Sporting Tech
The Challenge
This project involved creating visuals across a range of sporting scenarios, each requiring data overlays woven into the scene alongside complex camera movements and dynamic compositions. The final deliverables needed to be fully interactive for ICE 2024, where attendees could touch the screen to reveal live stats and analytics. We identified early on that extensive motion capture would be essential to achieve the realism the project demanded, with other sections requiring entirely custom animation.
The Solution
Working closely with EPM, I developed both the 2D and 3D visual identity for the project. We sourced premium motion capture data and mapped it onto custom character models for fluid, natural movement. Each character was placed within bespoke environments, from football stadiums to basketball courts. I built the visual language for both the realistic layer and the polygonal layer that would be revealed on touch, and devised a slow motion bullet time effect to extend the animation data across longer interactive scenes.
Styleframes
Early styleframes pushed the visual fidelity as far as possible, exploring elements like volumetric fog and dense grass rendering to ground each scene in realism. Some of these details had to be scaled back in the final production due to rendering time constraints, but the styleframe process was crucial for establishing the overall look and locking in the creative direction before moving into full production.
3D Rendering
The interactive element, which would be handed off to a Notch developer, meant each scene needed to be rendered in two distinct visual styles that aligned perfectly for the transition. This was particularly challenging given the way motion capture interacts with 3D character models. To solve it, I developed a pipeline using Alembic files and mesh deformers to drive the polygonal mesh in perfect sync with the original character, enabling the slow motion effect seen in the final video.
On the Day
The visuals were deployed across large-format touchscreens at ICE 2024, where attendees could interact directly with each scene as they animated to reveal the underlying data and statistics.
