Clear Journeys With Red Bee Media For Jackanory

Jackanory – the much-loved children’s story-telling programme that has wooed many generations – is getting a 21st century revamp.
Clear (Post Production) shared in the project by embellishing the new programme’s contemporary animation, with Red Bee director Mark Chaudoir, to create two 40-second promos.
The series launches at the end of November with some major acting talent as Sir Ben Kingsley narrates ‘The Magician of Samarkand’, an adventure set in the exotic Orient; while John Sessions reads ‘Muddle Earth’, a tongue-in-cheek homage to the Lord of the Rings. Their readings are taken to a whole new level by some powerful 3D and 2D animation which was originally created at the BBC in After Effects and Maya. The promos, directed by Red Bee and posted by Clear, enhanced the BBC’s original animation with additional shots, effects and compositing to create two intensely exciting trailers.
Director Mark Chaudoir devised a brand new sequence for ‘Muddle Earth’ where narrator John Sessions travels through the story’s fantasy world in a bath. So the actor was shot against bluescreen, with on-set VFX supervision from Clear’s 3D artist, Bryan Servante, and Flame artist, Ben Murray, to ensure the gimble that shook Sessions created the appropriate vibrations for his post-produced transition into the 3D bath.
Back at Clear, Sessions was keyed-out by Jeevan Singaram using Combustion. Johan Gay and Garth Reilly then placed the actor inside the Maya 3D bath, with enchanting touches applied to the showerhead using Afterburner.
Finally, the scene was composited and graded in Flame by Ben Murray. ‘The Magician of Samarkand’ required magic particles, transitions and compositing which were all applied by Dan Lorenzini in After Effects.
Clear is a hi-end, full service post production house known for perfecting commercials, broadcast idents, films and music videos with progressive visual effects.
(DS)