http://news.mooschool.co.uk/

Hat Trick Productions invited me to pitch for the titles to...

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:41:00 +0100

Hat Trick Productions invited me to pitch for the titles to their upcoming comedy series, ‘Some Girls’.

Discovery Channel - NorthWest Wild Promo Test frames for...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 22:34:51 +0100

Discovery Channel - NorthWest Wild Promo

Test frames for graphic interstitials.

AXN Promo - 'Monday Night Action'

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:43:02 +0000

I can’t speak Italian so I’m not precisely sure what the VO is saying in this promo but it’s along the lines of ‘Don’t Miss the Action’ or ‘Impossible to Miss’. Focussing on the key message of ‘not missing’, Lambie Productions pitched this shooting target concept for AXN’s new ‘Monday Night Action’ promo. (See my storyboard design below.)

I spent two weeks animating two versions of the sequence in Cinema 4D and After Effects. AXN were very happy….but they did make a couple of requests! I don’t think the B&W film star pics are really necessary in addition to the VT. Plus, the official master had the red drop shadow removed from the text which was a shame in my opinion so I’ve restored it to its former glory for you all to see!

AXN Promo - ‘Monday Night Action’ This storyboard...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:32:53 +0000

AXN Promo - ‘Monday Night Action’

This storyboard was presented to the client to demonstrate the general look of our proposal. In particular, they were interested in the typography and how vt could be incorporated into the concept.

H3G Promo for AXN Italy nominated for 2012 Promax BDA Europe Award

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:24:11 +0000

H3G Promo for AXN Italy nominated for 2012 Promax BDA Europe Award:

Best On Demand/Catch-Up Promotion category

AXN Brand Promo - 'All the Faces of Action'

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:52:00 +0000

Ever since I finished AXN’s ‘Moment in Time’ channel promo a couple of years ago, I’ve fancied applying the same technique to human faces. I was also influenced by Onesize’s amazing Playground Festival titles from 2009.

Projection mapping is the technique of projecting a 2D picture onto a 3D object. The 3D geometry gives the picture a third dimension which you can exploit by panning or zooming the camera. You can’t move too much otherwise you start to see the distortion of the image stretched around the sides and back.

At last, back in November, I got the perfect opportunity to do it. Lambie Productions asked me to pitch an idea for AXN’s new brand promo showcasing the upcoming season of programmes. The brief was to focus on the characters’ faces and reveal or dissect them in a ‘cutting edge way’. I won the pitch (see below) and spent January animating it.

I started off using a piece of software called FaceShop which is supposed to generate 3D models from photos but I found it fairly useless. It seemed to generate identical models from different photos. It did at least give me a decent starting point which I then pushed and pulled around in Cinema 4D to fit the various characters. The projections all go a bit wrong around the nostrils so you’ll notice there’s no shots looking up noses! Next, I used Nitro4D’s Thrausi C4D plugin to fracture the model into pieces. Once the model was fractured it was fairly simple using C4D’s mograph to animate the pieces exploding apart in various ways.

As usual with Lambie Productions, I worked closely with director Tim Lacey to reach the final outcome.

AXN Brand Promo - ‘All the Faces of...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:27:00 +0000

AXN Brand Promo - ‘All the Faces of Action’
(Storyboard pitch explaining one transition.)

PBS Idents

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:43:28 +0000

PBS, the US public service broadcaster, launched in the UK earlier this month. Creative branding agency Dunning Penney Jones (DPJ) were appointed to create their on-air branding.

DPJ devised a concept which communicates the brand promise of ‘Epic True Stories’ and the breadth of content to be featured on the new channel across it’s four key programming genres: history, science, current affairs and arts and entertainment. The simple yet visually arresting concept takes the viewer on a journey through vibrant imagery, using dynamic camera moves to create an infinite photographic montage.

Under the direction of DPJ designer Peter Allinson, Mooschool animated the concepts using Trapcode Form to produce a huge grid of picture circles. The Trapcode plugin cast another picture over all the circles, visible only when a camera is set back enough to enable 20,000 circles/dots to provide enough definition. A lot of time was spent on developing the camera moves and smoothing the joins between a bigger picture becoming part of the next picture.

It was a challenging project; it often is when you’re so dependent on a plugin and its occasional irregularities. It’s the most I’ve thrown at a computer for a while. Staring at thousands of circles for a month certainly tested my sanity. But, sitting here watching the idents back afresh, I’m really pleased with them and, more importantly, DPJ and PBS are too.

PBS UK is on Sky Channel 166.

"Having worked with Mooschool in the past, I knew they had the ability for this challenging..."

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:31:59 +0000

“Having worked with Mooschool in the past, I knew they had the ability for this challenging production. Their skill, dedication and enthusiasm for a project is always appreciated, and they’re great fun to work with too.”

- Matt Penney, Creative Director at DPJ

RBS Sponsorship Ident

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:16:17 +0100

Here’s a simple but, hopefully you’ll agree, polished ident we recently designed and animated for M&C Saatchi. RBS sponsored ‘Jack Nicklaus’ Greatest Open Course’, a documentary broadcast on STV to celebrate 150 years of the Open championship.

