Scott Zero

CHROMA NOMINATED FOR 'BEST VISUAL EFFECTS'

2011-11-30T16:10:00.000-08:00

We're proud to announce our nomination for Best Visual Effects at the upcoming AFI's for Showtime's Cloudstreet.

This highly visual production featured over 200 shots covering just about every technique in the book from CG aircraft, trains, kangaroos, jumping fish, talking pigs, flipping coins to surreal dream-like sequences like rowing through stars and fields of wheat. With such a wide range of effects and a tight schedule the team at Chroma worked tirelessly to deliver the level of work that a tale like Cloudstreet deserves - so a big shout out to compositor Stuart Elith and CG artists Harsh Borah and Rob Dowling.

It was an honour to be involved with such a great Australian story and a pleasure to see everyone's hard work across the production being recognised by audiences and industry alike.

Cloudstreet picked up 7 nominations all together including: Best MiniSeries, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Young Actor and Best Visual Effects.

I'd like to personally thank Matt Saville and Screentime for their commitment, trust and support throughout the project and wish all nominees the best of luck next year!

Check out the trailer here and some VFX breakdowns here.

CHROMA @ SUMMER FILM SCHOOL 2012 (Event)

2011-11-15T17:19:00.001-08:00

Chroma is returning once again to present at the University of Melbourne's 'Summer Film School 2012'.

Focusing on the changing role of digital effects in designing, producing, writing and directing contemporary television drama. The course covers the entire range of digital effect techniques and their relationship with each department from production through to post - with an aim to enlighten, excite and energise the next wave of Australian production.

Click here for more info (PDF link).

RUSH FOURTH SERIES ON THE WAY (Series)

2011-06-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

You can't keep a good show down!

Having just won an AFI for best drama, Southern Star have announced a third series for Ten's breakthrough police drama, RUSH. With a action-packed new format and the competition fading fast, RUSH aims to keep audiences nailed to their seats with more drama and incredible stunts.

Chroma return for series four, working closely with the production to deliver some of these crazy sequences. As with previous series, comprehensive behind-the-scenes coverage will detail the extraordinary efforts that goes into delivering the effects and action sequences. Stay tuned for the best series yet!

OFFSPRING SPRINGS INTO SECOND SERIES (TV Series)

2011-05-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

Ten's 2010 hit, Offspring returns to screen this year with a second run of thirteen eps.

We are back to continue our work with the show, producing a diverse range of visual effects and animation across the series.

The show also picked up an AFI this year for Deborah Mailman's performance. Look out for it on Ten.

UNDERBELLY HITS NZ (TV Series)

2011-05-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

The hugely successful Underbelly franchise continues to grow with the New Zealand production of 'Underbelly:Land of the long green cloud' completing this month. The first UB series set outside Australia chronicles more drugs, sex and violence - set in the 1970's. Chroma are once again providing title design and production for the series making it the 6th iteration for the franchise.

Underbelly NZ airs in New Zealand on TV3 later this year.

UNDERBELLY 'RAZOR' (TV Series)

2011-05-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

The Underbelly franchise continues to evolve with its latest series 'Razor' taking audiences back to the 1920's. And we are also back to provide opening titles and broadcast packaging for the show.

Underbelly:RAZOR airs later this year on Nine.

EXIT HEADS TO MONTREAL (Feature)

2011-04-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

EXIT, a moody and beautifully produced film by Marek Polgar is all set to play at Fantasia Festival in Montreal this year.

Surface tension films commissioned Chroma to execute a number of tricky technical corrections and removals in addition to various digimattes, sky replacements and more. Check out this months Digital Media World magazine for more information about our work on the project.

Take a look at the beautiful trailer and details on the film here.

CHROMA AT THE 'SUMMER FILM SCHOOL' (Event)

2011-01-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

In early 2011, Chroma will be part of the University of Melbourne's 'Summer film school', an intensive , month-long event that aims to educate a new generation of film-makers in the tools and techniques of the modern industry.

I will be discussing the changing role of digital effects in contemporary film and television production, and the benefits this brings to production design, screenwriting, shooting, producing, directing and much more. I'll also be covering the full range of digital and practical effects techniques, post workflow and how to create high-production action sequences and set pieces on low budgets.

We think it's a great initiative and wonderful way to get new blood into the growing Australian industry.

2010: YEAR IN REVIEW (News)

2010-12-28T22:06:00.000-08:00

2010 was a huge year for production in Victoria, with the industry significant momentum with many local production resonating with Australian audiences and overseas markets. It's also a year that saw a lot of drama productions really start to embrace and leverage the power of digital effects to make better television.

Southern Star in particular (with both Offspring and Rush), have made our unique skills part of their production arsenal.

Our work featured heavily in Rush's promos this year with a much larger emphasis on epic sequences, weapons and stunts through the series. And it seems to work, with Rush recently winning an AFI for Best Television Drama this year!

The wildy successful Offspring also benefited from over 100 chroma-produced effects shots that helped to give the show its surreal, kooky nature. Rush and Offspring (and Tangle) have been renewed for 2011 with also Chroma returning to provide even more big screen action.

2010 also saw us deliver the massive World Expo Shanghai, a three year project to produce all of the projection content for the Australian Pavilion with Think!OTS. Chroma were responsible for all broadcast design and production for both the 'Sisters' exhibition and the massive, purpose-built 'ANZ' theatre. The opportunity to work to such a high design and technical level alongside 50+ other countries was incredible and the pavilion outdid all expectations with over 8 Million visitors over the year and an overall placing in the top 5 overall.

Think!OTS also delivered 'Trapped!' for Sovereign Hill this year where we produced the 'faces' projection content.

Screentime have continued to keep pace with both Underbelly Files and Matthew Saville's Cloudstreet completed this year.

Underbelly:Files is a 3-part telemovie spin-off featuring another iteration of the UB-style titles including satellite and aircraft VFX by Chroma.

Cloudstreet is an epic 6-part miniseries directed by Matthew Saville (Noise, The King) based on the Tim Winston novel.

The project called for huge amounts of augmentation, CG animation and surreal sequences.

ABC also stepped up their production value this year with Bed of Roses (S3), The Librarians (S3) and Wild Life featuring titles and digital effects produced by Chroma.

• Rush (S3)

• Offspring (S1)

• Underbelly: Files

• Bed of Roses (S3)

• Cloudstreet (Miniseries)

• The Librarians (S3)

• World Expo Shanghai 2010 (Expo)

• Trapped! @ Sovereign Hill (Expo)

• Wild Life (S1)

• The Applicant (Short)

• Love the fall (Clip)

We already have some exciting television and feature projects for 2011 and are currently expanding our staff and facilities to meet demand. And a very exciting announcement we'll be making in February - so stay tuned!

