Project · Direction, Design, Storyboard, Layout · Title sequence · 3D · Houdini

Chief of War

An animated title sequence for Chief of War, Apple TV's historical drama about the unification of Hawaiʻi.

A human skull rests on a bed of red feathers, lit warm from the left.
A mountain range covered in golden feathers rises over a valley of thatched huts and green taro terraces.

Chief of War is Apple TV's nine-part historical drama about the unification of Hawaiʻi in the late eighteenth century, told from an Indigenous perspective. Created by Jason Momoa and Thomas Paʻa Sibbett, it stars Momoa as Kaʻiana, a warrior swept into the campaign to unite the warring islands and protect them from colonization. Studio AKA created the animated main title sequence.

Showrunner Doug Jung and post producer Greg Spence invited Studio AKA to make the main title sequence.

The Sequence

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Royal feather capes, the ʻahu ʻula worn by Hawaiian aliʻi, inspired the sequence. Red and yellow feathers cover the islands, turning landscape and featherwork into images of conflict and unification.

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Featherwork

Worn as marks of rank and in battle, these capes use bundles of bird feathers tied to olonā netting. Their red, yellow and black patterns informed the sequence’s movement and forms.

A crescent-shaped yellow feather cape with a black crescent, red triangles along the neck, and two red hearts.
Feather cape (ʻahu ʻula) of ʻōʻō and ʻiʻiwi feathers on olonā, late 18th to early 19th century. Honolulu Museum of Art, 3306.1. Photo: Hiart, CC0.
A pale yellow feather cape with a black crescent and two soft red arcs, on a dark red ground.
Feather cape (ʻahu ʻula), 19th century. Hawaiʻi State Art Museum. Photo: Wmpearl, CC0.
A color plate of a golden feather cape with black and red crescents curving around its neck.
The Lady Franklin Cape, from the Memoirs of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, vol. VII, plate II. Public domain.
Fingers bind a bundle of bright red feathers, with yellow feathers blurred behind.
Red feathers bound in a featherwork demonstration at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, 2013. Photo: NPS, public domain.

The craft nearly disappeared, and it is thriving again. Hawaiʻi Public Radio tells the story of its revival, and Aloha State Daily talks to Rick San Nicolas, the featherwork consultant whose team made the capes for the series.

Making Of

I designed and directed the sequence with creative director Philip Hunt, head of CG Lawrence Pankhurst and CG lead Vincent Husset.

The capes, feathers and islands were built in Houdini. I contributed some hands-on work alongside design and direction; the technical artists were responsible for building the feather and landscape setups. The CG team, led by Lawrence Pankhurst and Vincent Husset, took it through animation, FX, lighting and compositing, and Matt Jones handled the graphic design. The work ran from the first pitch in the summer of 2024 to delivery that December.

The music is the show's main title theme by Hans Zimmer and James Everingham, with Kaumakaiwa Kanakaʻole.

More on Studio AKA's website.

A field of taro stretches toward steep crags cloaked in yellow feathers, backlit by a hazy sun.

Credits

Client
Fifth Season
Animation Main Title Sequence by
Studio AKA
Designer & Animation Director
Gergely Wootsch
Executive Producer
Nikki Kefford
Creative Director
Philip Hunt
Production Co-ordinator
Sarah McDonald
Editor
Nic Gill
Modelling and Rigging
Jerome Ferra • Anna Kubik
Animation
Vincent Husset • Ola Madsen • Sam Howell
FX
Alex Jevon • Ola Madsen • Sam Howell
Lighting and Compositing
Will Eagar • Vincent Husset • James Gaillard • Daniel Garnerone • Joe Dymond • Sebastian Mayer • Ioana Tanasache
IT
Brandon Bayliss • Jack Lewis
Pipeline Support
Paolo Fazio
Graphic Design
Matt Jones
Produced by
Studio AKA
Main Title Theme
Hans Zimmer • James Everingham