The Beatles, Pete Candeland

This is the opening cinematics for game The Beatles™: Rock Band™ which is being released on the Sept 9th. This introduction to the game was produced by Pete Candeland who works at Passion Pictures.

Here he has managed to capture the life and the journey of the four superstars as well as putting in subliminal messages referencing to Beatle's songs and albums. He manages to take history and throw it into the 21st century by producing this modern take on a timeline. Pete has used a combination of 2D and 3D animation in this piece. The 2 dimensional work is used for a vintage 60's look towards the beginning of the animation. This then progresses into 3 dimensional animation towards the end showing how times have change and more to the point how technology and the band moved forward. Giles Martin has also managed to thread some of the Beatle's famous tracks together to produce the soundtrack to the piece. The songs are then reflected in the imagery used, showing a clear connection and a good collaboration.

The Gorillaz

You may recognise the animation style from his other pieces that have been aired all over the globe. Pete Candeland was responsible for the 8 music videos produced for the band "Gorillaz" as well as "The journey to the east" that was produced for the BBC 2008 Beijing Olympics coverage. On the Beijing project he worked with Rob Valley to produce these films that were based on the traditional Chinese folklore.

Concepts for "Journey to the far east"

Shynola: Coldplay "Strawberry swing"

Something Shynola really wanted to focus on was the use of different camera angles by changing the way Chris Martin was laying / standing in the road. As well as this the wanted to show a lot of interacting with surroundings and materials. this is shown by use of the cape and the umbrella. Obviously this is a very time consuming method of creating a music video but they make it look effortless.

They have captured the music as well as develop and combined a story / meaning to the lyrics provided. they worked in close collaboration with Coldplay to produce this outcome. I you know me well then you will understand I am not a big lover of Coldplay but when i saw this video it really inspired and impressed me. I always have great respect for thous who try something new, even if it is just a new take on something. Making something personal.

Hope there is much more to come from Shynola's trade mark Squirrel!

Novaya Zemlya Titles, Eduard Kargin

I found this title sequence when doing my critical studies summer brief. It was made for a Russian film called Novaya Zemlya (translated to “Terra Nova”).

The film itself wasn’t very successful but the titles haled as cutting edge. The designer that was haled for the sequence is called Eduard Kargin. The thing I love about this title sequence is that it manages to sum up the whole film in the 1 minute and 40 seconds he has. Eduard Kargin described Terra Nova as “so turbid and gloomy that the audience couldn’t appreciate it.” but his work had a completely different impact. The title sequence was so highly regarded it was included in a special event as one of the past years cutting edge motion works.

The 2D design is impressive and works well when put into a 3D space. Each section flows easily into the next making it easy to watch and easy to follow. Showing the cardboard and the ruff shapes gives the piece more character and relates more to the film and the designer. The way Eduard designed the sequence was by taking all the important parts of the film and including them into the opening sequence so it truly got you into the spirit of the film. The music suits very well as it produces a chilling and scary atmosphere that unease's the audience slightly and makes them wonder what is in store for them.

Eduard Kargin also took inspiration from a music video called "Spitfire" by the Prodigy (shown bellow) as for the styling of the whole piece. The subtle glow over the top of the whole piece with text written in it helps create the chilling atmosphere. I think this technique works really well and gives it a professional finish.

Spitfire by The Prodigy

Return Of The King, Dylan Cole

"Working on Return of the King was an amazing experience. It was a tremendous challenge on many levels, but I think I learned a lot on the way. I had only been working professional for less than a year before I got that job. So to get the call to go work on tat project was a huge thrill." Interview with Dylan Cole on www.cg-node.com

I love the realistic scenery and CGI in "The Lord Of The Rings" trilogy which made me wonder who had done it and how it has been done? In "The Return Of The King" a young artist called Dylan Cole created a lot of the scenery by matte painting. He used Photoshop, After Effects and Cinema 4D to develop shots after they had been film and passed onto him. Using a lot of inspirational photo's and the past 2 films as a starting point he produced the stunning landscapes like the ones shown bellow.

Shot Dylan Cole Received.

How the shot finally ended up after matte painting.

He works using a graphics tablet and paints in the background of the shot using the software mentioned before. He then transfers these images to Cinema 4D because of the camera mapping tools available. Artists like Cole are the last people to touch a shot before it is edited together so everything has to be finished just right. But on the other hand (as Dylan Cole points out) "You have to realize that you are creating a single shot in a movie, not a fine art painting". I have a lot of respect for Dylan Cole as he captures the time and mood well in ever piece he completes. I thinks its fantastic how he can change an image so dramatically. The detail he goes into when producing a piece of work like this is absolutely fantastic and seamless. As technology moves on could Matte painters like Cole be the "Fine artists" of the future?

Dylan Cole interview:
http://www.cg-node.com/goto.php?section=entrevistaDylanCole_en_pag1&langid=1

Under Armour, Fierce Speed.

Shilo had just 3 weeks to go from concept to this composite with this piece. After watching this animation it shows what can be done in a short time scale with good time management. This is a dark piece aiming to promote Under Armour's New series of football boots. The animation produced gives the illusion of speed as well as showing the product all coming together. Overall the animation shows that the product could improve your performance and they are not to be taken lightly.

The illusion of speed is created by the trails left by each of the components as they fly through the air. The contrast between the bright flickering trails and the still night sky creates focus which the audience follow throughout the piece. As well as this the particles moving past each component, when focused on, show the motion and speed of each component as they come together. The camera also shakes when focusing on a component showing instability therefore exaggerating the movement of each component.

As the animation continues, you see the boot form from nothing. The pieces don't gel together, they are thrown together with exact precision which therefore shows the fierce nature of the product. The boots are almost being beaten into shape in an industrial manna. This therefore attracts the male clients to the product which is most likely to be the market Under Armour is aiming for.

The score for the piece was created by Gavin Little who based the sounds and music on the original Star Trek intro. This is a good area of research as the intro also focused on showing speed and industry together through open space. I think the score works well with the animation as the metallic sounds help bring the product together as well as exaggerating the speed of the product.

This is a great piece of advertising by Shilo, showing the product in a good light as well as attracting the right audience.