Inside Our Minds: Series 2
BBC
For the second series of the BBC documentary ‘Inside Our Minds’ Chris Packahm expands his exploration of neurodivergence to ADHD and Dyslexia.
I was the sole VFX artist/animator across three of the four short films that Hello Charlie created for the series.
ADHD - Jo
When she was growing up Jo’s father would describe her as a ‘butterfly’.
Her film explores this motif alongside her love of clubbing and dance music.
Her film explores this motif alongside her love of clubbing and dance music.
I was tasked with creating flocks of butterflies and butterfly wings made of light, as well as kalidoscopic composites of her family photos, which where projected on to Jo.
In addition to these elements I added lasers and smoke elements to augment what had been filmed on location.
In addition to these elements I added lasers and smoke elements to augment what had been filmed on location.
Dyslexia - Suiki
Suiki describes the feeling of living with dyslexia as like having thoughts that slip away like fish in a pond.
In her film she goes, like Alice, through the looking glass into a world in which those thoughts become visible.
In her film she goes, like Alice, through the looking glass into a world in which those thoughts become visible.
I created the transition though the mirror, tracking and keying the footage as well as adding rippling energy fields and particle effects.
Within the magical world I worked with 3D renders of the ‘fish’, tracking and compositing them into almost every shot - a challenge as the turnaround time for VFX was 5 days!
Within the magical world I worked with 3D renders of the ‘fish’, tracking and compositing them into almost every shot - a challenge as the turnaround time for VFX was 5 days!
ADHD - Henry
In his film, drama student Henry battles ‘The Tombola Man’ - a personification of his ADHD, who constantly distracts him from everyday tasks by throwing new thoughts at him.
To reflect the dark, clownish figure of The Tombola Man we chose to depict the thoughts his throws at Henry using a comicbook-esque block type that bounces around the screen.
To reflect the dark, clownish figure of The Tombola Man we chose to depict the thoughts his throws at Henry using a comicbook-esque block type that bounces around the screen.
I created a collection of sketchy frame-by-frame animated action lines, pops and flashes that could be used across the film. I also drew directly over some of the more intense shots, picking out individual elements and painting in half-tone textures for a frame or two.