History
BBC Bitesize
From the brutal North Berwick witch trials of the late 1500s to the assassination that sparked the beginnings of the first World War, this suite of ten films cover four key periods in history, each from a Scottish perspective.
Working with a limited budget, we devised a format whereby each film opens with beautiful illustrations animated in a slick, minimalist way, before bringing to life archival imagery in a magical but authentic DIY manner.
The introductory animated sequences were written and storyboarded in collaboration with my team of illustrators, before subtle movements and visual effects were added in After Effects.
The archival sequences of the film were brought to life through motion graphics, through cutting apart archival photographs, illustrations, newspapers and prints and bringing them to life with monty-python-esque movements and flashes of lighting and magic. This digital approach was enhanced by flickers of stop motion throughout the series, adding the sense of physicality of these historical artifacts, and creating a series with a fresh feeling, that captures and brings to life the drama of the plagues, witch trials, and battles that we were depicting.
Overseeing a large crew that totalled around ten staff, my role was to write and direct the suite of films, as well as editing and animating a number of the individual videos.
