn't based on archival footage or re-constructions they've already seen.

The series turned to animation studio Six Point Harness to help them develop visually striking animated sequences that could show the power these political leaders had over their nations and the world, providing audiences with a new way to revisit history.

The animated sequences infused into all six episodes of How to become a tyrant allow the producers of the series to show the actions and consequences of these dictators and to illuminate how they have risen and maintained power over millions of people. The series offers an extraordinary insight into the steps taken by six tyrants: Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Joseph Stalin, Idi Amin, Muammar Gaddafi and Kim Il Sung, exploring their strikingly similar formulas for achieving and maintaining power.

“The world knows these men and what they have done, and to examine their steps towards terrifying power we knew we had to find a unique approach and tone. Animation was central to this, ”said executive producer Bell Pasht, co-founder of Citizen Jones.

Bekhor, executive producer and co-founder of Citizen Jones, added, "Animation allows us to portray actions and consequences that might otherwise seem unwatchable and to illuminate the story in a compelling way."

In addition to Bell Pasht and Bekhor, executive producers of How to become a tyrant are Dinklage and David Ginsberg of Estuary Films and Jake Laufer. Executive producers are Brad Saunders, Kellen Hertz and Steve Rio.

As seen in How to become a tyrant, Los Angeles-based Six Point Harness's work showcases a stark and haunting style, with animation directed by Ron Myrick, allowing the studio to showcase its diverse creative abilities.

"Working with Citizen Jones on this expansive and complicated project has allowed us tremendous creative exploration, resulting in an evocative and expressionist style that captures the terror of these regimes and the people who have suffered for them," said Vera Hourani, supervisor to the production of Six Point Harness. "This was a challenging exercise to present their stories in a way that was artful, tasteful and exciting to watch."

Award-winning animation director Myrick said, “This was one of the most unique projects of my career. It was a great challenge to portray the story, the essence of what these terrible people did without becoming too graphic but improving the narrative ”.

How to become a tyrant continues a creatively rich and diverse list of award-winning projects for Six Point Harness. The studio's eclectic and artistically vibrant work has recently been seen in various projects such as the Oscar-winning animated short love for hair, the delightful children's series from Netflix Waffles + Mochi, the Emmy winner Cosmos: A space-time odyssey and its sequel Cosmos: possible worlds, Adult Swim is commended Lazor Wulf, from Amazon Guava Island and animated sequences in series such as those of HBO backstories, AMC Dietland and ABC Blackish. Some of the studio's more extensive work will be seen this summer, when HBO unveils the first fully animated stand-up comedy special, featuring Tig Notaro.

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