Velocity Design Group and HBO have created another innovative promo for the network's award-winning Sunday Night original programming. Popular and memorable HBO characters from CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, SEX AND THE CITY, SIX FEET UNDER, THE SOPRANOS, THE WIRE and CARNIVALE encounter each other face-to-face while the '70s rock and soul beat asks, "Why Can't We Be Friends?"
"We screened dozens of tapes and digitized hours of footage," explained Velocity senior designer Bryan Fernandez. "The goal was to find shots which possessed the perfect blend of elements that would allow us to have characters interacting realistically in the finished piece."
Velocity and HBO selected shots that would provide the most intriguing look and the most entertaining interactions. "Although this is a 2D motion design, we really took a 3D approach to it. The characters are walking past each other, around each other, facing each other, etc. Beyond the three dimensional aspect of the piece, HBO challenged us to capture a dramatic dimension which is somewhat less tangible yet crucial to the overall value of the piece," said Fernandez.
The main technical challenge for Velocity was working with pre-existing footage and having to integrate the various elements into a piece that flowed smoothly and naturally. To accomplish this, Velocity constructed numerous rough composites in After Effects. The best of these were edited into a sequence with the music to get a feel for the mix of shots. Once the edit was finalized, Velocity brought the shots back into After Effects to composite, color-match, re-time, stabile and track. "Each shot was a different puzzle requiring its own unique solution. There was no single systematic approach that could be applied consistently," according to Fernandez.
New York City-based Velocity Design Group can be reached online at www.velocityny.com.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
