ADBNE Conference
Breeder describe the idea as working around the theme of binary, juxtaposing the urban sprawl and nature, black and white, flight and fall, and unification and disintegration. Motion designer and editor, Alex Gee explains some of the thinking behind the final piece.
"Basically we were given no brief with this project which is unnerving, but creatively exciting as well. This was the second year that we’ve been involved in the title design for this particular conference. The client, Matthew Haynes, said that he trusted us to come up with something that would be stunning and yet, massive for the audience.”
“We ran through a heap of different ideas at first, and then Joyce Ho, the creative lead at Breeder came up with this particular direction. She presented us these beautiful style-boards based on double exposure photography. The whole team came together to see how far we could really push this concept. We all really wanted to do this double exposure look, but in a way that nobody has ever seen before."
"Then Moe (Chris Morris), our technical lead, had this great idea of tracking the images to the bodies - so when the body moves, the images move with them - which just adds another dimension to the visuals. We immediately did some tests on how we could shoot this thing, so it really was a very organic process that allowed for every creative opportunity.”
“Everything was shot here at our studio. We blacked out the upstairs area and Moe jumped on one camera, and I jumped on another. We then experimented with all of these different movements and lighting to see what would work best. We were looking for bold silhouettes, because we knew that if the silhouette was interesting, we could superimpose just about anything on it and have it work. We spent about three hours I guess, with a couple of models, getting all of the shots we needed. So it was pretty fast paced at this stage."
“All of us at Breeder have experience with photography, so we know how to use cameras and shoot images. As the creatives on this project, we knew what we were looking for and how far we could push these images. It really made sense for us to control the shoot ourselves rather than bringing in a DP. Because animation is essentially our bread and butter, we knew what we needed from the shoot to make this thing work in post.”
“I think that is the real strength of Breeder. When we sense we can do something, even if we have never done it before, we usually make it work. We are always happy to use a specialist, but only, if it’s something we can’t do ourselves. After all, you want fun projects like this to be a creative playground for us all.”
“We want our projects to be hands on, so that they are something we can all be involved in and enjoy. That’s why we do what we do. We come to work to collaborate on projects that we really care about. As nice as it would be to bring in a DP, we would essentially be giving away some of the fun that was to be had.”
“I also worked as the editor on this project. The editing process for me, was about creating an edit that didn’t take away from what we were trying to achieve with the titles. The music was already predetermined well before we even started the conceptualization process, which is not typical with our projects. But in this case, it worked really well. The conference organizer had worked with this particular musician before and we all knew the caliber of Alabaster’s work.”
“The music choice was definitely important to the overall effect, and any chance that I get as an editor to work to a music score as good as this one, is a massive relief. This track by Alabaster really sets the mood and the tone. It’s so refreshing, because half of the thinking was already done for me.”
“There are so many small details in this piece that couldn’t possibly have been predetermined. One of the details that we’re all seriously impressed by was the falling leaves. You see, we had run out of footage and were looking for something visually striking to fill in the gaps. To Moe’s great credit, he grabbed one of the cameras and experimented with throwing leaves and sticks off the roof of our studio to create some sort of visual interest."
“This one particular shot lasts less than 10 frames and it just pops in for a moment on just the right beat. There is something explosive and exciting about that shot that we all love."
“Projects like this one, where disparate ideas can come together in a synergy can only happen at a place that is like Breeder. The way we have the freedom to take sticks and leaves and in an instant make something special, I think says a lot about the creative freedom within our studio.”
