Sky HD Slow Motion

February 26th, 2010

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This is a selection of shots that I treated for Sky HD using extreme slow motion and time distortion techniques which are part of their ongoing promotional campaign.

The technique involves manipulating time by accelerating and decelerating speeds in various ways on specific bits of footage. The shots here are unedited and I’ve just included various clips that I liked. Obviously these were rendered in high definition and are meant to be viewed on a large HDTV screen and not in a miniscule browser window, but you get the idea.

Sadly there’s no way of actually slowing down time in real life.

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Goal Line Technology 3d Animation

February 19th, 2010

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Goal line technology is a hot topic in sports circles as accuracy in goal decisions is vital. This simple animation illustrates a not-so-simple piece of electronic gadgetry that could make any such difficult decisions a thing of the past.

Bob Jamieson developed the ‘Superpuck’, an ice hockey puck with a tiny electronic chip inside (currently shortlisted for a John Logie Baird Award for innovation). The technology clearly had implications for other sports and is now attracting interest from FIFA, the international governing body of football. See the Superpuck website for the full story on Goal Line Technology.

The idea of the 3d animation was to show in under a minute what it could take ten minutes to communicate verbally, and to a potentially non-English speaking audience. The three elements involved are clear – the electronic chip, the sensor strip around the goal and the decoder box. Watch this space.

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Animated Idents for LA Media

February 16th, 2010

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Edinburgh-based production company LA Media asked me to produce an animated ident for their video creations and this extended version above is what I delivered.

They had fairly set ideas about the design style – that it should be monochromatic, gritty and urban – and even had some animation examples to show me. This was a bit unusual, but what was more unusual was that they didn’t want me to use their existing logo.

An ident without a logo was not something I was sure I could do, but I enjoy a challenge.  Like other idents, you only use around 5-10 seconds worth but when they gave me the music they were using – by Mike Jameson – I kind of liked looking at the whole thing.

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Catalogue Design For Alan Macdonald

February 8th, 2010

Scottish painter Alan Macdonald asked me to design the catalogue for his current exhibition, now on show in Amsterdam, entitled ‘Message From The Dark Side’.

Alan’s paintings show bishops on mopeds, Dutch masters drinking Coke and all manner of other surreal juxtapositions. I’m a big fan. One of my favourites is called ‘Windbag’ and shows a classical landscape with a Tesco bag blowing freely in the centre.

The catalogue was an exercise in graphic design restraint. The images are so strong, they need a lot of space and as little interference from other design elements as possible. I kept it really simple. I’m not normally known for my restraint.

See Alan Macdonald’s website, also a Funhouse Graphics design.

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