Commissioned by TBWA in Saudi Arabia for their client Blue Jar, Carl Warner the photographer famed for his inventive use of food in his photography was asked to use his unique style to advertise the Blue Jar cheese product. Shot with a Canon 5D MarkII on a motion control rig in Islington’s Cross Street Studio, we used a combination of shooting techniques to achieve the final result. The Canon DSLR was hung upside down to get as close to the set as possible and was taking frames in raw mode. The stop-frame / go-motion technique took about 20 minutes to shoot 5 seconds of footage, so we shot the moves in reverse to help make the food and vegetables perk up rather than droop under the lights. The sequence of frames were massive 4k files which we transferred to a mobile workstation rough composited them and played the sequences back to check everything worked well. Each layer was shot as a separate pass to keep the focal distance as far as possible and allow more flexibility in post later, this helped make the scale of the landscape look bigger than it really was. Once we had shot all the stop-frame pass sequences for a particular shot we then needed to shoot the river of cheese and erupting volcano passes as live action moves. This meant using the same camera move of course, to match the shots together later, but required us to shoot in video mode at 1080p 30fps. Once we had the live action passes, the difficult task of matching the much smaller HD footage into the 4k file sequences began, this entailed changing the frame rate of the live action to match the 25fps stop-frame and very careful resizing and realignment. We used a Mitchell 35mm camera with macro lens at 100fps for the packshot material at the end of the commercials to make the product as smooth and beautiful as possible. Once all the shots were in the bag we took the huge amount of frames (about 2.5TB worth) and converted them all into 2k 16bit tiff files to make them easier to wield in the compositing phase, but still allow a wide gamut and colour bit depth. We worked in 16bit mode all the way through the post stages, first editing the sequences in Premiere Pro, before final compositing and grading in After Effects. Many of the shots consisted of over 20 layers to achieve the scale and depth of the final result. There was also extensive re-timing and timewarping, in particular, on the cheese elements to assist in making it look thicker and smoother. We also shot some steam and smoke on 35mm at 100fps for the volcano, and some separate hills to composite far into the distance. The sky was also composited into all the shots, and tracked to markers set up on the poly boards in the set.

Check out the timelapse video above of the full 5 days of shooting condensed into 43 seconds

Client: TBWA\RAAD / Rokkit

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There are hundreds of font sites out there, and literally hundreds of thousands of fonts, some of them thankfully are free. When it comes to selecting something for a specific purpose, or hunting for a font you know the name of already it helps to limit your search to the most reliable sources for freebies before spending your currency on a font you may only ever use once. Here is a list of typeface sites that I find the most useful on a day to day basis, hopefully they will prove useful to you too.

1. FONT SQUIRREL

Hundreds of well sorted and very classy fonts on a smart site, organised into style categories – there is no rubbish on this excellent resource, a real favourite here.

2. 1001 FREE FONTS

Lots and lots of fonts sorted alphabetically and by category.

3. BETTER FONTS

A fair number of free fonts that are nice and easy to preview before downloading.

4. URBAN FONTS

A tidy site well organised and categorised list of 8000 freeware fonts.

5. FONTSTOCK

Another good selection, clear and categorised.

6. FREE-FONTS

A font search facility that will hunt for a free version of a selected font.

7. ABSTRACT FONTS

13,086 fonts and counting, categorised and alphabetised, some very useful fonts here.

8. DA FONT

Massive selection of free fonts.

9. ELE FONTS

Yep, you guessed it, lots more free fonts here.

10. ACID FONTS

Another extensive range to trawl through or search for.

A few other sites with some nice typefaces offered free by the designers

DIVIDE BY ZERO

EXLJBRIS

BLUE VINYL

IDENTIFONT

This was an unsuccessful pitch for an Arabic teenagers reality series created in Illustrator, Photoshop and Cinema 4d. The idea of the show is that the group of kids need to generate their own power, either physically or by solving problems and completing challengers to earn some power. A gauge is constantly reminding the kids of how much time is left before the power is off. The series also aims to teach about power saving and living a greener lifestyle.

Below are some initial logo ideas for the ‘Power Struggle’ main titles and series branding. Electrical currents feature heavily, and can be seen to represent humans harnessing of power. The figure illustrates a teenage competitor or team of 5. The cgi rendered images illustrate how the logo might have worked in 3 dimensional space.

