XTV SCORES WITH NEW SKY COMEDY SHOW

DESIGN and production facility, XTV, were recently called on to post produce and help create the visual effects on the title sequence for Sky One's new entertainment show 'Jumpers for Goalposts'.
Devised by Paul Whitehouse (pictured) and Chrysalis Television, the new 13-part comedy quiz series stars Paul Whitehouse and Mark Williams in a new incarnation of their Fast Show characters, Ron Manager and Tommy Stein. Each week, team captains Ron Manager (Paul Whitehouse) and Tommy Stein (Mark Williams) will be joined by Simon Day and four other special sports and celebrity guests in a show packed with humour, football and Ron's inimitable wisdom. As the two stars are supposedly former footballers turned TV pundits, the concept of the title sequence plots their fictional football careers from the 1950s right through the 1960s and 1970s, to present day.
Directed and designed by Darryl Goodrich, the title sequence combines archive footage with live action material. The challenge for the production and post teams was to make the characters interact with the archive footage, including talking on a commentary panel with Jimmy Hill in the 1970s. As a result, the title sequence relies heavily on special effects to make the interactions and footage believable.
In order to plan camera and live action moves archive material of classic games from the period were chosen and off-lined at XTV. Screen grabs were then taken and used to line up the camera shots by eye. The characters were then filmed against blue screens that were later matted and keyed in frame by frame using both Henry and Flame into the archive footage. Every camera shake and film weave of the original film had to be tracked and mirrored to allow the characters blend seamlessly.
XTV provided creative design and technical support with all the post FX and compositing completed by Mike Parry and David Frearson. Parry composited all of the Paul Whitehouse live action material in Henry while Frearson added FX in Flame. 2D and 3D typographical design was also rendered at the design and production facility.
Parry also graded the sequence retaining the integrity of the original footage. The look and feel of the piece is reminiscent of Woody Allen's 'Zelig', where the black and white graininess, scratches and all were reproduced using Henry.
The show airs on Sky One, Mondays at 10pm from March 5. (SP)