Houdini's Speech

"Water Torture Cell"

Animated Type

Task

Entertain with type, guiding Houdini's Water Torture Cell speech.

Process

Font selection involved research of the silent films of the era. I chose Didot because it was legible and sophisticated.

I wanted the speech to take the viewer back in time, with all of its texture and grit. The wallpaper served as an accurate reminder of the style, while the stains enforced the poverty Houdini faced being a street artist.

To get this aged look, I used:

Decorative frame

Wallpaper texture

Luminescence of type

Blur of type

Light film grain

Result

My design evolved from a clean modern day magician to a true street artist of New York City. The editing proved to be jarring enough to be engaging.