BUTCHER in LA created two title sequences for upcoming thriller, ‘The
Guilty Innocent’. Editor David Henegar handled the full project from
conceptingand motion graphics to sound design.
BUTCHER’s David Henegar Creates Glittering Titles for ‘The Guilty Innocent’ |
Post-production companyBUTCHERin Los Angeles, led by creative director and editorDavid Henegar, recently worked with director Jamie Marshall to create two title sequences for the upcoming feature, ‘The Guilty Innocent’. David handled all aspects of the sequences including creative concept, motion graphics and sound design. Between the two contrasting sequences, he used a range of styles from polished CG to elegant 2D animation. |
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Fractured DiamondsBUTCHER’s David Henegar met with the film’s the director, Jamie Marshall, to talk over the titles but their discussion was brief. “He was in the middle of post-production at the time and I was unable to get a full copy of the movie before I began,” said David. Because of this minimal start to the project, David began concepting a sequence of animated diamonds as a test to show Jamie some creative possibilities. |
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David wanted to take advantage of the naturally captivating effect of sparkling diamonds against a black background that viewers would find difficult not to be drawn into. He said, “I am traditionally a 2D animator and editor, but for this project I knew I wanted the diamonds to be three-dimensional, not just a stylised 2D graphic. Reflecting and Refracting“I knew I could achieve this look with the software plug-in Element 3D, an Open GL 3D object based particle rendering engine fromVideo Copilot, inside After Effects. These two products are a great combination for the kind of work I enjoy doing. I also like to animate each series of shots with lots of handles and then bring them into Final Cut or Premiere to shape them up or create pace and timing.” |
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Inspiring AnimationFrom there, David’s inspiration actually came from the diamond itself. Once he had animated and lit a single diamond over a black background, he found he had a stark, fascinating object to play with. Placing it in a weightless environment gave the opportunity to flip and twirl the diamond, multiply it, and take advantage of its glistening facets to create interest. |
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After Effects was the main tool on the project for design and compositing, with Element 3D for creating and animating the diamonds. He created the space particles and fractured diamond pieces with Red Giant Trapcode Particular, using Video CoPilot Optical Flares for the lighting effects and Trapcode Starglow for the shimmers. Sound design was completed in Adobe Audition, and David edited the piece for timing with Final Cut Pro. Flash FramesAs the titles roll out, the smooth, slow tumbling diamond animation is interrupted by flashes of frames revealing schematic diagrams of various jewelry elements that David designed in Illustrator. The frames introduce another side of the story with a different feeling. He said, “When I edit and design, I typically like to disrupt a smooth, graceful shot with something jarring or subliminal, mixing flat, 2D images with the 3D space. Just when the viewer settles into a shot I’ll break into it with something that snaps the viewer back to attention. |
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“I used a mix of camera moves in this piece. Sometimes the camera is observational, almost locked down and watching the explosion of movement in the diamonds and then at other times the diamonds are frozen in space and the camera moves around them. I liked the idea of varying not only the diamonds’ movements but also the way the camera covered them,” he said. |
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Round TwoThe second titles piece David created for ‘The Guilty Innocent’ – andalsothe one that was used for the final movie - is completely different to the diamond animation, as well as much simpler. “Jamie loved the diamond design but after a lengthy discussion, we both realised that it wasn’t right for the film. In fact, it wasn’t until after I had built the test that I saw the film in its entirety. Jamie was right. The diamond design came a bit too close to a James Bond-style sequence for the film he had created. “So, after further discussion, I proposed the alternate idea of the script. Jamie and I talked more about the main character in the film and how his goal in life was to work in the film industry, and that’s how the idea of the script theme was born.” |
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Scripted IllusionEverything in the piece is digital – no photography was used at all. “Oddly enough, I needed a copy of the actual script in order to pull this off. I asked Jamie if he would hand-select some pages of the film that were pivotal moments and send them to me as PDF files. PDFs are great to work with in After Effects because of their scalable nature. |
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For this sequence, After Events could handle all tasks. “I used Trapcode Stroke for some of the hand scribbles, and the lighting was nothing more than vignettes in motion,” David said. |