Strength in fragility
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Client
International Skating Union (ISU)
Sector
- Sports Broadcasting
- Broadcast Design
Disciplines
- 4K CGI Animation
- Art Direction
- Concept Generation
- Motion Design
- Sonic Identity
- Storyboarding
Office
UK
Team
- James Brunger
- Sean Simmonds
- Jonny O'Reardon
Collaborators
- WMD : Sonic Identity
The fragility of natural ice formations with the strength and poise of the athletes
ISU came to us wanting a fresh onscreen & sonic identity to wrap around all their Ice Skating programming. As one of the oldest sporting federations in the world, steeped in history and tradition and with several very different skating disciplines to convey in one sequence, it was a welcome challenge!
We set out to create a delicate yet powerful aesthetic resulting in a series of iconic poses from the different disciplines - Synchro, Speed Skating, Short Track & Figure Skating – all created from intricate ice sculptures.
We set our skaters in a vast open outdoor environment. Subtle nods to the brand identity and sport’s heritage included embedding the four discipline patterns under the ice.
For the sonic identity, we worked with our music partners to bring a fresh aural experience to the audience - combining immersive sound design of the skaters’ movements with a classical yet modern musical signature.
We studied the physicality of the athletes, to ensure their shaping and technique was authentic. Detailed 3D sculpted & posed models of solid human figures were created first - with muscle tone, hair, clothing - before recreating their forms as hollow ice ‘cages’ by manipulating CG particle systems, surface texturing and careful use of natural light.
