BBC Wales were looking for a series of short films that would live on their
Bitesize Website, which would cover the subject of KS3 Science.
Taking influence from recent 80's nostalgia, we decided to approach the films with a modern, yet retro feel. We loved the short series, Look Around You, which had a satirical take on old school learning tapes.
We wanted to distil a layer of awkwardness to the acting and editing. This is when we decided to use elevator music in the background and unnecessary crash zooms. The idea was to break the idea of this being taken too seriously and for viewers to learn something, without feeling forced to do so.
A fleshed out UI design was created, to live on the monitor at all times. Simplicity
was key at making sure the content was on the top line. We made bespoke animations for each episode, under the same branding.
An addition to the 9 live action films, there were 8 separate animations that covered more in depth subjects within KS3 Science. We used the UI design and animation style,
to keep the films under the same umbrella. The design was more in line with the interior shots of the labs.
This is one of 8 episodic animations that are part of the BBC Bitesize curriculum
on physics.
We shot 9 films in front of a green screen, over 5 days. Each film was captured with
the same static cameras, to ensure compositing was easier and consistent. We then created laboratory environments, cafeterias and various work spaces. We wanted to keep the lab simple on the inside but more industrial and robust on the outside. The scientists are kept in confinements that they rarely leave, so we used these areas as cutaways
to break up scenes.
Thank you!
