Motion Graphics With Projection Screens

January 27th, 2010

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These are examples of scenes that I created for the History of the Devil a while back. The idea was to show little stylised vignettes of various demons, angels and fairies as they were discussed. The documentary used a toy theatre theme throughout so it made sense to put the characters within the theatre.

We used front and back projection screens to create the effect, combining live actors with virtual sets. The 3d graphic theatre backdrops were designed and animated then back projected from a dvd onto an enormous screen behind the performers (Lauren Lamarr and Mark Donnelly).

We also placed a second mesh screen between the camera and the performers and used front projection to cast another layer of motion graphics onto. The set looked amazing. What you see here are the basic rushes, there’s nothing added, and the overall effect is a bit like moving 3d stills.

See also The History Of The Devil.

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The Scots That Rocked

January 1st, 2010

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Blink and you’ll miss it, but this is the little ident I produced for STV’s (Scottish Television) hogmanay show ‘The Scots That Rocked.’  The interesting thing about this one is that this was not the original sequence or title that I was commissioned to produce.

Producer/director Dani Carlaw was making a documentary about how Scottish people seem to excel on talent shows such as the X Factor, what with Susan Boyle having recently cracked the American market. The programme was to be called ‘The Scots Factor’ and the opening titles were to parody the glitzy, light-entertainment look of the X Factor, using the cross of the saltire in place of the X.

So the original titles looked like this:

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However, I had no sooner finished this sequence just before Christmas when I was told that it was unlikely to be used – ITV, which licences STV for central and northern Scotland, was threatening STV with legal action over the show.

I didn’t see the problem myself – it wasn’t a talent show, it was a documentary and it’s in the nature of parody to mimic the look of the thing being parodied. But STV and ITV have ongoing legal wrangles and this just seemed to make everyone nervous. Poor Dani had a very hard time keeping the legal department happy.

But what do I care. I liked the original sequence too so I include it here for your delectation and delight. Unless Simon Cowell gets litigious.

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