We had some studio time available and wanted to take full advantage of that, while also flexing our creative muscles. We decided to make something fun that appealed to our peers, embracing some of the stuff we love and some things from our nostalgic youths. It had to have a life on the film festival circuit, but also be appealing to the online viral market too.
We all loved computer games as kids and were really excited about the idea of using 8bit graphics in a short movie. Even though we didn't quite know how we wanted to do it initially. From researching all the old games we started to notice a pattern in game characters and the heroes of 80's cinema. That is when "Jack", our main character was developed. He was roughly based on a Rambo figure, who had been through the battles but was now trying to put it behind him and live in peace. Enter the space robots to wreck his plan!
We created the entire films animatic with audio that was done by the Jahtari crew from Liepzig. But as the film progressed we decided that a more upbeat score was needed. The illustrations were all hand drawn initially, then hand rendered in photoshop to the strict NES 8bit colour palette. There's no plugin for that effect! The footage was all shot in HD, and the animation was done in flash and 3D Max. It was then composited with After Effects.
Action Evader premiered at the Galway film fleadh this summer and was awarded the "Best New Animation", this is a great honor for us here and we were truly delighted. It has been requested to screen in New York and Berlin already, and will hopefully have a good run in the festivals. the film can now be seen online so follow the link below and tell all your friends!
This project was built using the following technologies
Galway Film Fleadh Best New Animation
Reg: 445454
Address: 24 Lower Baggot Street | Tel: +353 1 4877325
copyright © Studio Rua 2010