Scott

RUSH WINS BEST DRAMA SERIES FOR 2010 (News)

2010-12-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

After three successful series, Rush has finally picked up an AFI for BEST TELEVISION DRAMA SERIES for 2010!

This follows news of the show returning for a fourth series in 2011 with a more focused 13-episode series. It's great to see the show get some recognition for bringing high-end action to Aussie screens every week. We had a blast helping to put together many of the vehicle, stunt and action sequences and next years series looks to be the best yet!

RUSH returns to TEN mid-2011.

OFFSPRING (TV Series)

2010-09-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

From the same team that brought the excellent 'Love my way' to screens a few years back, Offspring's kooky mix of comedy and drama features a huge amount of surreal moments and unexpected shifts in reality for it's main character, Nina (Asher Keddie). We have been flat-out producing visual effects for the entire series, covering a huge range of techniques, applications and stylistic approaches. Each episode brings some weird and wonderful requests which are a lot of fun to put together.

Like Southern Star's RUSH, we are providing VFX supervision and production for the scripted effects, but also play an important role in reducing day-to-day costs, safety and logistical issues for other departments by providing costs effective post solutions to traditionally practical problems.

Offspring is airing on TEN as we speak - Check it out!

UNDERBELLY: FILES (Telemovie)

2010-08-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

The runaway success of the Underbelly series has recently spawned a new series of telemovie spin-offs coming to screens later this year. The Screentime produced project will continue the tradition of gritty underworld crime drama - based on real events, but with shooting moved back to Melbourne as with the first series.

Having designed the original branding and titles for the first 3 seasons, Chroma are returning to create the titles and broadcast packaging for the three 'Files' movies. Although still in the Underbelly style, the new titles will present a more stylish direction, with a more mature edge to its visuals.

As with previous series, we are also creating several VFX sequences for 'Files' including aircraft, set extention and stunt work for the three movies. 'Files' is currently in production, look out for it on the Nine Network later this year!

CLOUDSTREET (Mini Series)

2010-08-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

Matthew Saville's TV adaption of the classic Tim Winston novel 'Cloudstreet' is currently in production and we have been commissioned to produce the visual effects for the 6 hour mini series. Due to the novels high use of surrealistic sequences and period settings, Cloudstreet's effects fall between highly-stylised dreamy visuals and ultra-real CG work, transforming the west Australian locations into believable 1940's incarnations.

Rushes look amazing and we have already begun on asset creation and previs for the many effects throughout the series, including an aircraft sequence featuring a beautifully recreated CG model of the 'Catalina' Flying boat, a steam train and more to follow in the coming weeks.

Cloudstreet will be coming to Showtime later this year!

WILD LIFE (TV Series)

2010-07-07T21:14:00.001-07:00

We just finished production on the opening titles for December films latest production, Wild Life.

This realty-based series follows the daily lives of Chris Humfrey and his family who live in a chaotic private zoo in rural Victoria. The purpose shot titles feature an 'animal diary' filled with animals literally coming off the page. Branding and various other on-air graphics were also created for the show.

Wild Life is due to air on ABC (and ITV in the UK) later in the year.

'LOVE THE FALL' (Music Video)

2010-06-05T01:17:00.000-07:00

We just finished post production on the new Michael Paynter/Veronicas clip 'Love the Fall' for Sony.

Shot in LA on the RED ONE, the clip follows Michael's pursuit of the girls through a storybook-style forest. Aside from taking on the 2k edit and grading, we also produced several high-end VFX shots of the 'living dress' that one of the girls wears. The brief called for a high-end look but with a dirty finish, requiring advanced skin smoothing, grading and film treatments.

Check out the clip HERE!

RUSH S3 (TV Series)

2010-05-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

Southern Star's hit police drama returns for a third series in 2010. With some new faces, new stories and even more action, the Rush formula continues to excite with several high action stunt sequences and effects already in production.

Rush is continuing its tradition of utilising high-end CG animation and VFX techniques to add a whole new dimension to Australian drama, something usually only reserved for feature films with massive budgets. As with series 1 & 2, we will be producing all of the shows visual effects and working closely with the stunt and camera departments to create some truly breath-taking sequences. Series three will also be accompanied by an exhaustive 'Behind the scenes' site where we will be covering some of the bigger shots produced for the series.

The current promo for the show features a few shots from the 'airliner' sequence we just produced, check it out here!

BED OF ROSES RETURNS IN 2010 (TV Series)

2010-04-30T01:28:00.000-07:00

ABC favourite, Bed of Roses returns for a third series this year!

And we are back too, with a revision to our opening original titles and some VFX throughout the series. Can't say what we are doing yet (spoilers!), but its pretty epic - more news as we get it.

Bed of Roses S3 can be found on ABC later this year.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW TITLE IN HD

WORLD EXPO 2010, SHANGHAI OPENS (Visuals)

2010-04-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

After two years of production, the Australian pavilion at World Expo in Shanghai is now complete, opening to the public on the 1st of May.

Designed and produced by ThinkOTS!, the pavilion is a massive purpose built venue that dominates the Shanghai site. It has already enjoyed a lot of media attention, placed in the top 5 pavilions to visit and even received an early visit from China's President. Chroma were commissioned by ThinkOTS! to provide the overall broadcast design and create all of the animation for the projection content, producing both the 'ANZ Theatre' and 'Sisters' exhibits.

The 'ANZ Theatre' is the centrepiece exhibit of the whole pavilion experience, comprising of a massive rotating screen system situated in the centre of a 1,000 person ampitheatre. On the outside, it employs a 6k 1:1 tracked projection surface presenting the main show - on the inside, 3 huge LED arrays create animated backgrounds for the set pieces.

Using 7 Christie projectors and 3 LED arrays, the 10 minute show presents three animated children as they discuss the concept of the Expo's over-arching theme, "Better city, Better life". As the screens rotate around large practical sculptures (that change as the show progresses via a lift system), as the viewpoint of the animation changes to match the angle of each viewer's position in the room. This involved a long and complex process of prototyping and testing the optical effect created by the rotating, bi-secting canvas.

Between these animated character sections, the screen system reconfigures where it presents other animated sections and image sequences filmed exclusively for the show in 8K anamorphic on RED cameras. This footage was graded in-house to create some of the most stunning and high resolution pictures ever shot in Australia.

We also designed the content for the 'Happy Tubes' lighting system. This massive circular array of over 300 LED video tubes presents animated graphics with the appearance of a lighting rig, synchronised with the central show. This works in tandem with Phil Lethlean's main lighting design of the hero sculptures and the various video and animated content.

Our 'kids' (Blue, Tom and Kate) create the narrative for the whole show, appearing in three different sections covering various aspects of the 'Better City, Better Life' theme. The animation presented a huge challenge as not only are three separate characters performing and talking (in Mandarin no less!) in 360 degrees, but are also visible from all angles at all times with lots of interaction between the characters, props and environments.

