U.K.-based boutique motion graphics and visual effects facility creates psychoactive graphics and a hallucinatory title sequence for feature documentary exploring the widespread adoption and dangerous effects of Adderall.
Blue Spill is a boutique, U.K.-based motion graphics and visual effects facility that specializes in crafting cinematic storytelling with creative graphics and title sequences for feature film and theatrical feature documentaries. Founded in 2013 by duo Allison and Anthony Brownmoore, the award-winning studio was recently tapped by Netflix to create psychoactive graphics and the hallucinatory title sequence for Take Your Pills, a feature documentary exploring the widespread adoption and dangerous effects of using Adderall for enhanced performance in academics, sports and everyday life. Working in Autodesk Flame and Adobe Creative Suite, Blue Spill completed the project under a tight timeline and finalized all 4K deliverables in two months.
Provided with scientific descriptions of Adderall and the drug’s brain interactions, Blue Spill was tasked with creating the drug’s representation in graphics form. Using an artistic style reminiscent of vintage 60s pop art, the team developed animations, effects and a title sequence to captivate viewers and visually recreate the hallucinatory buzz and glitched stimulation of being under the influence of a stimulant. Flame was essential throughout the process, with the primary graphics builds created in After Effects and secondary passes, grading, conforming and editing completed in Flame 2019 by veteran artist Anthony Brownmoore; Brownmoore has worked in Flame for 14 years and has been using the 2019 version since its initial beta launch.
To deliver in 4K HDR for Netflix, it was necessary for Brownmoore to upgrade Blue Spill’s workflow to accommodate the influx of assets and seamlessly manage larger UltraHD files; Blue Spill’s final delivery for the project was a massive 3TB of graphics. Brownmoore heavily relied on Flame’s Open Clips to manage all imported After Effects assets and new versions created hourly within Flame. Using OpenEXR to exchange files between After Effects and Flame enabled all versions to be updated directly in the Flame timeline, speeding up post-production.
To change the color, mood and create a more filmic look for the documentary, Brownmoore used Flame’s Effects tab to complete post grades on graphics assets. Using the Image tab on the timeline, he changed grades and luminance levels directly within the workflow, rather than resorting to third party color correctors and markers. “The Image tab has immediately replaced my color correcting workflow -- it’s great!” noted Brownmoore, “It does the job of a batch tree, and with the selective and matchbox features it’s much more powerful.”
“Flame’s connectivity, speed and accessibility on the Mac continues to improve. Realtime effects are coming through even in higher resolutions, and Flame’s powerful architecture enables you to play, edit and interact with the clips live -- no matter the resolution. This was a gamechanger during production on ‘Take Your Pills,’ enabling us to deliver our final on time and in 4K HDR.”
Source: Autodesk
