At the last Emmy Awards, Jorge Peschiera ’02 (pictured below) and four colleagues took home the prize for Outstanding Motion Design for Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj (above), a weekly Netflix comedy series that delves into topics ranging from fashion and hip-hop to international politics and public health. Peschiera, an English major at Amherst, was the show’s creative director from 2018 through January 2020.
Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj
Creative direction by
Jorge Peschiera ’02
Netflix
What does the job of creative director entail on Patriot Act?
Our show is basically a monologue that deep-dives into stories that are current but also somewhat perennial. My role was to bring those stories to life visually on the large LED screens that make up the show’s unique set. My more overarching goal was to build a design system that could evolve over time so that audiences would always be getting something dynamic and novel.
What did that mean day-to-day?
I led a 15-person team in building a distinct flow of visuals for each episode, often in as little as four days. This meant working closely with host Hasan Minhaj, head writer Prashanth Venkataramanujam, and the writers and researchers to boil down complex topics into bite-sized graphic moments that could be digested by a live studio audience. It also meant curating photography sourced from all over the world and establishing a unique aesthetic that could hold its own alongside Hasan’s high-energy performance style. Every week was intense and intensely fascinating.
How did you get the job?
The courses I took at Amherst that seemed the least “practical” at the time—painting, analytic philosophy, film studies—ended up being the most useful after graduation. My first real job was working in TV documentaries, where the seemingly unrelated abilities to break down arguments and build visual compositions both came very much into play. That job exposed me to the fledgling field of motion design, and I saw it was a chance to blend a lot of things I’d come to love: design, storytelling, music, filmmaking.
That started intersecting with the world of branding—thinking about businesses and the personas they should embody. I worked with everything from banks to tech startups, but I was interested in entertainment brands because of the sway they had on the culture. I was lucky to eventually help shape some TV brands in a way that I felt aligned with more humanist values. One of the reasons Patriot Act reached out to me early on was my experience branding for the BBC, NBC Universal and the History Channel.
What were the special challenges on Patriot Act?
Being able to quickly break down complicated stories into clear visual sequences, and being able to judiciously handle delicate subject matter—discussions about race, genocide and depictions of cultures other than one’s own. The key is to be extra-sensitive to your own subjectivity, to be a very good listener and to make sure you are hearing every voice in the room.
Because episodes were news-sensitive and written weekly, scripts could change quite dramatically on a daily basis. We were working on graphics even as scripts were being constantly rewritten, or sometimes creating graphic ideas and asking writers to write around them. That very flexible yet efficient way of solving problems is something I’ll probably always carry with me.
It was definitely a strange experience to get a random backstage pep talk from Jeff Goldblum.”
What was it like to win the Emmy?
Surreal. It was definitely a strange experience to get a random backstage pep talk from Jeff Goldblum. Having to give an acceptance speech was a lot more nerve-racking than I’d imagined. But the whole experience—the after-party, etc.—felt like a great way for my colleagues and me to celebrate the hard work we’d put in.
Why did you leave the show?
Successfully executing Netflix’s original order of 32 episodes required keeping a grueling schedule for a year and a half. As a new dad, that was hard on my family, so I knew I would have to move on after meeting my goals.
What’s next for you?
I’m wrapping up a branding-related project for a streaming platform. I’m also glad to be working on some strategic content relating to the election in November. I’m slated to work on a big Netflix comedy special. But clearly the pandemic we are facing spells uncertainty for many industries and families. Mine are no exception.
Duke is Amherst’s assistant editor.
Photos: set—Mohammad Amir Hamza; Peschiera—Dave Cicirelli