Minivegas Feed

Responsive Sculptures

Minivegas

After working on a simulation for the Advanced Beauty Project we had the idea to create a virtual gallery in which the user can interact with sound driven interactive sculptures. The space is modeled after after the Vegas gallery. The album artwork of the MP3s cover the gallery walls and each MP3 creates it�s own sculpture! To achieve this we spend quite a bit of time in R&D. Here as bit more on the tech: Graphics Modes The program features various graphics modes with very different looks. These modes use techniques such as meta-balls, random polygon clipping, particle systems, physics simulations and random growing geometry to achieve abstract looks that can react nicely to sound. The graphics are set on top of filmed or pre-rendered backplates, and techniques such as shadows are used to ensure they sit well in the scene. Advanced Graphics Features The program targets the NVIDIA GeForce 8 and 9 series graphics chipsets, and uses advanced OpenGL 2.1 features to achieve graphical effects. Performance Although the program could be optimized much further (it's really a prototype), many of the graphics modes already achieve a frame rate of 60 frames per second even when running on a laptop. Audio Support The program uses a fast fourier transform (FFT) to analyse the frequency spectrum of the audio, and this analysis is then used to influence the behaviour of the graphics. The program can play-back and analyse music from CD quality files, or it can sample sound directly from the microphone or line-in.

Explained

Minivegas

All

Minivegas

In June 2006, we were approached to concept idents for S4C, a Welsh based broadcaster. Given a brief by the client to create idents that were picture postcard scenes of Welsh life, we wanted to produce a set of idents that could bring those scenes to life in real time. So, we came up with the idea of developing voice reactive imagery that would be entirely unique each time it screened. In order to achieve this, we've had to build a real time compositing engine from scratch. Using a total of 10 background plates, the broadcast television announcer can, in real time, affect the imagery within each scene. Elements within the images randomly move based on the volume and frequency of the announcer's voice. All the idents stand on their own without voice input. But speech breathes life into the scenes. The project has taken over a year to develop, from conception, R&D, live-action shoot, post, coding, and integration. Minivegas developed the S4C application completely from scratch by writing video decoding, compositing, colour correction, etc and using open source libraries. There are about 50,000 lines of code in the final product. We've built a box that behaves like a digi deck and installed it at the broadcaster's office, it can communicate with their scheduling system, switch audio feeds from a number of sources, and output synchronized digital video and audio using broadcast standard signals.

Farts

Minivegas

A wacky viral campaign that features a bunch of twins eliminating each other. After approval of the agency and client this campaign ended up being pulled by because the legal department wasn�t feeling it. In order to use it for this website the product logo had to be taken out and the brand slogan had to be beeped out.

Demolition

Minivegas

Speedracer

Minivegas

Ray-Ban - Cow birth

Minivegas

We made this poor cow give birth to a man. It was an interesting shoot an the cow is still alive. Jack the actor is still around too. Client: Ray-Ban Agency: Cutwater Production: Anonymous Content / Agile Use: Viral

Levis Stairs

Minivegas

Chucking Toben from the stairs was good fun. He did well and didn't break too much... Client: Levis Agency: Cutwater Production: Anonymous Content Use: Viral

AIDES - Girl

Minivegas

AIDS awareness campaign for TBWA Paris. We had a lot of fun making this. Client: Aides Agency: TBWA Production: La Pac Use: TVC

AIDES - Boy

Minivegas

AIDS awareness campaign for TBWA Paris. We had a lot of fun making this. Client: Aides Agency: TBWA Production: La Pac Use: TVC

Bol.com - Singstar

Minivegas

Funny commercial for an Dutch on-line shop that sell computer games. Client: Bol.com Agency: Etcetera Production: Hectic Use: TVC

The Perfect Man

Minivegas

A funny commercial that we made for the GQ magazine launch in France.

Anthem

Minivegas

This project had an open brief and we came up with the idea of filming a dedicated British choir singing the Argentinian anthem in a typical British setting. Pangea Day is starting at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked via satellite for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast � in seven languages � to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones.

Explained

Minivegas

Brief explanation on how the S4C software works.

Wedding

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Carpark

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Museum

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Ice Cream

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Welding

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Lights

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Lighthouse

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Houses

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s4c interactive

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rdog

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blockhead

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L.O.O.K.