The character designs, CG modelling and lighting were created by Harsh Borah (HarshCG) with Robert Dowling (PixelPickel) taking on the rigging and animation of the three characters for the whole show. All of the 'kids' sections were created in Maya.

'Sisters' is an hour-long, super resolution projection show presented on a large curved 'wave' screen, set into the entry ramp of the pavilion. Fed by four rear-projectors, the show features the success stories of 20 Australian and Chinese women making their mark in business, environment, finance, politics and culture. The entire program was shot in 2k on RED and sliced into 20 separate 'diamond' screens that join to form a lush, super screen show. The animation and broadcast design for Sisters was created by Stuart Elith at Chroma. The program was so well received that a shorter, 'sizzle' version was produced soon after for events and special visitors.

Both exhibits projection tracking and media delivery was handled by Florian Mosleh from Coolux.

The ANZ Theatre in particular was a huge challenge, requiring complex 3D tracking and warping of the rotating, vertically travelling 'pillar' screens. The content was produced at a native 6k resolution with the projection mapping done in real time.

The project was an immense creative and technical challenge, involving the balancing of many technical and creative elements.

It was delivered on time and budget, surpassing our clients expectations and receiving glowing reviews from visitors.

Shanghai 2010 is the largest World Expo in history, expecting to attract over 8 million visitors during the year.

It's an honour representing our country once again (Japan 2005) and working with the ThinkOTS! crew on such a massive project. The Expo event continues until the end of the year.

UPDATE: Well, that was quick! Expo 2010 is now closed and we are pleased to announce that the Australian pavilion placed in the top 5 overall with a 95% satisfaction rating from over 8 million visitors - bested only by China own pavillion! It was Australia's biggest presence at any Expo to date and also the most successful.

TANGLE S2 (TV Series)

2010-03-25T20:10:00.001-07:00

Tangle was a huge hit for Southern Star last year and it's now returning for a second series in 2010. We produced several VFX and stunt shots for the first series and we're back again for series two, with several shots already underway.

Tangle returns to screens this year.

CES 2010 LAS VEGAS (Visuals)

2010-01-11T21:41:00.000-08:00

The new year saw us heading over to Las Vegas for the 2010 CES to produce a presentation for US chip giant, Qualcomm.

Working with Think!OTS and a great local team of animators and crew, we produced an hour-long animated presentation that combined 4k motion graphics, 3D and real-time elements to create a pretty cool looking keynote. The whole project was produced on site over four days and the result was thrown up onto 3 huge screens (4K over 5 projectors) via a Coolux system operated by Florian Mosleh. The result was a big hit with the client, including producer Pete! Ford going on to write their 'My Generation' SuperBowl spot this year.

DEAD GORGEOUS (TV Series)

2009-11-20T21:27:00.000-08:00

Produced by Burberry Entertainment on behalf of both the ABC and the BBC, Dead Gorgeous is a beautifully produced tale of three sisters from the 1800's who return to the modern-day land of the living.

We have been commissioned to produce the opening titles for the show. This takes the shape of a 'pop-up book' style journey through the girls old house, which has now become a bustling school campus.

To give the titles a unique look we used a technique called 'photogrammetry', a process where many high-resolution photos are taken of the physical locations and then the resulting images are cut, warped and arranged together in such a way that they can form a 3D 'set' that can be navigated through. Alternate versions of the title were produced for each block in the series.

Dead Gorgeous is set to air early in 2010 on ABC, BBC and Nickelodeon.

UNDERBELLY 'THE GOLDEN MILE' (MiniSeries)

2009-10-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

Underbelly returns to screens early next year with the third saga in the series, titled 'The Golden Mile'

This time the corruption of NSW police in 1980's Kings Cross is the focus for the series, along with all the drugs, sex and violence that came with it.

We are also back to produce the opening titles, again presented in the classic UB style and including design of the new 'Golden Mile' sub-branding to go with our original Underbelly logo. A set of bumpers and other broadcast elements were also produced.

The titles for the epic drama have become quite unique in that they are structurally the same across all series and feature the same music, but with a distinctive shift in the time period, image styling and colour ways.

'TRAPPED!' OPENS AT SOVEREIGN HILL

2009-07-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

Top exhibition designers, Think!OTS have just completed a new addition to the Sovereign Hill history park, called 'Trapped!'.

Visitors exit from an underground railway and are lead through a perfect recreation of an 1880's era mine, moments before it begins to flood. The audience learns the story of this historical tragedy first hand, experiencing what it must have been like to be trapped in the doomed mine. A range of techniques are used to tell the story, ending in a large pepper's ghost effect where the township seems to appear in the depths of a moon pool, while above, the 'faces' projections tell the story of the friends and family of the miners trapped below.

We produced the projection content for the exhibition which included the hologram-style 'faces', created to conform to 3D shapes hidden in the darkness of the exhibit, with the illusion of floating in space.

BED OF ROSES BACK IN 2009 (TV Series)

2009-02-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

Bed of Roses debuted last year on ABC and steadily built up a loyal following amongst viewers.

Series 2 is now nearing completion and we have been brought back to provide some visual effect services to the show with post facility, Blue Post. Alongside the usual rig removals and technical work we also produced several shots of an animated CG lizard for one of the episodes.

Our opening titles from series 1 remain with updates for this seasons cast.

RUSH RETURNS FOR SECOND SERIES (TV Series)

2009-01-06T13:59:00.000-08:00

After a well received first series, Rush is set for an action packed return in 2009.

Chroma are also returning to provide more of the visual effects work that helped to propel the show's ratings last year. During the first series, we produced a diverse range of VFX for Rush including CG helicopters and set pieces, digimattes, CG weapons fire and bullet hits, along with complex retouching, rig removal and stunt sequence work.

Rush looks set to go even bigger this year - Stay tuned.

TRIPLE ZERO HEROES (TV Series)

2009-01-04T13:20:00.000-08:00

Triple Zero Heroes is Fremantle's new emergency services program due on Seven this year.

The show re-enacts real life emergencies and talks to the people involved as they reflect on the actual 000 call recordings.

Chroma are producing the opening titles and graphics package for the show. We are also providing post production visual effects to re-create the many accident scenes and moments of peril featured during the dramatic re-enactments.

The show is currently in production and is due to air on Seven in Q1/09.

BOGAN PRIDE (MiniSeries)

2009-01-02T19:57:00.000-08:00

A six-part series on SBS, Bogan Pride is a thoroughly suburban Aussie comedy.

We produced several VFX shots for the series including a scene where Rebel's hair catches on fire during a school concert. We also carried out some very tricky abberation removal, where lens reflections in one scene were dancing around the actors faces.

Bogan Pride aired in Q4/2008 on SBS.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THAT GUY (TV Series)

2009-01-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

Veteran comedian, Peter Moon is returning to screens this year as.... Peter Moon.

