# Lincoln's Dilemma > Four animated sequences for Lincoln's Dilemma, an Apple TV+ documentary series about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Canonical page: [Lincoln's Dilemma]() Project ID: aka\_oys Year: 2022 Role: Designer, Animation Director & 3D Artist I designed and directed four short segments, did substantial 3D work in Houdini and Maya, and composited some shots in After Effects. Work: Lincoln's Dilemma (2022) Production: [Studio AKA]() Client: Kunhardt Films Platform: Apple TV+ [Studio AKA]() created illustrations and animated sequences for [Lincoln's Dilemma](), a four-part documentary series from Kunhardt Films for Apple TV+, based on [David S. Reynolds]()' book *Abe*. The segments appear in each hour-long episode and retell moments from Lincoln's Civil War years, rooted in the available photographic evidence and kept in a stylized, memory-like look. I was one of three animation directors, alongside [Steve Small]() and [Marcus Armitage](), and designed and directed four of the dozen animated films. ## Montage [Lincoln's Dilemma: Montage]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) ## Stills [A steam locomotive with a glowing headlamp bears down on the camera beneath a huge plume of smoke.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Lincoln stands on a draped platform above a vast crowd, with a Union flag overhead.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Close-up of a soldier sighting along a rifle barrel, the muzzle blurred in the foreground.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A lone rider gallops across a flat shoreline toward a glowing horizon.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Lincoln, in profile at right, faces a group of men standing in pale mist.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A boat carrying figures crosses a misty lake while a man crouches at the water's edge.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Lincoln stands on the rear platform of a train as a crowd gathers at a brick station.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A soldier with a bayoneted rifle crouches behind a tree on a smoky hillside.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Lincoln sits beside a train window with his reflection ghosted in the glass.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Lincoln stands in silhouette reading a paper by a bright window in a lamp-lit study.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A steam train and carriage travel beside a still lake, smoke drifting overhead.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Lincoln in a top hat walks toward the steps of a draped platform as onlookers watch.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) ## Design [Lincoln's Dilemma: Animated Lincoln Portrait Test]() — Animated portrait test. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Lincoln's Dilemma: Animated Soldier and Town Test]() — Animated soldier and town test. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Four Union soldiers stand in a row, layered into a dark backlit photographic study.]() — Early backlit lightbox study. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A hand holds a revolver over handwriting dated 1863 in a negative-style photographic collage.]() — Early backlit lightbox study. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A steam locomotive hung with flags looms out of mist, its headlamp glaring.]() — Styleframe of the locomotive. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A steam train crosses a tall wooden trestle bridge in mist.]() — Styleframe of the trestle bridge. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A bearded soldier with a pack stands before houses and horses on a snowy street, layered into a backlit collage.]() — Early backlit lightbox study. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Title design reading Abe, Part I, Abe's People: Love and Dark Forces, beside a Lincoln portrait.]() — Early title design. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) Early design investigations drew on archive photography, with a backlit lightbox look meant to feel inky. The style did not quite suit the final films, but it set the first direction. ## More Stills [A rider in a hat gallops past silhouetted trees in dappled light.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A Confederate battle flag rises above soldiers advancing through a cornfield.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Striped flags on tall poles wave above soldiers among corn stalks.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A soldier seen from behind steps forward, a rifle slung across his back, in a smoky forest.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Fallen soldiers lie in tall grass across a hazy battlefield.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Lincoln in a top hat stands on a rise among men in a misty clearing.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A bearded soldier in a kepi looks down, half in shadow, with a rifle at his side.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Two soldiers in kepis are glimpsed through dark cornstalks.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Lincoln stands alone in a top hat, almost lost in bright mist.]() (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) ## More Design [Lincoln stands on a train carriage platform before a silhouetted crowd at a station.]() — Styleframe of the station crowd. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [Blurred figures and reflections in a train window, with a man in a bow tie at left.]() — Styleframe of the train window. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) [A contact sheet of nine film frames showing soldiers, a rider, and cornfield scenes.]() — Contact sheet of styleframes. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) ## Links More on Studio AKA's website. - [Watch on Apple TV+]() - [Apple TV+ Press: Lincoln's Dilemma]() - [Project on studioaka.co.uk]() ## Credits - Client: Apple TV+, Kunhardt Foundation - Production Company: Kunhardt Films - Series Directors: [Barak Goodman](), [Jacqueline Olive]() - Based on the Book By: [David S. Reynolds]() - Animation Production: Studio AKA - Animation Directors: [Marcus Armitage](), [Steve Small](), [Gergely Wootsch]() - Animation Producer: Nikki Kefford-White - Production Assistant: Lara Salam - Editor: [Nic Gill]() - 3D CGI Team Lead: [James Gaillard]() - Production Coordinator: Ren Pesci - Lead Animation/Artwork Coordinators: [Janina Putzker](), [Matthew Armitage]() - 2D Animators: [Aylen Solander](), [Emma Ehrling](), [Oscar Jacobson]() - 3D Animators: Kim Leow, Ivan Del Rio - Artworkers: Justine Waldie, Martin Oliver, Manshen Lo, Diana Gradinaru - CG Artists & Compositors: Joshua Crew, [Will Eagar](), [Jerome Ferra](), [Daniel Garnerone](), [Vincent Husset](), Ignatz Johnson-Higham, Adam O'Sullivan Avery ## Screenings and awards - [44th News & Documentary Emmy Awards]() — 2023 — Nominee — Outstanding Graphic Design and Art Direction: Documentary ## Making Of [Lincoln's Dilemma: From CG Layout to the Finished Films]() — From CG layout to the finished films. (Studio AKA for Apple TV+) The films follow a straightforward CG workflow. Each segment began as an animatic, laid out in 3D in Maya. Much of the set and effects work was built in Houdini, then brought back into Maya for lighting and rendering, and the images were composited in After Effects. Without the resources to animate characters, the team made a library of poses that could be applied to different puppets. This carried the battle scenes, and dynamic camera staging balanced the lack of character animation. I did substantial hands-on 3D work in Houdini and Maya across my four segments. I also composited some shots in After Effects, while other artists handled most of the compositing.