On today’s episode, Variety’s Haley Kluge and Jennifer Dorn discuss how they create Variety’s amazing Power of Women visuals each year. And Mark Malkin brings us the latest on Season 2 of ‘The Pit’ with stars Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa.
Kluge, Variety’s creative director, and Jennifer Dorn, visual director, were challenged to put the pieces of the puzzle together to create five cover images that could work as standalone images or as a single panoramic image.
“The biggest difference between ‘Power of Women’ and a traditional single cover is that you’re looking at them in a holistic sense: How do these five people work together?” Kluge says. “So when we started thinking about what these covers would look like from a design standpoint, we inherited some really great photography that Jennifer had created. And my version was, what about these posters? How do these works of art look in certain respects?” And in this case, we’re really leaning into the architectural part of the hotel. The gradient Gothic that we’re using is a very strong typography typeface that’s really leaning into the architecture. It’s very feminine and soft and beautiful in the photography and in the wardrobe.”
Dawn, who has spearheaded all photo shoots for Variety since 2018, points out that elaborate photo shoots are a big ask for people who already face being constantly photographed due to work or celebrity.
“There’s a lot of trust. They come, they get their picture taken, and they leave, and maybe cross their fingers that we’re going to do it right next to them. I take it seriously, and I know Hayley does too. So it’s nice to see it all come together,” says Dawn.
Malkin spoke with Wiley and LaNasa at a charity event in Los Angeles on October 28th. The Emmy Award-winning “Pit” star is currently knee-deep in water filming Season 2 of HBO Max’s sleeper hit. Malkin pried some gory details about the storyline from LaNasa. With a humorous gallows-like look, LaNasa described the work required of medical professionals in the hospital series as “thoroughly disgusting. Thoroughly disgusting. Disturbing and heartbreaking. This is what we do every day at The Pit.” ”
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