Children’s author Michael Morpurgo has scripted an animated promotional film featuring Tom Daley, Phillips Idowu and Ellie Simmonds. Olympic organisers have stepped up attempts to generate £1bn in merchandising revenues by launching a flagship store at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and unveiling an animated film featuring the 2012 mascots and a string of Team GB athletes. Committee chairman Lord Coe said: “The film and new website games will continue to engage young people digitally, whilst the mascots continue to visit schools and communities across the UK in the run up to the Games.” Article from guardian.co.uk – read more *** See the video here ***
I personally prefer the stylised and polished look of the much shorter ‘The Best of Us (IOC animation)‘ from 2010 – but each to their own. It’s definitely worth a watch.
This is old news, but I recently rediscovered this gem-of-a-website and thought I’d share it on the off-chance it had been missed. This interactive experience (launched last year) has Dita Von Teese invite you on a private (and naughty… got your interest?) tour of the Perrier Mansion – don’t be shy, but this tour might have you blushing. Beautifully shot and seductively paced, this website is a prime example of the strength of online advertising and brand building over conventional routes to market. It paid off – with the site a viral success. Pooling the talents of Ogilvy (France), B-Rell and Nylon Studios, the site comprises everything I love about integrated online media – great interface graphics and animation, seamless interaction, cinematic film-making & soundscape and risqué viral marketing. A dream job, if one for the boys.
It would seem that more than ever, designers, animators and filmmakers are using text within a real-world context. The release of Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell: Conviction saw the visual feature of mission objective reminders being projected into the environment, mapped over 3D space. The result is quite striking within gameplay and not only creates a unique visual style but as they are never part of a HUD, gameplay is that much more organic and free flowing – see the Developer Diary. Another nice example of a similar technique was used in CodeMaster’s GRID – which placed text into the world as lit and rendered 3D objects, allowing the player spin and pivot the camera around it in menu navigation and replays.
These techniques have been used for years within film title sequences, but there appears to be a growing trend to integrate them into the main viewing/user experience itself, which I for one am a fan of but only when used sparingly and most importantly, appropriately. David Fincher’s Panic Room title sequence is frequently noted as the first example of genuine 3D text in the real world, but I would like highlight a recent addition to the list… Zombieland. In this instance, the comedy horror was enhanced by the integration of its trademark rules being animated in-scene. They create laughs through comic timing and use this visual reinforcement to push rules such as ‘#2 Double Tap’ not only into the annals of cult film quotations but into the urban dictionary. Zombieland works because it pokes fun at itself, it breaks the 4th wall and has post-modern winks – feeling just as much like you’re racking up hi-scores in a video game as enjoying a passive cinematic experience. It’ll be interesting how many more films attempt to use environmental typography as a gimmick in a similar way, see: (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) before it gets tired. Enough talk, let’s watch;
When First DataBank came to DNA with their brief for a corporate DVD presentation to be used in a sales pack and on exhibition stands, we knew exactly what they needed. As the UK’s leading provider of drug databases and active clinical decision support, their subject matter can get more than a little complicated but with DNA’s long-standing relationship with FDB we were able to get under their skin to create this animated typographic presentation that makes it all the more clear.
The pharmaceutical sector is ruled by results and facts and that’s exactly what we drew upon to highlight the benefits of working with FDB, and the possible dangers if you don’t. In-house, DNA Advertising story boarded, animated, wrote a bespoke soundtrack and edited the presentation.
As a budding amateur photographer, I always keep abreast on what is happening in the digital arena. I have recently purchased a Canon 5D MKII after much research. The reason for my purchase was to add something extra to my photography – higher resolution (21.1MP) as well as a better image sensor and full HD video capture.
I have been extremely impressed with the camera so far, after only a couple of weeks of use. However, I have been more impressed with some of the work produced by other companies using the 5D MkII.
The last episode of House aired on 17th May and was shot entirely on a Canon 5D MKII. The House director Greg Yaitanes was available after the programme to answer any questions viewers may have had by using twitter. One of the questions asked was “how was the quality compared to the cameras traditionally used?”. Gregs’ response to this was “I loved it and feel it’s the future – cameras that can give you these looks”.
Greg also used the entire range of Canon Prime lenses as well as Canon 24-70mm and Canon 70-200mm zoom lenses. The effects are amazing. By combining the use of such a competent camera, twinned with Canon prime lenses, the style of imagery created is simply stunning. The subtleties, the use of depth of field, the clarity and colour help make this episode a visual treat.
The outcome was as engaging as any other House episode. I don’t think this will be last time we’ll see a Canon DSLR camera being used in the same way for TV film production or for movies. You may even see a film from me in the future – if I ever find the time!