Thomson Reuters

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:52:00 +0100

The branding agency, Jack Morton invited Mooschool to present ideas for the global launch of Thomson Reuters new financial website. The main event of the launch was based around 4 huge LED arches tunneling towards an HD 16:9 LED screen. Our concept centred around the idea of this financial tool ‘connecting financial professionals around the globe.’ This animatic, explaining the opening sequence, was part of our pitch which unfortunately we lost to th1ng.

AXN Mobile

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:27:00 +0100

Sony AXN Italy have teamed up with 3 Mobile to make the AXN and AXN Sci-Fi channels available on mobile phones. Lambie Productions commissioned Mooschool to help them create an explosion-packed 30sec sequence promoting the new service.

Matalan Sponsorship Idents(Storyboard pitch) Multiple instances...

Fri, 20 May 2011 12:34:00 +0100

Matalan Sponsorship Idents
(Storyboard pitch)

Multiple instances of a photo shoot are revealed when viewed through a rotating lens.

FTI Consulting

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:21:00 +0100

Bruce McKelvie, Head of TV at M&C Saatchi, asked Mooschool to help design and animate an ident for FTI Consulting, a global business advisory firm. The brief was to explain their “one brand” strategy; converting all of their acquired firms to the FTI Consulting brand, in an elegant and intelligent way.

"Don’t faint - they absolutely love it! Well done Nick."

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:21:00 +0100

“Don’t faint - they absolutely love it! Well done Nick.”

- Client email.

Currys / PC World Campaign for M&C Saatchi

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:57:00 +0000

Back in March of last year, Mooschool were hired by M&C Saatchi to update an After Effects template which Tandem Films had designed for Currys. It contained a teardrop shape christened the ‘Squircle’. A month or so later, we grabbed the opportunity to become more creatively involved in the project: Some Currys outlets were expanded and merged with PC World stores to create new megastores nationwide. (Currys and PC World are both part of the Dixons Stores Group.) PC World’s existing advertising was more glossy and 3D than Currys and the client wanted this to influence a new joint brand campaign.
Mooschool’s brief was to provide a project template, containing a new 3D squircle design, which could then be updated in M&C’s new in-house After Effects suites, just as Tandem had before. As the campaign progressed however, it was clear that most of the ads would need individual tailoring to accommodate the client’s requests. Working closely with M&C’s creative Pat McMenamin and copywriter Dave Edwards, Mooschool provided numerous templates for different durations, multiple products, Christmas and January Sales versions and occasionally the two brands wanted to advertise separately. Understandably, the way the logos animated coming together was of key importance and several ideas were presented before we reached the final solution.

A Christmas version was developed including 3D baubles and (subtle!) snow. The studio environment has adopted a slight purple tint at the request of PC World.

Mooschool designed the squircles’ new glossy 3D look. This sequence contains one of the previous logo animation tests which places more importance on the central applet. There’s also an early SALE animation included but this was redesigned more drastically in December. (See top video.)

Original 2D Currys ad based on Tandem’s design.

AcuVue Sponsorships Lambie Productions teamed up with branded...

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:52:00 +0000

AcuVue Sponsorships

Lambie Productions teamed up with branded content consultancy, Dazzleship to produce a series of 10” Acuvue Sponsorship credits for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. The Sequences and a special Acuvue First Look ident feature alongside LIVING channel’s first run of prime time Dramas such including CSI, Ghost Whisperer and Supernatural. Mooschool were commissioned to composite and post-produce the first stage of the project. Directed by Yann Secouet of 76Ltd and shot in HD using a RED camera, 6 x 10” sequences and a 3” First Look/Acuvue ident animation have been produced. The post involved various keying, tracking and compositing in After Effects to simulate camera zooms in and out of displays; a postcard, a mobile phone or a poster, revealing the woman’s real location. The logo animation, designed by Mooschool, consists of a 3D contact lens reveal, built using Cinema 4D. The animation is used as a transition throughout the graphics illustrating the brand’s “See What Could Be” slogan.

Yahoo! Barclays Premier League Ident Yahoo! has the exclusive...

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Yahoo! Barclays Premier League Ident

Yahoo! has the exclusive online rights for the Premier League which means they’ll be showing 5 minute highlights of every game of the season.
Mooschool were asked to produce a fun and engaging 6” ident which would cement the association between Yahoo! and football coverage. The ident will go in front of every online highlight show which is also used by The Times website.

“Katy Brand Vs” ITV2 Wed 10:30pm (Original...

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

“Katy Brand Vs” ITV2 Wed 10:30pm
(Original storyboard)

For her latest show, Katy has focused on the spoof music videos which proved so popular in the ‘Big Ass Show’ series. This time Katy actually meets the stars she’s spoofing and persuades them to join in.
World’s End Television commissioned Mooschool to produce titles, stings and transitions for the show. ITV2 like their programmes’ graphics to match the channel’s branding; glossy green in a white studio environment, it definitely ticks their boxes. Despite a suddenly reduced deadline, we managed to provide them with an HD graphics kit which included individual title endings for each star’s episode. We also keyed and composited the video for the Hoosiers episode.

Old Favourite: AXN Italy Promo “A Moment in...

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:33:00 +0000

Old Favourite: AXN Italy Promo “A Moment in Time”

Visit the website for more information. Nominated for categories in the Promax BDA Promotion&Marketing and Design World Gold Awards 2010.