MPC, 4Creative and ManvsMachine ‘bend’ reality for new channel launch

MPC, 4Creative and ManvsMachine have partnered to bend reality for the launch of the new catch-up TV channel, 4seven.

The three idents ‘Allotment’, ‘Pool’ and 'Motorway' continue the brands play on perspective and were produced using an innovative mix of angled camera work and CG augmentation. As the camera sweeps around a right-angled world, the numbers 4 and 7 are revealed on each plane.

The biggest challenge was to establish a method to achieve the right-angle look.  Led by VFX Supervisors Chrys Aldred and Tim Civil, a camera was programmed to sweep over an environment in a 180-degree arc and the footage was then offset by the time taken to move through 90 degrees. The end result was achieved by slicing the footage - taking the last 25sec of the move from the left side of the image, and the first 25sec from the right side of the image, to give a folded edge.

To ensure the basic principle would work in post, it was first pre-vised in Maya.  To replicate the move onset, the Maya data was then programmed into a motion control unit with the new ‘Titan’ 9 meter arm.

‘Allotment’ was the more straightforward of the two idents. The team completed the work in Nuke - tracking and stabilised the two halves, and aligning them so they appeared to share the same edge lighting and atmospherics. A grassy edge was later composited in to help convincingly achieve the feeling of a folded world.