Produced by Ruby Entertainment and presented in the style of 'Curb your enthusiasm', the show follows the daily grind of leveraging past fame and milking it for all it's worth. Featuring some great cameos and snappy writing from Brendan Luno, "WHTTG" is due to hit screens in the next few months.

We produced some exterior effects for the show and various bits including an image of a dog as it goes through an airport xray machine. Weird.

THE LIBRARIANS (TV Series)

2009-01-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

The Librarians returns to ABC this year and we have just produced a couple of CG shots for the first episode. CG flames and other elements were added to various exterior shots of the 'Series 1' library creating a very realistic inferno that follows an arson attack on the building.

The Librarians can be found Wednesday nights on ABC.

CHROMA@WORLD EXPO 2010

2009-01-01T19:36:00.000-08:00

Back in 2005 we were involved in creating the 'DataForest', a 12-minute, 80-screen, totemic video installation for the Australian Pavillion at the World Expo in Japan.

We are pleased to announce that we are again commissioned, by ThinkOTS Worldwide to produce another cutting-edge installation at next year's World Expo in Shanghai in 2010. I've been engaged as senior creative director alongside Pete Ford, Dave White and Alistar Flemming, tasked with designing and producing the content for 'Act2' - a massive, moving video installation in a 360˚ theatre.

Check out some early glimpses of the building and regular updates on Expo2010 HERE.

TANGLE (TV Series)

2008-12-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

Hot on the heels of Rush's second series comes Southern Star's next big drama production, Tangle.

Staring Ben Mendelsohn, Justine Clark and Kat Stewart, the ten-part drama presents modern parents and teenagers struggling with the morals of living in the 21st Century and with each other. The series also has long-time Chroma patron, Matthew Saville directing. We have been producing several VFX shots for the show mainly focused on complex stunt rig removal and technical corrections.

Tangle is set to hit Australian screens in the coming months on Showtime.

NEWSTOPIA SERIES THREE (TV Series)

2008-12-04T01:13:00.000-08:00

Each series of NEWStopia gets better with what is now one of the best comedy teams in recent years. We returned to again provide visual effects and graphics support for the third season which aired late last year.

The crowning achievement, however, must be the final show of the series which took the form of a full-length INSPEKTOR HERRING episode. All of the NEWStopia cast are there and are easy to watch as always, but it's Nicolas Bell that really shines as Comrade Beluga. The entire 'film' was shot and produced in only 1 week and involved us producing over 20 VFX shots and performing grading duties to give it a strong eastern-european feel.

One of the best things about the show is the ability to hear the viewers feedback and encouragement on the NEWStopia website as the series is airing. When your slaving away in the dark recesses of post production, it's great to see comments on a shot or sequence only a few hours after broadcast.

If you missed it, you can still watch the final episode here.

Jahasra and goodnight!

UNDERBELLY 2 (Miniseries)

2008-12-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

Controversial gangster saga, Underbelly returns to Australian (and hopefully Melbourne) screens in early 2009 as 'A Tale of Two Cities'.

This prequel of sorts is set in the late-70's/early-80's and we've just completed the new HD opening titles for the series.

As the network wanted to pretty much keep the titles the same as the first series, so we ended up creating a 'retro' version of the our original sequence. The structure, edit and overall style is practically the same, due to the music also being brought over from the first title too, but with a more 'super-8' treatment to the imagery. The Underbelly branding we developed for series 1 has also been carried over.

The show is scheduled to air in early 2009 on Nine.

STUART JOINS THE TEAM

2008-10-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

Chroma welcomes Stuart Elith to the team. Stuart will be working primarily with animation and VFX for our broadcast clients and has already produced work for NEWStopia S3 and Snake Tales. You can contact Stuart at the office or at: stuart@chromamedia.com

DIRT GAME (MiniSeries)

2008-10-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

ABC's new mini-series, Dirt Game, is well into shooting and we've been engaged to produce the opening titles in addition to providing visual effects supervision and production.

The series is set in several stark rural locations around the world (although shot entirely in Victoria) and a large part of our work is involved in the creation of large-scale establishing shots. These involved working with director Brendan Mayer (Spooks) and DOP Lelani Hannah (The King) on location during acquisition to achieve the shots of the partial set that we would augment later. The scenes are scripted at night so footage was shot at dusk to give us some image to work with, whilst still preserving light-sources from vehicle headlights and buildings. Texture photography was taken of the location set-pieces and the buildings and props were constructed in Maya and tracked into the shot to create a sprawling community. Several day and night variations were produced.

Other shots include a composited sequence using fluid simulation to create turbulent water, several digi-mattes and some advanced colour correction and digital removal.

RUSH (TV Series)

2008-09-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

Work is well underway on several stunt and CG sequences for Southern Star's RUSH.

RUSH is an adrenaline-charged police drama set within Melbourne rapid response task force. We worked on the pilot nearly five years ago and it's great to see the show go into production. We're working with the team again producing a wide range of visual effects for the series, providing effect design, supervision and production services.

The brief for the series' effects called for realism and energy, perfectly matched to the frenetic, loose shooting style and fast-paced editing. There's no such thing as a 'locked off shot' in Rush and that presents some great opportunities to really give the audience some feature-level thrills. The effects work in RUSH is given no more screen time than a regular shot and is treated to look as in-camera as possible. We are also providing a diverse range of VFX shots and additional technical work throughout the series.

At this point we have produced two specific action sequences, with two more currently underway.

The first, a parkour-style chase through city streets which opens the series, involved tracking air-to-ground footage shot by 2nd unit and adding a CG police helicopter throughout the sequence. The helicopter was modeled, textured and animated in Maya with environment maps made up from satellite images of the actual location.

Another sequence involves a rooftop stand-off where several stunt set-ups where required.

The sequence called for key cast to be clearly seen from multiple angles, hanging from the side of a building.

For the three main angles, the cast were suspended from a truss rig and harness against a large green-screen, with one shot calling for a camera to be slung above the rig to achieve a high-angle framing. Two additional angles were created by having the cast member crawl on a green-screen wedge. The rest of the sequence was filmed practically against a city view from the roof of the location and required complex rig removal to create the effect.

Location photography was used alongside HD background plates to create the final digi-mattes used behind the cast.

Although all of the various plates used to create the shots were locked off, compositing all of the elements in 3D gave us the capability to 're-shoot' the scene and break outside the frame of the shot, closely matching the shooting style of the series. Maya was used to add dynamic rope that had to interact with the cast, with shadows and window reflections added during the compositing process.

The final sequences are a great taste for what's to come on RUSH and we're looking forward to getting started on the next few Ep's.

For a brief behind-the-scenes of the rooftop sequence from Ep2, check out the video here.

SNAKE TALES (TV Series)

2008-08-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

Westside film & television have begun shooting their new kids series, Snake Tales.

