This is an old article but interested...
Source
By Katie Makal
Dec 5, 2003, 13:31
Using a simple glass panel as the centerpiece of its concept, R!OT Manhattan designed and produced an extensive graphics toolkit for HD Cinema 10, a package of 10 HD movie channels available through Rainbow Media's VOOM HD satellite service. Produced entirely in high-definition video, the package includes more than 50 elements, including IDs, promos and menu screens.
All of the graphic elements feature one or more 3D glass screens, representative of the wide HD aspect ratio. The screens animate over a softly undulating blue-green background, sometimes forming abstract patterns, sometimes serving as a display space for movie clips. In the IDs, the screens take on character roles. In one referencing movie westerns, a pair of glass screens squares off in a gunfight. In another, screens form the dial of a safe, promoting mysteries. The package employs the tagline, "Movies Redefined."
"The package is very cinematic," said R!OT Manhattan inferno* artist Tom McCullough. "It has the same grandiose feel that you get when you go out to the movies."
"A key part of the design challenge was to create something that could work for all types of movies," McCullough added. "HD Cinema 10 shows comedies, dramas, mysteries, the whole gamut. The graphics needed to complement every genre."
The design also had to be modular. As movies are of varying length, Rainbow Media needed to be able to utilize the graphic elements in varying combinations to fill out time slots. To accommodate this need, R!OT designed the animations so that each element can be used as a building block for a larger piece.
"Any element in the package can be cut against any other element and it will flow seamlessly," McCullough explained. "We made this package as flexible and easy to use for Rainbow Media as possible."
With all of the animation rendered in high definition and supported by a 5.1 music and sound design track, the package leaves a spectacular impression. "The surround sound against the picture in high-def is amazing," concluded McCullough. "It's wonderful to view something that we created entirely in HD and see how clear and how beautiful it can be."
Linear Mode
