Some really slick work from Engine for Fox Sports Australia. Thanks Brendon for the contribution.

Inside Cricket Ident from engine on Vimeo.

International Cricket Opener from engine on Vimeo.

Nice work for Adidas by Elastic

Daily Planet recently completed the 2009 Chicago Blackhawks Hit the Ice in-game video and the folks there were kind enough to answer some questions about the process. Be sure to check out their other great work.

Chicago Blackhawks – 2009 Game Opener from Brad Chmielewski on Vimeo.

Daily Planet ltd. is a Chicago based editing and motion graphics studio. Recent works have included design, visual fx, claymation and cgi for local and national commercial advertising campaigns, broadcast television shows, music videos, web-based viral media campaigns, and brand identity packages.

Hit the jump to read the article

You’ve worked on the Blackhawks Hit The Ice video for the last couple of years, how is it working with the Blackhawks organization? Was this year different from last?
Working with the Blackhawks is a great collaborative process.  The organization allows us a good amount of creative freedom.  This year varied from last in that we always attempt to add something new while keeping the concept consistent over the years.  This creates the challenge of finding creative ways to top ourselves.

Did you start the project with style or storyboards?
We started out the project with five or six different style boards and a rough outline of a story.  From there, the Blackhawks requested animation tests of a couple of the different styles.  Once a style was locked down, we wrote a script and drew storyboards.  It was crucial that the style selected leant itself to telling a story within it.  It had to go beyond a graphic highlight reel.

How long did it take to complete the project from start to finish?
From the concepting stage to final delivery, the project took about two months.

Did Daily Planet handle the production as well?
Daily Planet did handle the production as well.  It included one full day of an on-ice green screen shoot and two half days of shooting in the locker room.  Since we’ve been on set with some of the same players over the years, there was a nice familiarity on set this year.

How many people worked on the project?
For the post-production phase, we had a team of about fifteen rotoscopers / animators as well as an editor and a sound designer.

In terms of the post production, was it all done in After Effects? What was your workflow like?
The bulk of the work was done in After Effects with prep work in photoshop and some effects work in Cinema 4D.  With so many animators and a tight deadline, consistency was key.  We had a style guide that people used, and we carefully checked what the scenes around each one looked like.  All of our animators worked from Daily Planet, so we easily were able to collaborate and check everyone’s progress.

Did you experiment with a technique or plugin that you hadn’t used before?
This year, we used Cinema 4D to have the players break into pieces when checked by a Blackhawks player.  This took some experimentation on our part to get it to look effective.

What kind of challenges did you meet that you didn’t foresee in the planning stages?
Our biggest challenge was having tight deadlines.  We compensated by bringing in extra freelancers when necessary.

If you could change anything, what would you do differently to Hit the Ice?
We are very fortunate to have worked on this project for a few years now and are very pleased with the process and result this year.  We really feel like we’ve streamlined the execution of the project and actually wouldn’t do much different.

What advice would you give a beginning or struggling moition graphic artist who is trying to create better work?
Study and replicate different  techniques and styles as much as you can.  Ask for feedback on your work as much as possible, and learn to address comments on your work.

Check out this new NFL on Fox spot from Fox Sports Design, King and Country, Sway, La Huella and many more. Hit the jump for the full credits.

CREDITS
via: Fox Sports Design

Agency: Fox Sports Design

EVP Marketing – Eric Markgraf
SVP/Creative Director – Robert Gottlieb
Creative Director – Mark Simmons
VP On-Air Promotions – Bill Battin
Producer – Keith Hritz
Production Coordinator – Rita Mazmanian
Additional Design – Christian DeCastro
Flame – Kevin Prendiville / Marguerite Cahill / Philip Ineno
Audio Design – Mic Brooling
Editor – Greg Thanos / Kirk Smith

King and Country

Executive Producer – Jerry Torgerson
Director/Creative Director – Efrain Moñtanez
Head of Production – Drew Neujahr
Designer – Greg Herman

Sway

Creative Director – Mark Glaser
Visual Effects Supervisor – Aaron Powell
Executive Producer – Meredith Machial
Producer – Justin Herber

Live Action Shoot

Production Company – Marsha Hunt Productions
Directors – Mark Simmons / King & Country
Producer – Marsha Hunt
Producer – Lissa Weiss
Director of Photography – Tom McGrath
Art Director – Greg Blair

La Huella Visual Effects

3D/2D Supervision -Jérôme Debève
3D/2D Supervision – Juan Antonio Ruiz

3D Artists
Antonio Lado
David Gonzalez
Gerardo Arpide
Vanesa Iglesias

2D Artists
Thiago Dantas
Regis Barbey

Music – “Fallen” by Franz Ferdinand

GraphicsMafia is proud to share our first behind the scenes article. Lift Motion Design of Chicago recently completed a rebrand of Barrett Jackson on the speed network. The team at Lift was kind enough to answer a few questions about the process. You can view the spot on Lift’s website. Hit the jump for the interview.

The Interview

Over the years Lift has done some incredible sports graphics. Is there any fundamental difference between a sports job and say a network television commercial?

In our experience, sports packages usually are accompanied by a slightly different intensity level and expanded creative boundaries.  We were lucky enough to earn the trust of the client to explore our boundries.

You’ve worked for the Speed Network before, how was this time different from the last?

I think once we had established a solid workflow and communication with our client, the second round is always much easier.  We knew what was expected of us, and in return, I think they definitely had the confidence in us to pull off exactly what we pitched them.  This time I think we definitely tried to surpass the level of complexity from the round before.

Tell us a little bit about how you defined the style for this piece.

