Pixeldust Studios, a multi-award winning digital animation and broadcast design studio, has created a unique, short animated film featured within a new, special exhibit at the British Museum in London. Ricardo Andrade, President and Creative Director, Pixeldust Studios, made the announcement.
On behalf of client Maggie Stogner, founder of Blue Bear Films (www.bluebearfilms.com) and in association with National Geographic Missions, Pixeldust Studios created a two minute animated film sequence depicting, in detail, the representation of an ancient Afghan “throne.” That film, projected onto an LCD screen, will be seen as part of the traveling “Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World” exhibit, which has just opened (3/3) to the public at the British Museum.
Based on hi-resolution scans of just a few fragments from archaeological remains of an ancient (over 2,000 years old) Afghan throne fashioned from ivory, Pixeldust Studios’ Technical Director (and former Digital Animator) Samar Shool designed and produced a digital representation, including lighting and a rendering style, of what that throne might actually have looked like originally.
Said Maggie Stogner of Blue Bear Films, “Pixeldust’s animated sequence was very complicated and scholarly, and went beyond the scope of what most animation houses would have been able to accomplish. This was the first time ever an attempt was made to reconstruct what this throne might have looked like, with the animation based on old ivory artifacts and a lifestyle depiction of a scene which appeared on one of those pieces. Ricardo, Samar and their Pixeldust team worked closely with UC Berkeley scholar Dr. Sanjyot Mehendale on this project, and certainly understood the high level of quality and accuracy that were vital to its success.”
Adds Mr. Andrades, “Samar’s extraordinary creativity combined with his strong technological skills were the perfect match for this assignment. His digital solution through animation brought to life a masterful piece of history which might otherwise have been lost to the world. The short film illustrating the throne will surely become a main focus of this exhibit.”
About The “AFGHANISTAN: CROSSROADS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD” Exhibit
The “Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World” exhibit highlights some of the most important archaeological discoveries from ancient Afghanistan and will display precious and unique pieces on loan from the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is supporting this unique opportunity for people in the UK to see rare treasures of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage.
The exhibition will showcase over 200 stunning objects belonging to the National Museum of Afghanistan, accompanied by selected items from the British Museum. The artifacts range from classical sculptures, polychrome ivory inlays originally attached to imported Indian furniture and Roman glass and polished stone tableware brought from Egypt, to delicate inlaid gold personal ornaments worn by the nomadic elite. All of these objects were found between 1937 and 1978, and were feared to have been lost following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the civil war which followed, when the National Museum was rocketed and displays were later destroyed by the Taliban. For more information on this exhibit, please see: http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/future_exhibitions/afghanistan.aspx
About PIXELDUST STUDIOS
Pixeldust Studios LLC is an Emmy and Telly Award winning digital animation and broadcast design studio with the technical, creative and production capabilities to create innovative animations and motion graphic design for major broadcast and cable television clients. The company, which has delivered hundreds of hours of broadcast animation to its clients, specializes in combining proprietary techniques with world-class creative talent to develop character animation, visual effects, motion graphics, and digitally animated sequences seen within television series, specials, mini-series, documentaries, docu-dramas, and reality programming, as well as within on-air promotional campaigns.
Founded in 2004 by Creative Director Ricardo Andrade, Pixeldust Studios is based in Bethesda, MD (in the Greater Washington, D.C., area) and in New York City. Andrade, a multi-award winning designer, and his company are highly regarded for their work on behalf of such prestigious clients as Discovery Channel, Discovery Health Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Military Channel, National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Television, NBC News, PBS, A&E, History Channel, NOVA, National Geographic International, NHNZ, Speed Channel, True TV, “Frontline,” Spike and the Smithsonian Network.
Pixeldust Studios is headquartered at 4350 East-West Highway, Suite # 350, Bethesda, MD, 20814. The phone is 301/656-0050. The company’s Manhattan office is located at 584 Broadway, Suite # 612, NY, NY 10012, and the phone is 646/476-2053. For more info, please see: www.pixeldust.tv