Snake Tales follows a group of unlikely kids that find themselves marooned together in a remote reptile park in the middle of nowhere. Chroma designed and produced the opening titles presented in a cartoon, 3D style.

In addition to titles, various exterior VFX shots of the 'Snake World' park were created using HD background plates, with a high detail CG model of the set added using camera tracking. Chroma will be producing a wide variety of effects work over the entire series, which is being posted in-house at our Violent Panda facility.

Snake Tales is coming to the Nine Network later this year.

CARLA CAMETTI PD (TV Series)

2008-07-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

We just put the finishing touches on the opening titles and VFX for SBS's new crime drama, Carla Cametti PD.

Staring Diana Glenn and Vince Colosimo, this 6-part mini-series is a stylish and romantic tale of day-to-day life colliding with the heightened reality of designer-dressed gangsters.

Working with Buon Giorno Productions, we aimed to blend noir-ish imagery with a fast-paced deconstructive feel, creating an identity that conveys seduction, intrigue and a distinctly Italian flavour.

The 60-second title features the beautiful Genesis footage that Leilani has captured, music by Cezary Stubiszewski and some additional photography by our own Andy Montague. We also carried out some visual effects work for the show, including creating several shots of a falling Baci wrapper and tricky mobile screen replacement.

Carla Cametti PD will be hitting screens in a few months, check it out!

THE SADDLE CLUB (TV Series)

2008-06-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Long running Crawford's series, The Saddle Club, got the Chroma treatment recently with two VFX sequences.

Firstly, we had to create a sequence where a horse had become trapped on the edge of a sheer cliff, later being walked out of trouble by one of the kids who is lowered down from above. Obviously with both children and horses involved, our job was to come up with a cost-effective, safe and logistically straight-forward solution, that would work over multiple shots. The scene ended up being shot in a Daylesford picnic area which featured an inclined slope. The cliffs edge was defined using 30-meter runs of chroma-key fabric that ran the length of the widest shot.

3D camera tracking was used to replace the grassy picnic ground with a gaping chasm. A digi-matte of the cliff was created using a combination of photography taken nearby and 3D modeling, with the distant background created with a multi-plate matte shot acquired not far from the location.

Another sequence called for a series of shots where a donkey 'talks' while on-stage during a school concert.

Shots of the donkey were tracked and the lower jaw replaced with projection mapping to match up with the required lines.

CHROMA WEB DESIGN GOES LIVE

2008-04-19T01:09:00.000-07:00

As those that work with us know, Sundae (my partner) has been producing awesome web sites for the film & TV industry for years now. Well she's finally taken time out to put up a site of her own, Chroma Web Design.

If your in the industry and are in need of some kick-ass online presence, you should head on down and check out her ninja-skillz!

Peep the site for more.

COMEDY SLAPDOWN (TV Series)

2008-04-15T20:08:00.000-07:00

Fremantle Media Australia presents Comedy Slapdown, a new live improv comedy show coming to ABC later this year.

Think celebrity theatre-sports with all the pace, drama and unexpected fun of American wrestling. Played out on a huge set with six players on each team, it's a fast-paced battle of wits as random games are thrown at them by king-of-the-ring, HG.

Chroma were brought in to produce the huge graphics package for the show including brand design, game graphics, projection content and animated titles. The show also features music by Yuri from Kinesound who also provides the sonic fun on Newstopia.

Comedy Slapdown is scheduled for 12 episodes and will air Q3 2008 on The Comedy Channel.

BED OF ROSES (TV Series)

2008-03-28T00:00:00.002-07:00

Bed of Roses is a bitter sweet drama staring Kerry Armstrong that's coming to the ABC later this year.

We've worked with Ruby Productions (Stephen Luby & Mark Ruse) before on Let Loose Live and a few other projects over the years, but when asked to design the opening titles for 'Bed of Roses', it required something a little softer and more feminine than what we have done in the past. It's great to be working with the guys again and, vicariously, with Kerry who we worked with on One Perfect Day.

Produced entirely using illustrated elements placed in a 3D environment, the idea was to create a single move through a soft and feminine landscape akin to a living Chinese printed fabric - it contains a lot of subtle visual clues that tie in with the core themes of the show, using the simple device of thorns (that look like Chinese dragons) evolving into a sea of roses - creating the notion of personal growth, the strength of family and the positive changes that can result from tragedy and displacement.

The palette is very muted and was effected to create a slightly dirty quality to the soft visuals, this is also reflected in the typography and main title card which are done in a rustic treatment to better connect with the riches-to-rags narrative and prevent the whole thing from looking too 'girly'.

It was also fun to do as it's rare and refreshing for a drama on Australian television to not contain images of the cast or locale (or the dreaded 'montage of footage'). It shows confidence and shifts the audience's perceptions of production value - presenting a more international, mature style. So props to the guys at Ruby and the ABC.

The hi-def titles are now complete and perfectly complement Niko Schnable's beautifully reworked version of 'Bed of Nails'.

CORRECTIONS (Short Film)

2008-03-28T00:00:00.001-07:00

The directorial debut of comedian Bob Franklin, Corrections (produced by Incendia) is a short film set in a cosmetic surgery waiting room and stars Brooke Satchel, Roz Hammond and Jo Stanley. This tense little 10 minute piece was shot in HD by Marty Smith, edited by Dave Redman at Resolution Independent, with me pitching in with opening titles and grading duty.

Be sure to keep an eye out for it at a festival near you.

UNDERBELLY (MiniSeries)

2008-03-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

This stylish and gritty miniseries, produced by Screentime, covers the true accounts of Melbourne's most notorious crime syndicate during the 90's and the cops who tracked them down. Chroma produced the HD opening titles (featuring music by Truman Show composer, Gerhard Berkhard), graphics package and branding. Several VFX shots were also produced for the show, mainly removal/additions and some tricky squib/rig removal.

NEWSTOPIA RETURNS (TV Series)

2008-02-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

By popular demand, Newstopia the SBS' comedy/news mash up returns to screens this year!
Last series Shaun and the team presented a special blend of hard hitting news satire and pythonesque humour.

We had a blast working on skits such as 'Inspektor Herring', Planet of the apes, Guilford Four and a request for a 'punnet of dead sparrows' for a Bunnings skit. This year is no different with a return of some viewer favorites and even more visual gags and SBS satire. We're back on board providing VFX and animation for series 2.

You can watch the latest episode here.

More as we have it...Jahasra and goodnight.

ANDY MONTAGUE JOINS THE TEAM

2008-01-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

Forming like Voltron, Chroma is pleased to welcome Andy Montague to the team!

Andy will be assisting in content creation and animation for our broadcast clients in addition to training in a wide range of VFX techniques with yours truly. You can reach him at the office or email at: andy@chromamedia.com

NEWSTOPIA (TV Series)

2007-10-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Produced by Fremantle Media, Newstopia is a news-style parody staring Australian comedy legend, Shaun Micallef. We're big fans of Shaun's work and its been a pleasure to work with him on his new show which is currently airing on SBS.