We tried to capture the intensity and underlying competition of the auction itself, but also wanted to show the diversity of the cars themselves with a modern twist.  The cars are really the heroes of the show, and what better way to show off a vintage Benz than having it transform into a Mustang.

In what way was the client involved in development process?

Once we we got started, there were some major check off points just like any other project. We were heavily involved in the soundtrack and sound design direction with Secret Frequency here in Chicago. The custom audio was actually a huge part of the client review.

How did you shoot the live action elements (if any)?

We extracted HD footage of people from the show and treated them with effects. Everything else is 3D.

How did you decide on what applications you used to create the spots? And in what way were they best suited for the job?

Our production pipeline is pretty short and sweet.  We use a combination of Maya and After Effects for most jobs.  Maya can handle a variety of file types for the car models, and give us the tools to animate, light, and render all within one package.  The balance between the 3D and 2D world is handled extremely well by AE as far as compositing and adding the additional graphic FX used throughout the elements.

How many people worked on the spots and how did you integrate everyone’s work?

We had 7 artists working on the entire show package. Everyone has a different assignment that ties into the final composite. Integration between files is key in a small studio like ours. A job of this caliber must be juggled along with other projects, so it’s interesting how it all balances out.

Did you experiment with a technique or plugin you hadn’t used on a previous project?

Conceptually, transforming vintage cars was something that created a unique challenge, but once we established a method for the transformations, the work was significantly easier than we initially thought. The time consuming and often tedious animation went relatively smooth once the groundwork was in place.

Everyone is a perfectionist, if you had another week to work on the project would you change anything?

I once heard the expression, “Projects are never finished, they are just taken from you”, which always seems to be the case.  Ideally, we would like to keep adding more and more levels of detail within the car transformations, but keying each individual spark plug did not seem to fit into our timeline. We had some very late nights getting some of our renders composited. The challenge was worth it.

Does anyone at Lift drive a classic muscle car?

No, but we all have a wish list now.

Any plans to work on more sports related motion graphics?

Most definitely.  Sports packages have such a unique feel to them.  They are usually a blend of testosterone, finesse, and art.

What advice would you give a beginning or struggling motion graphic artist whose trying to create better work?

Push and challenge yourself to create. At first, the technical challenge of transforming cars in such a short turn-around seemed quite daunting, but we knew we would make it work and find a way to pull it off as a team.  We look forward to raising the bar for ourselves on the next round.  Never settle on mediocrity.

Lift Motion Design
Concept, design, 3D animation, 2D animation, compositing and edit:
Jason White, Sam Gierasimczuk, Curt Cooper, Kyle Shoup, Charlie Peterson,
Aaron Edwards, Eric Miro

Production and coordination:
Mary O’Gara, Lucie Boryczko, Carmen Navarrete

Secret Frequency
Original score and sound design:
Jeff Van Steen, Harry Burgan

Filmworkers
Online edit and finishing:
Jeff Charatz, Justin Winkler

Ran into my good friend Roman Farias who works for the graphics department at the Chicago White Sox and checked out his new website. He has come up with a really unique way to display ribbon board animations. Roman said this is what he sends to his clients for the approval process. It’s a really original way to display an unusual aspect ratio. How have you displayed your unusual aspect ratio work online?

Now if Roman can only think of a way to show off that work in the context of a demo reel.

A couple of very high energy spot from Engine out of Sydney Australia.

Really slick spot from Two Penguins. That Red One camera is sharp. Thanks for the contribution Morten.

The Colorado Eagles hosted the Tampa Bay Lighting versus the Phoenix Coyotes last month and Jeff Lewis was responsible for creating the in-game graphics. Thanks for the contribution. If you’ve created some sports motion graphics, send it our way.

I’m proud to announce we’ve got a store. Well sort of, it’s an Amazon Affiliate store. Which basically allows me to group together the best amazon has to offer for sports motion graphics. I get a small percentage (from amazon) for each sale of a recommended item, which helps with the hosting cost of the site. But the real beauty is a central location of the best sports related mograph books, software etc. So I need your help. Have you read a good book about sports graphics, After Effects, Cinema 4D or Editing? Are there some plugins you just can’t live without? Please comment with your suggestions (or send us a ‘contribute’ message) and we’ll add the item to the store. Once again, I’m not paid by any of these affiliates to post their products on GraphicsMafia. It’s just a collection of useful books and software that I consider to be the best for Sports Graphics.

I saw this commercial this weekend and thought it was fantastic.

Thanks Michael Blank for sharing, looks like a funny show.

Really great from Justin Bates and the Mill.

‘Super Sunday’ 09/10 on Sky Sports from Justin Bates on Vimeo.

Lately, I’ve been working on perfecting my alpha in/out interstitial animations, and I came across a Brazilian motion graphics artist named Victor Seabra. His work is really great and he has a impeccable sense of timing and fluidity when it comes to these SporTV interstitials.

Hit the jump for his demo reel.

Victor Seabra’s Demo Reel

reel from victor seabra on Vimeo.

Some great work from Prolouge. Check out their site for a lot more videos.

From SD&A in 2007
scofield.tv

Thanks to Rommel, Michael and team at the Chicago Bears for sending over the 2009 Bears in-game Intro.

Nice job by Blue Room for the NFL kickoff.

Hit the jump for the Yankees opening day video.

What do you do when your client won’t let you use any assets? Grab a Phantom camera and blow stuff up. Great spot, and great solution to a unique client condition.

Fox Sports

I was lurking around mograph.net, thanks to the detectives who found out who created this spot.

Very cool work from Prolouge. While you’re there, check out Prolouge’s other work for ESPN. Great stuff!