2 Welcome to Earth London TV 6 Interactive TV Game Show Systems 8 Idents and Animations 10 Introduction to Motion Graphics 14 Putting Knowledge Into Practice 18 Client Live Briefs 22 Ident Design 30 Digital Modelling 34 Learning From The Best
Welcome to Earth London TV
2
Still from Earth London TV show reel
Earth London TV is a motion graphics company creating from in-programme graphics and title sequences to channel branding. Creative motion design, direction, animation and interactive studio. They make anything that moves on screens!
Fennel the studio dog
4
Earth London TV is subsidiary of Evolutions which is now one of the largest independent full service post production companies in the UK. Berwick Street is home to Evolutions head office, located a stone’s throw from bustling Oxford Street. The 5 storey building houses 23 Avid Media Composer suites, 3 Avid Symphony suites and 2 ProTools dubbing theatres.
https://evolutions.tv
Interactive TV Game Show Systems
In March 2017, Earth London installed its first real-time, interactive game control system for a TV studio game show. That show was !mpossible by Mighty Productions for BBC1. Only 18 months on, !mpossible has been recommissioned for it’s fifth series plus a celebrity special version for prime time Saturday night on BBC1 - that’s well over 100 episodes.
Impossible!
Earthlondon.tv
6
Earthlondon.tv
The Fake News Show Earth London TV runs buzzer and scoring system and drives score visuals for the myth-busting comedy panel series from Hat Trick The show peeks behind the wobbly fade of fake news - dissecting spin, outlandish claims and alternative facts. Featuring Stephen Mangan, Katherine Ryan, Richard Osman, Richard Ayoade and many other funny folk.
Idents and Animations
BAFTA Young Games Designer
Ident for BAFTA Young Games Designer,
BAFTA’s gaming initiative for 10-18 year olds. Online content is top and tailed with this Isometric, retro gaming inspired little sequence. Earth has also created the BAFTA Television Awards video content package for 2015. https://vimeo.com/114157330
8
LEGO Batman mini movies
Produced by M2 films for Lego US and Warner Bros, Earth and our live action partners Diamond Bullet, have created seven action packed mini movies showcasing a new range of LEGO Batman products. All animation, rendering, compositing and post completed in house at Earth/Evolutions under a very tight schedule to time with product release. https://youtu.be/tuq99Pwekqs
Introduction to Motion Graphics
Motion graphics are pieces of digital footage or animation which create the illusion of motion or rotation, and are usually combined with audio for use in multimedia projects. Motion graphics are usually displayed via electronic media technology, but may also be displayed via manual powered technology. I have been introduced to different software used by the professionals. It has been explained to me when and how each software would have been used.
10
Motion Tracking
As part of the experience I decided to have a go at creating my own motion graphic similar to what guys have been working on. By observing them work on day one I got an insight into complexity of their work so maybe the idea may seem simple but I knew that adding motion graphic to a footage is not straight forward.
What I found most challenging is the accuracy as it’s the key to make the motion look as realistic as possible. I have learnt so many principles and technical information which I believe is a foundation to making professional motion graphics. Here is my quick storyboard of what movements I want my object to make.
12
Putting Knowledge Into Practice
Motion tracking is the process of tracking the movement of an object within a piece of footage. Once you’ve collected this track data from the selected point, you then apply it to another element or object. It allows the insertion of computer graphics into live action footage with correct position, scale, orientation, and motion relative to the photographed objects in the shot.
14
Dots are generated as a reference of the motion and positioning in the footage. Creating shapes, proxy objects is essential as you use it as a reference object which not only will help you visualise when the objects are so you can create motion around it but also then while rendering it will create buffers so as this area when the object is can be then masked and shadows and shading can be reflected against it.
16
Working between two screens is a huge advantage as you can easily move things between screens and keep all programmes that are being used open at the same time.
I could make it there and then and after rendering replace footage in After Effects to see immediate changes. Being able to do this definitely makes work more efficient.
I have been working in Cinema 4D on the left and After Effects on the right. Whatever changes I needed to make after render
You can watch the outcome of my experimentation following the link below: https://youtu.be/mVsyEYaeSqU
Client Live Briefs
I have been given an insight into what live briefs from the clients can look like. It varies depending on the client and type of job. There is no two briefs that are the same. Some briefs are very specific where the story board is included. Other type of briefs consist of written down instructions to follow.
18
This is the actual brief from the client which Earth London TV was workking with.
20
Here are two stills from the opening of the programme that shows how Earth responded to the given brief.
Ident Design
The idea is to do the title “work placement” looking like it’s an opening to the TV show. I have tested out two different ways to make myself more familiar with textures, reflections, luminance and most importantly camera and lighting.
22
After observing the team and being introduced to their work It’s time for me to put my skills to the test. The idea is to do the title “work placement” looking like it’s an opening to the tv show. I have tested out two different ways to make myself more familiar with textures, reflections, luminance and most importantly camera and lighting.
I have challenged myself to work with complex textures which consists of hundreds of small squares which are randomly rotated so as it can reflect light in different directions. The idea is to do the title “work placement� looking like it’s an opening to the TV show. I have tested this effect to make myself more familiar with textures, reflections, luminance and most importantly camera and lighting.
Digital Modelling
Spending two weeks at the studio I had a pleasure to see how the ideas progress from the moment the brief has been given to developing ideas and communicating with the client. Following similar thought processes that I was introduced to I decided to design a front page introducing to my work placement at Earth London TV.
After designing Logo/ Ident for my work placement now I started off with modelling a TV and placing it on the edge of planet Earth. Work placement+Earth+TV. Seems literal but with designs for TV shows that is exactly the process as it has to be straight forward for the viewers not confusing and for them to guess.
30
The experience at the studio taught me to be more aware of camera set up. When different materials are involved it is crucial to set up lights and camera correctly especially when there is luminance set up as well. I was never aware that when setting up luminance we need an image to reflect against it, preferably HDRI. High Dynamic Range Imaging is a technology that expands the dynamic range of an image and shows details in both shadows and highlights.
Learning From The Best
Apart from receiving a lot of support with my experimental work I have also been given advice about what sites to visit for tutorials and also what books to look at. One of them is “The Animator’s Survival kit” by the director of “Who framed Roger Rabbit”, Richard Williams. I have always used classic cartoons such as Walt Disney or Hanna-Barbera for inspiration and it is important about the origins of animation where the technology wasn’t as advanced as it is now.
34
I have been introduced to the website called School of Motion which contains support information for all levels of motion graphic designers. It also has a very wide range of courses from beginners to professionals. The industry is evolving very fast and you never stop learning.
lot of sites these days that don’t provide the best advice and might be confusing at times. With complex projects it is essential to find the easiest yet most efficient way of working to save time yet not to compromise the quality of work.
Recommendations are important to me as I can be sure that the sites I am using are trusted and used by professionals. There is a
After Effects Kickstart
The Path to MoGraph
Aga Fraczak