Client: Rivalmedia

]]> http://dazpix.co.uk/portfolio/power_struggle/feed/ 0 http://dazpix.co.uk/blog/ntk_brainstorming/ http://dazpix.co.uk/blog/ntk_brainstorming/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:29:25 +0000 admin http://dazpix.co.uk/blog/ntk_brainstorming/

The process of Brainstorming sounds very painful, and I guess sometimes it can be, but in this article are a few pointers to help you get the most from your brainstorming session and hopefully make it an enjoyable part of the creative process. After all, the idea is always the most vital ingredient to any successful film, animation or graphic treatment, the same with everything we create. Making the ideas flow easily and enjoyably working with your colleagues or whoever you want to bounce ideas off, and most importantly, getting the feedback and fresh input that you need to make your ideas develop, is the key to giving yourself the best chance of achieving the best results.

This advice for Motion Graphics Freelancers and all those who work in Film, TV, Motion Graphics or animation is free to read here and can be downloaded as a pdf file.

There are more Free Articles,  downloads and more here in Resources.

Advice and Tips on Brainstorming for Motion Graphics Design and Animation

Things to consider, resources and techniques to employ to get the most from your brainstorming sessions

You’ve no doubt heard the word ‘Brainstorming’ many times, but it can be used for every type of business and concept across a whole range of industries. It certainly isn’t an exclusively secret technique for ‘creative arty types’ or those ‘designers’ which again, encompasses all kinds of people and professions, who come up with the concepts that change our lives in some way. This article is written with Motion Graphics Designers in mind and those wanting to develop visual effects shots, script ideas for tv, video and film, or graphic Channel branding, the list goes on. Of course all the techniques and tips here can be applied to anyone wanting to develop their ideas individually or with other people in any constructive way.

What you need

All you really need is a place to brainstorm, somewhere relaxed and quiet, Yourself, some friends or colleagues, maybe the client, and or others. Some paper and pens, Tea, Coffee and water rounds off the essentials, but there are all kinds of gadgets that can help inspire, speed up, record and document your brainstorming session. A laptop connected to the internet is obviously great for sourcing reference and examples raised during the meeting, but ensure you have a fast internet connection, there is nothing more likely to bog down your inspiration and flow of ideas than having to wait more than a few seconds to start smoothly streaming a vimeo clip. There may be a need for music reference, so ensure everyone can hear the music properly, ideally through decent speakers. You might also consider a camera or your phone camera, even a video camera to document the meeting and be able to refer back to later. Likewise an audio recorder could be used if visuals aren’t needed, a microphone is less intrusive than a camera and the important part of the brainstorm, voice, is captured clearly.

What you don’t need

You don’t need your mobile phone ringing – put phones in silent mode or turn them off, a call will always interrupt proceedings. Also any other phones ringing or disturbing noise should try and be avoided, headphones are a no no when people are trying to converse in a group, negativity should be left at the door, every idea that is voiced should be heard even if it is crap.

Superiority or hierarchy is best dropped for the meeting to ensure that no one feels self conscious to voice their thoughts. Food or cigarettes also don’t aid the process, focus and collective thought are the key to beginning the process of your finished masterpiece. The longer you can sustain the group focus, or your own concentration, the more developed your ideas will become.

Who to brainstorm with

Brainstorm with anyone who you feel can assist the process, anyone whose opinion you respect, or whoever you are thrust into working with. An initial brainstorm with your clients or work colleagues can go so far, but consider many more little brainstorm sessions with the target audiences and people with a different view of an idea, other designers, kids, your Mum, whoever. If the client is not attending the meeting it might be wise to select someone to think with the clients view in mind as regards branding, image and the like.

In a brainstorm session, encourage others to want to contribute to show their knowledge and understanding. Make others feel involved and get passionate. Don’t allow one person to dominate the meeting, and encourage everyone to have no fear of sounding stupid and let the ideas pour out.

Working On Your Own

When you are solo, try and create a good relaxed environment for yourself to look through books or magazines, surf the internet where you can concentrate on the task at hand and try not to get sidetracked by something else online. Often the best way to develop an initial idea if you are unable to bounce thoughts off of colleagues is to just start working, drawing, writing, shooting, photoshop, flash, or after effects, whatever you are using, as you create, your mind is continually concentrating on how to improve and develop the idea. You can always ask other people’s opinions online by posting your images in a secure place.

Keep the brief in Mind

Always ensure a copy of the brief is at hand, and use a list of key words highlighted from the brief to refer back to, so not to stray too far from what the client actually wants. Show your brainstorming colleagues any client references at the start of the session, look at the company brand, logo, colours and fonts. Keep your ideas within the boundaries of what is possible for the format and budget you are working to, determine whether the result is for tv, cinema or web as this will also shape your ideas to be better suited to the medium.

