CREATE YOUR OWN VISUAL STYLE… LET IT BE UNIQUE FOR YOURSELF AND YET IDENTIFIABLE TO OTHERS.
– Orson Welles
HOW A PIXEL REVOLUTION FILM IS MADE
FROM INITIAL CONCEPT TO FINAL DELIVERY
CONCEPT AND PRE-PRODUCTION
It all starts with a brainstorming session. For us this is very much a creative discussion with our partners or clients without restraints such as budget- it’s all about getting as many ideas flowing as possible at this stage.
The next stage in the creative process is to produce the concept art and the storyboards, this is where we start to design the look and feel of the project.
PRODUCTION
We pride ourselves on our ability to remain at the cutting edge of digital film production. We like to think of ourselves as pioneers, to this end we use the very latest technology in all our productions.
Of course, film and video production is also a team effort which is why we surround ourselves with passionate and hardworking people.
POST PRODUCTION
This is where the story really comes alive. The first part of the process involves us creating an offline edit – an edit that’s not been colour graded and missing the special effects (FX) shots. Once we are happy with the edit, the colouring and FX work begins.
One area of FX work that we specialize in is the use of “Chroma key”. Chroma Keying is where we film an actor against a green or blue backdrop (or on occasion make do with blue sky or the greenery of trees and grass!), and using specialist software, we remove the green or blue colour to leave us with a transparent background. We can then superimpose the actors into any setting we want.
These “digital set-pieces” can be anything from a live action shot of a location, CG rendered background, or, as is often the case, a combination of both.
Left: An effects breakdown from All That Remains. The actor is filmed against a green-screen and the bomb is a CG render of a 3D model. The final image shows the two elements as they appear in the film, composited into a digital set-piece.
GRADING
The colour work or “grading” of footage is another area we specialize in. This is the part where our productions get their unique look.
Digital colour grading techniques allow us to approach the visual style of our film the same way a painter approaches a blank canvas – giving us freedom to explore different “looks”. Colour grading also allows us to change day into night, enhance the lighting of a shot and create a strong sense of atmosphere to a scene.
One such unique look is what we would describe as a hybrid live-action and animation, it’s a very versatile look that allows us to choose how stylistic we want to go with a project.
SOUND & MUSIC
Because visuals are just one side of the story.
Sound enables us to do so much more with the story. Great sound not only enhances the visual aspect, it tells a more complete story.
Music creates emotion and feeling, in fact the whole editing process is like a visual piece of music – it has to flow. This is why we spend a lot of time working with musicians and selecting the right music for our productions.