Chroma designed and produced the opening titles, involving (or is that revolving) a shoot with Shaun in studio which saw him spinning around on a turntable all afternoon. Shaun was later composited rotating around the Earth, a guardian of the World's news and current affairs.

News programs always feature a huge graphics package and Newstopia is no different. We wanted to give the show the same flair and packaging you would find on a primetime network. Given the incredibly tight turnaround and sheer amount of content that needed to be produced, it all came together quite well ... especially considering all of the support graphics, parody TVC's and fake SBS promos we put together for use throughout the series.

We have gone on to produce a wide range of visual effects shots and animation from week-to-week, including a 'second life' John Howard and more recently 'The Guilford Four' where a car parked in the background explodes (digitally) to great effect!

You can watch the latest episode here.

Jahasra and goodnight!

STORM WARNING (Feature Film)

2007-08-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Storm Warning is the first film from maverick Melbourne-based production company, Resolution Independent.

Directed by Jamie Blanks and produced by Pete! Ford this digital feature was incredibly ambitious in its visual scale when compared to other Australian films of similar budget.

Pete and I have always shared a vision of creating high-production, post focused digital features and Storm Warning was an ideal candidate for a subtle blend of practical knowhow and digital trickery. As the majority of the film takes place at night during a heavy storm, it was decided to build the entire farm set inside and out rather than shoot on location, which is often the norm with Aussie films.

The set build itself was quite an achievement with several multi-story buildings constructed at Docklands Studios and fully dressed in hillbilly chic. While the set looked fantastic in camera, the periphery of the set was later digitally replaced with huge swaying pine trees, distant thunderclouds and incessant CG rain.

The final film contained over 300 VFX shots from full blown CG sequences to subtle tweaking of footage during grading.

Contracted under RI, I worked as the films VFX Supervisor throughout production and later as lead VFX artist responsible for creating a majority of the effects. I was joined by Cameron Smith (Weta) and 'another guy' who created the amazing CG 'Joey' which is featured in the pivotal 'kitchen' scene.

• Convincing digital rain was essential for delivering a believable and consistent environment for the film.

Early testing of different techniques helped us to find a solution that was realistic yet cost effective for the sheer number of shots that required rain. Requirements included 3D tracking and integration with set pieces and cast, depth of field tracking, interactive lighting control, addition of puddles, splashes and shadows and heavy rotoscoping of just about everything in the shot. This extra flexibility enabled us to stylize the rain and make it far more controllable, dynamic and less troublesome than prac rain.

• A boat-to-boat sequence in which a sunny cloudless blue sky is transformed into a brooding overcast prelude to the storm. The sequence featured heavy compositing and 3D tracking to place rendered volumetric clouds in the sky. Air-to-ground pickups were shot during post and a full 3D model of the boat and storm clouds were tracked into the original footage.

• One death scene involves an elaborate mantrap constructed from fishing hooks which snags 'Brett' and hoists him up into the air in agony. The practical stunt rig was removed and replaced with digital mono-filament, far too thin to comfortably support our actor (especially as they are all attached to his face) and interact with his desperate attempts to grab at them.

• Another scene features an attacker falling back into an exposed propeller.

This was achieved with multiple plates taken on-set and combined with blue-screen footage of our actor. With the action viewed through the windshield (a shot already established during the sequence), the plates were composited in 3D to allow greater control of the camera and the co-ordination of the action. As 7KvA lighting guns are firing all the way through the sequence, careful attention was payed to the timing of the flashes in all of the respective practical plates and the integration of the digital rain elements.

The film was completed earlier this year and has been picked up by the Weinstein Company.

Storm Warning is due to hit screens before the end of the 2007.

CITY HOMICIDE (TV Series)

2007-07-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

City Homicide is a new police drama produced by Seven which aired earlier this year.

Chroma was brought in to provided a wide range of production solutions with the sole aim of delivering high-end visuals, stunts and effects for the limited budget and tight schedule. Chroma's Scott Zero worked as VFX Supervisor on the first six episodes and worked closely with series Directors, DOP (Craig Barden), Stunt coordinators (Zev - True Grit) and practical effects (Brian - FilmFX) to create several high-end effects sequences far exceeding the shows budget.

Some VFX shots included:

• A huge sequence inside a burning house where two children and trapped by an arsonist, to be later saved by the City Homicide team. The sequence involved a massive practical 'burnable' set (built and overseen by Brian Holmes) rigged with practical flame rigs, smoke machines and removable walls. Due to the tight confines of the rooms and the safety issue with actors and children in a burning set, the practical flames were later augmented with digital flames. 3D tracking was used to add huge flames, digital sparks, smoke and heat convection to the 6 minute sequence.

• A 'one-shot' scene where an actor strolls into traffic and is struck by multiple vehicles to the shock of onlookers. Created using multiple plates and a separate jerk-harness rig shot against green screen, acquisition took only an hour yet delivered a visceral an unexpected shock to viewers as the wide angle and hand-held camera give no clues as to what is going to happen.

• An in-vehicle car accident which involved a studio shoot combining a practical car, body drop rig and rain machine with HD rear projection featuring VFX content created to convey the convincing illusion of the car hitting multiple objects and spinning out of control. The final shot creates a claustrophobic, dramatic accident scene from two separate angles for a fraction of the cost of a location/low loader style shoot and the entire effect was produced in camera with no post required.

• Several exterior views of a commercial airliner in mid-flight created to match the interior set. This high-poly model was created with custom livery and featured volumetric clouds. The final shots were rendered at 4k and pulled down to 1080 to give it the clarity of high altitude footage.

NOISE (Feature Film)

2007-06-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

After the success of Roy Hollsdotter Live, Writer/Director Matthew Saville returns with the visceral feature film 'Noise'.
Set in Melbourne's outer suburbs, Noise is a black comedy about a disaffected young cop and the slightly excentric people who surround him. The film explores the ripple effect that occurs across a city in the aftermath of a mass murder that occurs on a suburban train.

Critically acclaimed and beautifully captured, Noise is a strong evolution of the same formula that made Roy Hollsdotter Live so easy to watch. Noise was produced by Retro Active Films and released in Cinemas (and DVD) by Madman.

Chroma were commissioned to produce several VFX shots for the film including a CG helicopter sequence that appears in its closing scene. Opening titles were also produced by Chroma.

THE KING (TeleMovie)

2007-06-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

Set in the 1950's and 70's in Melbourne, The King follows the rise of one of Australia's best loved TV personalities, Graham Kennedy, played by Stephen Curry. Directed by Matthew Saville and produced by Fremantle Media, The King is a bittersweet tale of fame and isolation against the background of postwar Melbourne.

Shot in S16, The King oozes Saville's trademark visual style, emotional storytelling and intrinsically Australian flavour.

The film featured opening titles and branding by Chroma in addition to several VFX shots and other post production work.

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*UPDATE - Congratulations to Matt and the whole team for their recent win at the 2007 AFI Awards. The King brought home shiny things for: Best Direction, Best Lead Actor and Best TeleFeature.

ARIGATO EVENT, JAPAN (Visuals)

2005-12-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

After a huge year at the 2005 World Expo in Japan, the 'top three' rated Australian Pavilion has just claimed a Silver Medal for its efforts.

To commemorate its success and as a thank you to our Japanese hosts, a huge concert was staged in the massive Expo Dome that saw a diverse range of Australian acts performing in front of a huge live crowd. Featuring popular Australian artists, Amiel and Christine Anu alongside Tetrafide, ARC, Saffire and the Nagoya Children's Choir the event was hugely successful.

Chroma was commissioned by Jack Morton Worldwide to provide a unique visual show for each of the 5 acts, presented on a huge Komaden LED screen that dominated the stage. All content was created specifically for the event (in NTSC) with Scott Zero travelling to Nagoya to perform the visuals live on stage.

LET LOOSE LIVE (TV Series)

2005-10-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Featuring some of Australia's best known comedians and produced by the same team that brought you Fast Forward, Seven's new late night comedy series "Let Loose LIVE" is performed live in front of a studio audience and features opening titles, bumpers and program inserts produced by Chroma.

In addition to the broadcast identification and brand development, Chroma were also responsible for the creation of physical set pieces, neon signage and graphic panels to create an integrated visual packaging for the show that shares elements of the opening titles.

Due to the very short time line, specific program features and sheer size of the featured cast, a concept was developed that conveyed all of the requested show features while still retaining a late night feel and comedy flavor.

Working closely with director Ted Emery and the shows producers, production designers and composer, Yuri Worontshak - Chroma's understanding and experience of broadcast television resulted in a smooth, flawless delivery of, not only the titles and post production components, but of signage, set pieces, graphic panels and even crew apparel.

A studio shoot was organized , where the 12 cast members were shot against a green-screen key in two takes to create the 'big head' characters. Work on the 3D set and the cartoon backgrounds began as soon as boards had been approved, working ahead of the acquisition.

Overall, the completed opening titles were delivered with the various breakers, bumpers and program inserts along with the physical set deliverables in only 2 weeks from brief.

Famously, the show was cancelled after only 2 episodes... that's gotta be a record!

WE CAN BE HEROES (Mini Series)

2005-04-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

Chris Lillie's new mini-series, ' We Can Be Heroes' is due to hit screens later this year.

With all characters played by Chris and Matt Saville directing, Chroma produced a series of VFX shots where a 'bouncing castle' has broken free of its moorings and sails high above the city, with Chris' character trapped inside. We went out and shot some DV 'shakycam' footage similar to a UFO sighting and tracked in the tumbling castle which we built from photo references.

WORLD EXPO 2005, JAPAN (Visuals)

2005-02-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

After a years work, the think!OTS team have successfully completed construction of the Australian Pavilion in Aichi, Japan.

The project was quickly hailed as Australia's most innovative and crowd pleasing pavilion yet, with Prime Minister John Howard praising it as the best yet.

The centre-piece for the pavilion, the Data Forest, was developed as a huge, high-resolution 'forest' of vertical video totems made up of over 80 plasma panels. These totems presented a digitally driven, tesselated show where the 80 screens overlap and fragment to create huge, three dimensional imagery. These animations were produced as massive 'superbitmaps', or single completed scenes that were then diced up into the 80 separate feeds, resulting in a 360 degree display, far exceeding the HD format or even iMAX film with a total resolution of 36 Megapixels running at 25 fps - making it the world's largest single moving image to date.

The final act also required character animation of the official mascot (originally designed by Nathan Jurevicus) to appear in various projected videos.

I was commissioned by think!OTS in late 2004 to produce the animated content for all three acts of the Australian pavilion. Working alongside fellow creators David White and Martin Buchhorn, the Data Forest team were also involved in the development of the overall concept which included all acquisition and creation of hundreds of original design and animation components. Operating as a separate unit out of Chroma's Sandilands office the team worked tirelessly to produce the 13 minute presentation, making use of 3D visualization tools and a scaled-down 'Mini Totem' to present work to the client in this unique vertical format.

The project was completed on budget and schedule in December of 2004.

THE SECRET LIFE OF US (TV Series)

2004-12-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

After two stellar seasons of the hit Australian drama, The Secret Life of Us, Southern Star commissioned Chroma to update the shows existing HD opening and closing titles. Director Matthew Saville worked closely with Chroma to deliver the carefully crafted visuals.

Matt shot the source footage around St.Kilda on a hand-held Bolex 16mm camera. The optically graded film was transfered to HD before compositing began. As the treatment of the titles still needed a strong connection to the original version, the box-out style was kept with attention being paid to the treatment of the imagery. This resulted in a more deconstructive approach with a faster pace than the original, complementing the new title track by Motor Ace.

Chroma went on to produce a series of visual effects for the shows final episodes which required stylish, on-screen incarnations of SMS and email messages between the characters. Added to this were several complex montage sequences and post support for the final episodes.

LAST MAN STANDING (TV Series)

2004-12-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Due to air early next year on the Seven Network, Burberry's new series ' Last Man Standing' got the Chroma treatment with purpose shot opening titles and program identification for the show. Previous work for Burberry includes titles for children's drama ' Bootleg' (2003), ' Fergus McPhail' (2002) and ' Short Cuts' back in 2001.

The shows black comedy take on the Melbourne alpha male required a edgier look to suggest its 'low-brow' inner city backdrop, with the resulting treatment using bold, black-and-white footage depicting the cast's journey through North Melbourne.

As the show uses a subtle blend of drama and comedy, the cast's representation required a fine balance to maintain a mature and candid look. The decision was to go for a more minimal treatment, with the black and white footage intercut with simple panels of colour and typography that works with the title track to create a retro, 60's feel.

Other post production deliverables included the assortment of breakers that punctuate the show. Chroma also provided ongoing production support with identity development and publicity tools being produced.

The footage of the cast at night was shot in both exterior and interior locations around North Melbourne. A studio shoot was required to capture the cast in the car, later combined with background footage to create the look of a b-movie rear projection. A time-lapse of Melbourne was also captured to create the final shot in the sequence. Chroma provided all studio services and crew including the sourcing of locations, vehicles and extras.

ONE PERFECT DAY (Feature Film)

2004-03-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Few projects showcase the eclectic nature of Chroma's expertise than the beligured Australian film, One Perfect Day.

