To launch the BBC’s coverage of the upcoming Olympic Winter Games, BBC Creative and Blinkink have partnered to create “Extreme by Nature,” a mixed media animation that brings to life the intensity of the competition through the harsh worlds of ice and snow.
Directed by Balázs Simon via Blinkink, the gritty piece combines in-camera effects and post with intricate stop-motion animation, with entire scenes 3D printed frame-by-frame. As well as running as a trailer across channel junctions and online, the animation will feature as the title sequence for The Winter Olympics Games, which first airs on Friday, February 4, across the BBC.
Credits
Client British Broadcasting Corporation/BBC Winter Olympics James Cross, Tim Jones, Reuben Dangoor, creative directors; Stuart Gittings, creative; Liz Dolan, producer. Production Blinkink, London Balázs Simon, director; Bart Yates, exec producer; Alex Halley, producer; Rebecca Little, producer; Theo Cassels, production manager; Max Halstead, DP; Andy Biddle, stop motion animator; Andrew Spradbery, stop motion animator & rigger; Jennifer Kidd, art director; Beattie Hartley, art department assistant. (Toolbox: Volo motion control crane, Dragonframe, Maya, Houdini, Flame, Nuke) Studio Clapham Road Studios Daisy Garside, studio manager. Blinkink 3D Printing Jennifer Kidd, art direction, set dressing. Props Scale Model Studios Elliot Spencer Colley, clear prints. White Prints 3M BIC Janine Downs, Anastasis Constanti, Stephen Knowles; Georgina Kipling, 3D printing technician. VFX/Post GYAR Mate Barbalics, Andras Piroska, VFX producers; Aron Hargitay, VFX supervisor; Sandor Garaczi, head of CGI; Adam Marihazi, CGI lead artist; Zoltan Marko, Istvan Bori, CGI generalists; Bernadett Dian, 3D modeling; Robert Toth, rigging; Bea Ujj, Zoltan Zahorszki, Gyorgi Fabos, Zsolt Merey Kadar, 3D animation; Gabor Abbas, FX artist; Shahab Hosseini, lead compositor; Aron Nemeti, sr. compositor; Andras Pflum, compositor; Balazs Lublovari, Victor Miltenyi, Ivan Voros, clean up. Rendering Fox Renderfarm Postproduction Company Feature Films for Families Peter Barbalics, exec producer. Color Glassworks Jonny Thorpe, colorist. Sound Company GAS
After losing part of his right leg due to cancer, Terry Fox campaigned to raise national awareness and funding for cancer research by running his Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada 42-km daily run, on his prosthetic leg. Fox, who died in 1981, is a national hero. His image will be on Canada’s new $5 bill.
In this two-minute video titled “Finish It,” the Marathon of Hope is recreated. It’s all done in one take, and it features an actor/marathon runner who uses a prosthesis on the same leg as Fox. CGI was deployed to make him look more like Fox. To further ensure the actor represented Fox accurately, not only did the actor and team watch and study many videos of Terry, but Terry’s brothers, Fred and Darrel, coached the actor on Terry’s running style and mannerisms. They also created a copy of Terry’s prosthesis for the actor to use for the shoot.
The message is clear. As the Marathon of Hope now marks its 45th anniversary, we now have the opportunity to “Finish It” for Fox, raising money and awareness to get a cure for cancer over the finish line, completing the work that Fox started. The public service film starts with Fox on the marathon run, eventually joined by a crowd of other dedicated runners from all walks of life who take over the race.
Mark Zibert directed via production company Scouts Honour for Toronto agency Diamond. The video features a never-before-heard version of the song “Courage” from Canadian band The Tragically Hip.
“We wanted to create a campaign that captures the magnitude of Terry Fox’s legacy while driving meaningful action,” said Peter Ignazi, chief creative officer at Diamond. “By revisiting the Marathon of Hope with such care and reverence, we aimed to reignite Terry’s mission and... Read More
