“Drift” by Matulick and Mueller

  • ©Kylie Matulick and Todd Mueller

Conference:


SIGGRAPH Video Review:


Track:


    02

Title:


    Drift

Length:


    1:00

Director(s):


Company / Institution / Agency:


  • PSYOP Inc.

Description:


    Psyop conceptualized, designed, and directed “Drift,” a 60-second art film for Bombay Sapphire. They were asked to create a piece that speaks to elements of Bombay Sapphire’s brand: alluring spirit, style, sophistication, complexity, and depth.

    Psyop built the story through performances, editing, and camera work. They moved away from an understandable sense of space to create a sense of intrigue and other-worldliness. Viewers never see a horizon line, or know how deep or shallow the space is, because Psyop chose to express space and environment through lyrical animation and camera moves. When the camera pans across the scene and subtly shifts to an overhead from a side-angle shot, it happens so organically that it doesn’t feel jarring, and consequently delivers a sense of relaxation.

    Psyop enhanced the story by paying specific attention to composi- tion, palette, and environment. Visual techniques were inspired by traditional Japanese screen painting of panoramas, where space is abstracted. Psyop meticulously developed the atmosphere so that it had a waterlike, daydream-ish quality. Shades of blue undulate, echoing the brand identity of Bombay Sapphire.

Hardware:


    HARDWARE: PC 2.2 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM. Rendering farm: 6 CPUs.

Software:


    SOFTWARE DEVELOPER: Modeling, animation, and dynamics: XSI 3.0. Rendering: XSI 3.0,
    Mental Ray 3.0. Compositing: After Effects, Flame. OS: Windows
    2000, IRIX 6.5.

Additional Contributors:


    Producer: Daniel Rosenbloom
    Design and Animation: Psyop
    Designer and Director: Kylie Matulick, Todd Meuller
    Executive Producer: Justin Booth-Clibborn
    Technical Director and Development: Todd Akita
    Flame Artist and Composite: Eben Mears, Roi Werner
    Animation Artists: Todd Akita, John Clausing, Tom Cushwa, Kevin Estey, Eric Borzi, Kent Seki

Additional Information:


    PRODUCTION
    Modeling: polygons and NURBS, transparency mapping, and fur objects for foliage. Average CPU time for rendering per frame: 5-30 seconds. Total production time: six weeks.

    Technology: Softimage XSI, Flame, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, digital and film cameras to shoot the work.

Animation / Video Overview:


Type: