Studio Research - 3

Framestore

Framestore has founded in 1986. Since then it has worked on a huge amount of films as well as television ads, stings and music videos. In 2004 Framestore opened a New York office who have made ads for companies such as Coke, Pepsi and Smirnoff which have won awards such as Emmy's and VES's. Framestore have managed to gain all sorts of awards ranging from BAFTA's, Academy awards to technical awards. They have also worked on films such as Clash of the Titans, Salt and Prince of Persia and are one of Europe's biggest visual effects and computer animation companies.

I heard of these when looking into double negative as it is their main competitor. They have also created some of my favourite pieces such as the Guinness surfer and the title sequence for Casino Royal. I have always wanted to work in a company that works on films and would love to get involved with them. Framestore would be ideal for this as they have large departments dedicated to film work.

As I said In my studio review of Double Negative this is another company that really interests me for similar reasons to Double Negative. The film industry is such a large part of society and is in no danger of being forgotten about. It is something I would love to get involved with. Also when looking at this company and the fact they had done the Titles for Casino Royal shows there are many areas in which I could work. I need to start looking into where I see myself in the future but I have no doubt I will end up trying to get into the film industry at some point in the future.

Studio Research - 2

Mainframe

Mainframe is a motion graphics studio who specialise in animation and graphics for ad's, promos and branded products. Adam Jenns founded mainframe and have been producing work since 1998. They produce a wide range of work which have been produced for cinema, online use and mobile media. They have a team 18 strong and are located in both London and Manchester. Mainframe has produced work for companies such as Huggies, The Courteeners, Nike, Living TV and Argos.

Living TV

Huggies Ad

Nike

I found out about this company last year after seeing their ad for Colin Mcrae Dirt 2 and I was really intrigued to how it was made. I found that after looking at their website and pieces they have made over the last couple of years I actually knew quite a lot of their work. There is office of Mainframe moved to Manchester recently and I have decided I would try and get in touch with them again to speak to someone and possibly show them some more of my work as Chris Hardcastle gave me some very helpful feedback last year. I like the way they combine 3D work with the live camera footage and make them sit together seamlessly.

Match-moving is something that interests me a lot and I think it is an important part of moving image and a possible area I could go into. This is something I would like to consider later this year and a possibility for my final major as I have spoken to a graduate from here and he said if you can show skills such as this then companies will start to sit up and listen to what you have to offer.

Studio Research - 1

Double Negative

Double Negative is based in Soho in the centre of of London. It was setup in 1998 with just 30 staff which has now expanded to 750 which makes it Europe's largest visual effects company for film. In 2009 Double Negative branched out and created an office in Singapore which has a team of about 55 people. They work on films whether they are large or small and produce the best work they can on the budgets given. They have worked on films such as Sherlock Holmes, Scott Pilgram vs The World, Inception and Iron Man 2. They have won an array of different awards which include a VES award for Sherlock Holmes' visual effects.

Sherlock Holmes

I found out about this studio last year after a past student of ours got a job there and worked as a runner. This really attracted itself to me and I researched more into the company after. We had the chance to visit this studio last year which I found amazing. The studio was such a friendly working environment and everyone seemed to be working together but I didn't realise the scale. We stayed on one story looking at what was happening there but they were woking all over the building. After going to this studio I felt as if I knew exactly where I wanted to head in the future. My love for the film industry and the large scale jobs got me very excited when thinking where I could end up. It is studios such as this and Mainframe that really get me excited and make me want to just get straight into the working environment now.

Rich Hall's Fishing Show

When thinking about my 2 guys talking and planning with the illustrations above them i immediately thought of this show that i saw on DAVE a while ago. Rich Hall and his friend sit in a boat fishing talking and trying to right the worlds wrongs. Its funny some of the subjects they manage to come up with. In my piece I really want to focus on the 2 guys and what they are saying so having them in a location like this really draws the focus in as there are no other distractions in the piece. I need to experiment how i can do this in my piece but i also need to write a good script to keep the interest of the audience as its the only thing drawing the audience in.

Outside The Box, Joseph Pelling

After a group tutorial where I discussed how I wasn't happy with my idea and that I wanted to have a project I could get excited about. So I found myself discussing what got me excited over summer and what I could focus on. I have written a script for a film intro that I wanted to do and I have the idea of maybe doing that for my final major later in the year. It was then suggested that I use his project to practice and build skills towards that. After explaining the basis of the story we all spoke about how it could be changed and developed into a project for the negotiated brief.

I explained the treatment and the script I'd written over summer and decided the new direction in which to go. After talking Rick showed me this which sums up where my project is heading and what areas i need to research now. Im focusing on the conversation between 2 guys and whatever they are discussing appearing in diagrams above them. This is a perfect starting point.

Domino City, Sony

This is great example of how a chain reaction can be built on a huge scale and shows how one event can change a whole city. Obviously this ad is about the colour Sony Bravia TV's provide themselves with but it can be seen in the terms of society. I like the idea that everyone contributes to the final outcome and it wouldn't end up the same with a missing link. Looking at the idea of votes, these blocks could be a physical representation of a vote. 

The PEN Story, Olympus

This is a great stop motion piece for the Olymus pen showing a journey through time and through life. It was made from over 60,000 photo's, 9,600 prints and 1,800 phot's had to be shot again. There was no post-production which i find very impressive and very skilled.

This piece I can relate to alot. Not because of the life story but because of certain shots. For example New York, paragliding and the history of motorcycling in the family. Actually, most of it reminds me of my dad and what he has done through life. He grew up with bikes and continued using them when going through the army then swapped them for paragliding later in life before starting to get back into biking again now. The only thing that is not right is the running a marathon part because he said he would never do but who knows. I love this piece and sure he will too.