Creative design boutique EyeballNYC has teamed with Showtime Networks recently launched ShoNext digital cable channel to produce the 12-episode TV/Web series DISC JOCKEY, an innovative, mixed-media exploration of emerging American DJs. Each two-minute segment combines a documentary-style DJ interview with an animated superhero sequence. Music downloads, DJ tour schedules and other material are available on the Website. "Showtime was very clear in its creative direction," said EyeballNYC director Alex Moulton, who is also a DJ. "They wanted something no one has ever seen before and that's just the direction we like because we get to execute some of the wild ideas we've been working on but rarely get to use." EyeballNYC created a show-within-a-show framework to tell different aspects of the DJ stories. The company employed a comic book-styled section, using video and stills, framed around a documentary interview, while an animated anecdote transforms each DJ into a manga/anime-influenced "superhero," to provide a visual climax. "We felt the best way to illustrate the DJ anecdotes was to use an animation style that was simple and fun, so we concentrated more on the imaginative aspects than on making it look slick," said Moulton. "We are developing our own style as we go, drawing on different sources and building upon the visual vernacular of each musical genre." According to art director Tatiana Arocha, each animated vignette was inspired by each DJ's personal style, taking aspects of their real lives and personalities and turning them into a wildly imaginative, yet non-standard superhero. The DJ characters were created in 3D and placed next to hand-illustrated renditions, which were animated and composited in Adobe After Effects.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
