BBC Digital Faces Launch 50s

This advert was a very large production. We had about 13 guys working on it and even had to build a few plugins to alow all those faces to follow the main face.

What we where given was 20 scanned in heads of people. Three of these heads where scanned in saying all the lines in the advert. My first role was to come up with a method to make all the other 17 heads animate saying the same lines. No easy undertaking let me tell you.

After that I was on to particle animation. I came up with a method that would alow "flocking" like particle animations without using even a single line of code. I remember showing this method to one of the coders at the mill. My method seemed so simple and obvious once it is shown to you. Though shockingly no one thinks of doing it that way.

He told me that I should not make a habit out of doing things this way because I will put him out of work.

Here is a little bit of a back story about this advert. While we where working on the this, I think we where about 75% done. Something happened over in the war. I am not going to go into any details about that. If you don't know what i am talking about then, good. But if you do know what tragic occurrence I am referring to you will know why a advert with floating heads was not well received.

Through no fault of any of the creatives or bbc, just realy bad timing, this add was pulled after I think about 3 airings. Which is to bad. The technical achievement of what our team managed to do with this add was great for its time.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• david
• knight
• 3d
• artist
• maya

[captainbloodycranky]

I know that the technical skill involved in this advert was great, but it still creeps me the hell out. It's like the giant head has large holes in its face, and they open and close like a suppurating wound....it's vile. Accomplished, but vile.

[revelationsr]

I am the 3d guy. I did not come up with the consept. though I do agree with what you are saying.

But with that said. This is part of my portfolio. Something I use to get work from other companies. So I dont actually want any comments here. Either positive or negative ones. Please comment again to let me know you have read this after wich i will be deleting all of these comments.

I did not just want to delete your comments without letting you know why.

[killrednecks123]

The creepiest shit I think I've ever seen. Brr...

[filmnet]

So 13 guys were working on this, and it was a very large production and "no easy undertaking". I'm guessing it cost several hundred thousand pounds? And then hardly any viewers liked it and it was only shown 3 times. So can we say that our licence fee money was well spent then!

[002lisamarie]

This is very disturbing to people who have Trypophobia - fear of clusters of things. Yuk !

[andy86i]

disgsting imagery being used here. completely dehumanizing

[LoneRookRS1]

This is disgusting, like something out of a horror film. Did the face collect all the severed heads like trapped souls? I'm sure it was a wonderful technical challenge however.

[ZelatorUK]

There was a BBC advert just like this for Christmas 2005 and it got banned after the first showing because a lot of people have trypohobia (Fear of clusters etc.) Did BBC not learn from their mistake the first time? or was this made before that?

[zionravescene]

KILL IT.

[677222]

makes me want to throw up...

[IanLeoTV]

Awesome!!!! Did you do this in Maya?

[LumPeyCusTerEd]

i saw one where the heads formed bob the builders head