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onedotzero Live show Tapei

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D.A.N.C.E. Installation

Minivegas

J.U.G.G.L.E. Installation

Minivegas

Cows

Minivegas

Funfair

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Interview

Minivegas

This is the first of 5 virals we created for Nissan. We shot in an aircraft hangar with our actor/presenter then created the photo real CG car and ramps afterwards. The idea was to fabricate an entirely new sport called Qashqai car games through our virals. We made sure that we approached the project from a distinctly comic angle. Client: Nissan Agency: TBWA Use: Viral

Stunt of the Month

Minivegas

This second viral was an exploration of the US Qashqai Cargame team and one of their character drivers, Mike Dominguez. He even has Qashqai groupies. Client: Nissan Agency: TBWA Use: Viral

Banned

Minivegas

We have totally exhausted ourselves over the last couple of months making 5 virals for Nissan. We worked closely together with the chaps at TBWA to create these comical Qashqai Cargame virals. Client: Nissan Agency: TBWA Use: Viral

Freestyle

Minivegas

Phone

Minivegas

This was the most underground in spirit of our virals for Nissan. We made it specifically for mobile phones. Client: Nissan Agency: TBWA Use: Viral

Make Poverty History

Minivegas

An immense amount of preparation went into this Geldof/Curtis commissioned spot in support of the "Make Poverty History" campaign. We believed that only a simple, uncontrived film could do justice to the stark, reality of the subject matter. In a 30 second clip, the viewer is forced to confront the accelerated, physical processes of malnutrition on an 8-year old child's body. The final piece bares the results of intensive research, latex prosthetics, a motion-control shoot and high-end Flame compositing. Agency: Live 8 / MPH Client: Charity Use: P.S.A.

Email Alerter

Minivegas

A funny little project we did for NEC. We created useless CG office inventions that could make a day at the office very inconvenient. Client: NEC Agency: CDP Use: Viral

Flying Fax

Minivegas

A funny little project we did for NEC. We created useless CG office inventions that could make a day at the office very inconvenient. Client: NEC Agency: CDP Use: Viral

Desk Robot

Minivegas

A funny little project we did for NEC. We created useless CG office inventions that could make a day at the office very inconvenient. Client: NEC Agency: CDP Use: Viral

Hover Chair

Minivegas

A funny little project we did for NEC. We created useless CG office inventions that could make a day at the office very inconvenient. Client: NEC Agency: CDP Use: Viral

Amp Fiddler & Corrine Bailey Rae - If I don't...

Minivegas

We wanted the creatures to look cute but disgusting at the same time. The loveable characters are playing instruments made out of smaller creatures, thus torturing them while they play. There is a presence of sexual organs in the creature design, some subtle some not so subtle. We wanted the whole piece to have distinctly dark undertones that would offset the music in a striking way. Artist: Amp Fiddler Feat. Corinne Bailey Rae Track: If I Don't Commissioner: John Moule Label: Wall of Sound

John Cale - Jumbo in the Modern World

Minivegas

A small civilisation's greed results in a filthy gastronomical stampede. Yeah, that rhymes... and there's some obese folk in there too. Artist: John Cale Track: Jumbo in the Modern World Commissioner: John Moule Label: EMI

Daniel Johnston -True Love Will Find You...

Minivegas

A long labour of love, where we tried various animation techniques new to us. Artist: Daniel Johnston Track: True Love Will Find You... Commissioner: Minivegas Label: Eternal Yip Eye Music

Neon & Smoke

Minivegas

A 30 seconds long ident created for BBC 2. We wanted to try to create a futuristic gig-experience. Client: BBC Agency: Fallon Use: TVC

Elektrons - Get Up

Minivegas

Music video for "Get Up" By Elektrons (feat. Pete Simpson and Soup of Jurassic 5). We mixed old documentary footage with our own footage and added little extras in post. Artist: Elektrons Track: Get Up Commissioner: John Moule Label: Wall of Sound

Electric Proms 07

Minivegas

We wanted to create an interesting way to announce the 2007 Electric Proms. The Electric Proms brings together the best new and established live performers. From massive gigs in Camden's Roundhouse to intimate performances, everyone was encouraged to try something new. Client: BBC Agency: Fallon Use: TVC