Tips & Sharing

Use a camera or camera phone to snap sketches or notes that others make during the brainstorming session and grab images or videos you find online and save on a memory stick. Use your camera wherever you go looking for inspiration. On your way home from the meeting you might see the side of a bus or a poster on the tube platform that grabs your eye or seems relevant in some way. Scour books and magazines new and old for inspiration, scan the images or snap them with your camera phone. Collect all your photos and scanned images and place them in a cloud storage folder using dropbox or other file sharing service, then invite all your collaborators and brainstorming colleagues to share the folder, so that they can all look and upload their own material. Create another folder with developing artwork, script drafts or whatever is relevant to you.

Sources of Inspiration

Everything around you is a source of inspiration for something, so let your mind wander when you are out and about. When focussing on sourcing material and looking for style references look at other designers and studios work,  check out classic posters, film title, animation, vintage imagery and film, check out sites such as Vimeo, Motionographer, and Stash. Keep your sketchbook and camera with you at all times and document anything you find interesting that you could use on your current or future projects.

Other techniques

Think in opposites or mirrors and see if other ideas materialise. Try thinking about an idea from the opinion of a different person, gender, race, animal or being, someone very big or very small, young or old. Always look for angles from your core idea but keep your central theme intact.

Summary

Key points to bear in mind before brainstorming a new brief:

Find a good quiet place to brainstorm

Have your pen, paper and devices to document

Use all the resources for inspiration available to you

Look at the client brief, product or company brand and any supplied reference material

Encourage all the participants to get involved and contribute ideas however dumb they may seem when they are said

Keep your mind open to new ideas even after the brainstorm session has finished and continue developing the strongest concepts while they are fresh in the mind

Collate all the material and share it online with others to continue development

This guide can be downloaded as a complete pdf file here.

See also the What You Need to Know to win a Pitch article when trying to win the work.

Follow the blog here , twitter here or facebook here, to keep up with all the free resources and information at DazPix.

You can download a few more hi res Pre-Keyed and Layered PSD files of dingle, hedgerow, trees and whathaveyou for use in your projects as foreground elements or anyway you like. They can be grabbed over in resources where all the other downloadable stuff hangs out. These are huge res images and are ready to go.

I like to use them in After Effects or whatever compositing tool is at hand and bring them close to camera with some nice bokeh. They are large enough to work well close up for focus pulls or tracking shots.

The photos were taken on a day out to the National Trusts Winkworth Aboretum, a great day out in the sunshine enjoyed by all. I have posted some more images of the Arboretum on the photography page, check out the environment category.

For your downloading gratification another set of useful hi res PSD files for use in your projects. Ideal for quickly jazzing up your storyboard frames, adding to After Effects animations as foreground elements or creating a photoshop image for print. All the dingle images have been taken with a Nikon D40 at high resolution, then keyed, cleaned up and layered into psd files with transparent backgrounds and alpha channels for your convenience. You can quickly grab a pre cutout PSD, copy the layer and paste it into whatever project or document you are working on. They are completely royalty free for you to use as you will, full high resolution colour with cleaned alpha channels. Click on the image to download them, Enjoy.

Shot in a single day in Camberwell studios using a Phantom HD Gold camera the commercial consisted of two main elements, the fire and flames which were shot against black at 1000fps, and the performance of the girl shot against greenscreen at 100fps. The concept came from Marc Hawker who also Directed the commercial. Produced by Kate Arton at AMPLtd

The fire was created using a flame gun provided by the machine shop, and Paul the special effects guy had us screeching and then laughing when his hair caught fire in true Michael Jackson fashion. Fortunately he escaped with a bit less hair and no eyebrows, and was able to carry on shooting plumes of beautiful flame upwards at the Phantom camera which was looking down from the scaffolding rig in the roof of the studio. At 1000fps we could only capture 4 seconds of footage (realtime) at each go, but the results were astounding. We had a lot of fun being pyromaniacs, and shooting with this amazing camera, but eventually had to call it a day and relight for the greenscreen performance. We used the Phantom on dolly and tracks for this part, shooting at 100fps with tracking markers and focus points. DazPix supervised the shoot and ensured everything was technically ready for Joe Pavlo to composite together using Nuke. The final result is a challenging piece which will hopefully make people think about what is going on with the oil companies in Africa.

Client: Amnesty International / AMPLtd

To be audibly inspired take a look and more importantly a listen to Miguel’s site. He is a very talented musician and composer who is fast attaining an enviable credit list for film and TV scores. He is able to create breathtaking sounds from his vast collection of instruments, conduct orchestras and grow veg… he’s also a top bloke.

Here is a little test using sweep  nurbs in Cinema 4d and some sound fx. It was composited in After Effects.