With all post and visual effects being produced by Tide, Chroma were originally commissioned by Lightstream Pictures to create the 2K opening titles for the film in addition to some animation components. However, over the period of the films production, Chroma became increasingly involved in a wide range of roles that illustrate the breadth of our support services. Chroma provided a vital inter-departmental support network for the entire production, providing a diverse range of production, post production and 'to market' services over the two-year project.

On-set Content

Being the leading provider of cutting edge visuals for live acts at the time, Chroma was also responsible for the creation of several projection shows which appear in club scenes throughout the film. But it's the final scene of the film, set at a huge live event with over 8,000 extras where the visuals we're a key storytelling element. The script called for a massive projection show that helped to tie the story threads together while still looking like an actual performance by the films VJ character. Chroma produced a deconstructive live performance of original footage and visual elements which was projected in HD using two Barco projectors. This final edit was then scored by none other than the Dust Brothers (Fight Club) who added their signature sound to the final act.

Although only a small piece of the complete show made it into the final cut, the unique visuals continued for 5 hours with a whole show produced to support superstar DJ Paul van Dyk as he played to the 8,000+ party goers of his 2004 Australian tour.

Behind the Scenes Production

In what ended up becoming a huge acquisition project, Chroma we're responsible for the shooting and production of the 'Making of featurette as seen on the official DVD release. Shot over 2 years, the resulting hour programme was cut from over 80 hours of footage taken during pre-production, principal photography and post with interviews from the entire cast and crew. It became an honest and realistic account of the trails and tribulations of making a 'first' feature and the unseen hardships for such an ambitious project.

Online strategy

As with all first features, a crucial aspect of film making is the ability to raise capital and awareness of the project before there is really anything to show. Chroma designed a co-ordinated promotional kit including the construction of a full-featured company website and separate 'teaser' site for the film itself. This was combined with a 12-page colour booklet and DVD package.

As the project progressed into production, the second stage of the web concept was put online. This new site covered the 'production' of the film with daily behind-the-scenes galleries and notes as shooting progressed, a point-of-communication between the production office and the thousands of extras who were required, and presented competitions and promotion relating the the film.

The final stage of the web strategy involved the construction of the official site to promote the films release. This huge online portal was made up of two separate, integrated sites working together. The first, was a detailed insight into the films production, the people involved and industry information. The other section presented the world of the film, a 3D map allowing visitors to journey through the city, visiting the locations from the film and meeting its characters along the way. The site was designed to be an emersive experience that strongly conveyed the 'feel' of the film, reflecting a journey of discovery like that of the film's main character as visitors browse through the huge amount of audio, video and downloadable content.

Sound plays an incredibly important role in the story of OPD and it was vital that this be kept a big part of the online experience. A huge amount of audio assets were produced to create the constant mix of sound and music that can be heard on the site. Aside from an integrated MP3 player that allowed visitors to browse through the soundtrack while they explored the city, ambient effects, dialog and music stings were also triggered by user actions, creating a unique soundscape for each visitor.

To add even more to the online experience, interactive 'toys' were created to discover in each location, each one providing more clues to the story and were modeled on key props from the film. This included an answering machine, music box, video players and a DJ mixer that lets visitors try their hand at mixing their own track. Chroma also produced a range of downloadable content for use on the site which included screen savers, desktops and music players and over 20 minutes of exclusive behind-the-scenes material.

FERGUS MCPHAIL (TV Series)

2003-06-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

It's titles time again this month with Chroma producing another HD title with Director, Matt Saville for Burberry's new series, ' Fergus McPhail'. The title features the main character interacting with his imaginary twin in a constantly revolving scene. Footage was shot on S16 and the two fergus' composited digitally into the master shot with 3D tracked type elements added throughout.

This is the second title produced for Burberry with ' Short Cuts' being the first, produced in 2001.

ROY HOLLSDOTTER LIVE (Tele Movie)

2003-05-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Matthew Saville's 2003 film ' Roy Hollsdotter Live' surprised audiences with its strong performances and clever writing.

Having worked with director, Matthew Saville for many years on a range of projects, Chroma were brought in to produce a variety of effects for his first full-length feature. Work required compositing and creation of several digital mattes, addition of various visual effects and production of the opening titles. Chroma also produced the 'Claire De Loon' sequence that features in the film, with footage shot and post completed overnight.

A simple titles treatment was produced along with the regrading and effecting of several key scenes throughout the film. Various visual themes, such as lens flares and subtle effecting of background elements were added throughout and several digital mattes were produced to transform a midday exterior scene into a late afternoon thunderstorm.

To assist with the film's hectic shooting schedule, Chroma were also employed to create the 'Claire de Loon' musical sequence which required the acquisition of night-time traffic footage and a composited edit where the lights begin to dance to the Debussy track. The sequence was shot and posted overnight to meet the tight production schedule.

The film was well received by audiences, picking up a Dendy award, an ACS Golden Tripod and an official selection at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2003.

NOKIA EVENT, HONG KONG (Visuals)

2003-04-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

I recently returned from Asia after performing a live visual show for the Nokia 'Musiconnects' launch event in Hong Kong.

Chroma were commissioned by Megaworks HK to produce a live themed visual show for the launch of the new Nokia range. This amazing event was held in a massive inflatable dome on the end of the old Hong Kong runway and featured incredible decor, food and live music. We put together a whole range of visuals and purpose shot footage depicting how music effects different lifestyles. I kept the content flowing throughout the night on dozens of plasma panels and massive wall projections, while long-time Chroma buddies, 'Lychee Martini' provided the sounds.

BOOTLEG (TV Series)

2002-09-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

Chroma have just been brought in to produce the opening titles for the upcoming BBC childrens drama, 'Bootleg'.

Set in an alternate future, chocolate is banned and a band of kids take matters into their own hands.

The title features huge vats of melted chocolate about to take their final form with titles appearing before being stirred in to the mix. Directed by Matthew Saville. Chroma also produced a ‘One News’ opener that appears during the series.

WORST BEST FRIENDS (TV Series)

2002-05-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Working again with director, Matthew Saville, the opening titles for Cox Knight production 'Worst Best Friends', required a cel-shaded animated sequence with 2D characters walking around a 3D environment. The original hand-drawn source sketches were scanned before being digitally traced and colored, creating a sharp cartoon look. The three animated characters were then composited into the 3D backgrounds and timed to match object and camera moves.

The 3D backgrounds were designed to continue the flat look of the characters, but enable more movement and interactivity with the environment, such as the large extruded numbers which were added along with the retro-styled typography to complete the sequence.

SHORTCUTS (TV Series)

2002-02-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Chroma are pleased to be producing the opening titles for Burberry Productions new youth series, Short Cuts.

Art directed by Matthew Saville, the title was shot on 16mm and then composited and finished in HD. As the series revolves around a group of film school students, the titles called for a deconstructive mix of imagery, mediums and looks - and Matt is the guy for the job. The result is a densely layered, visually rich mash-up running nearly 80 seconds (nearly 2% of the programs duration!)