Fields - Song for the fields

Minivegas

This job was full-on. Having only a tiny budget and 3 weeks to deliver made us stay awake all the time.We mixed various animation techniques - stop motion and 3D and composited them all together . We had full creative freedom and we loved the track. Track: Charming the Flames Commissioner: Tim Nash Label: Atlantic Records

Bloc Party - Helicopter

Minivegas

This was a special, labour of love, completed in four sleepless weeks. The surreal story behind the animation was inspired by weird nightmares, fairy tales, detective fiction and political fables. It's a dark ode to the pleasures and perils of being a 'Pioneer'. Therefore, we decided to invest every dystopian terrain that the band encounter with subtle meanings on man's interference with nature; the effects of capitalism, genetic modification, pollution. The viewer can choose to embrace the contained ideas or just appreciate the promo as a beautiful, dark, fantasy narrative. The look grew organically from a love of rich-coloured films by Lynch and Kubrick. We wanted the style of animation to be like a cross between Tin Tin and Manga but more vibrant and artistic. The decision to use 3D animation with a 2D look was largely made for us by the tight time-frame we had to work to. However, this technique married with the artistic painting and compositing of the backgrounds ensured that the animation took on its own unique look. Artist: Bloc Party Track: Helicopter Commissioner: John Hassay Label: Wichita/Vice Records US

Bloc Party - Pioneers

Minivegas

This was a special, labour of love, completed in four sleepless weeks. The surreal story behind the animation was inspired by weird nightmares, fairy tales, detective fiction and political fables. It's a dark ode to the pleasures and perils of being a 'Pioneer'. Therefore, we decided to invest every dystopian terrain that the band encounter with subtle meanings on man's interference with nature; the effects of capitalism, genetic modification, pollution. The viewer can choose to embrace the contained ideas or just appreciate the promo as a beautiful, dark, fantasy narrative. The look grew organically from a love of rich-coloured films by Lynch and Kubrick. We wanted the style of animation to be like a cross between Tin Tin and Manga but more vibrant and artistic. The decision to use 3D animation with a 2D look was largely made for us by the tight time-frame we had to work to. However, this technique married with the artistic painting and compositing of the backgrounds ensured that the animation took on its own unique look. Artist: Bloc Party Track: Pioneers Commissioner: John Hassay Label: Wichita/Vice Records US

D.E.S. Installation

Minivegas

This interactive installation was another collaboration with Robin Carlisle from Sonichrome and was made for Future Shorts. It's about the abstract representation of the dilution of the film experience. The piece was projected on a canvas and there was a booth from which the user could interact with the video via voice and touch. The imagery for the installation was generated in real-time via our proprietary flexible graphics synthesizer.

Fields - Charming the flames

Minivegas

Inspired by Pink Floyd album artworks we filled a cold beach with symbolic objects from our office and bedrooms. For this shoot we battled the elements big-time! Strong winds and nasty rain made shooting outside a real pleasure. We managed to get all the shots done in half a day so that we could escape the rising tide in the nick of time. The band were stars for performing under these circumstances. Artist: Fields Track: Charming the Flames Commissioner: Tim Nash Label: Atlantic Records

Circle Square Triangle

Minivegas

We liked the band's style and just wanted to make a video that would do justice to their freshness and big performance. We decided to go overboard 80s in the look. We took our inspiration from Motley Crue and Beastie Boys performances as well as Zombie B-movies. Artist: Test Icicles Track: Circle Square Triangle Commissioner: Mandie Harris Label: Domino Records

The Veils - Advice for young Mothers

Minivegas

We wanted to make a surreal, kitsch video to match the statement of the song..how bizarre it is to have children...the general feeling of being drowned in pink. We scoured the country for the craziest babies we could find and think we managed to feature quite a few of them. The effects are intentionally 'Flash Gordon' and child-like to suit this. Artist: The Veils Track: Advice to Young Mothers Commissioner: Jo Rudolphy Label: Rough Trade

Plaid - Zeal

Minivegas

Themed around the concept of synaesthesia, we strived for a subterranean, other-worldly look through ample use of grading and colour correction. Shot in a catacomb-like network of tunnels underneath Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the eerie location itself provided much inspiration for the project. The rats are CG, but we needn't have bothered! Designed as a showcase of our technical skills, the six-month project was a genuine labour of love. It had everything: particle systems, tracking, rig removal. Pretty much every shot had something, which had to be added or taken away. Artist: Plaid Track: Zeal Commissioner: Plaid Label: Warp