[xr_video id="eb5f940227244fe4995dad44efd3f7b7" size="sm" title="false" titleposition="below" width="407"]

Back in April of 2010 we started working with Stan Ridgway (of Wall of Voodoo Fame) and his label, a440 records to do some promotional art for their albums. Stan’s latest album, Neon Mirage has received rave international reviews and some are calling it his ‘most reflective’ work. For the first of several projects we chose to use a 3D camera mapping technique and apply it to a still image of the desert in the South West along Route 66. We mapped the static shot in 3D after carefully slicing up the background and foreground elements, added some 3D elements (car, buildings, trees, neon sign) and then dropped in a 3D camera and keyframed a crane shot. Finally, we added a 3D sun flare over the existing sun in the 2D shot to seamlessly tie all the elements to the background. Stan provided the audio track which features one of his songs which he incorporated with some of his own sound design mayhem in the studio.

Read More

[xr_video id="f545b3b9262346848dc4b846e9859f77" size="sm" title="false" titleposition="below" width="407"]

This is a quick demo reel to represent what our 3D department can do for your company image. Chief animator Geoff Hecht uses Maya for his designs and Director Jeff Cavanaugh prefers the ease of use and intuitiveness of Maxon’s Cinema 4D. The use of both packages enables us to create with endless possibility and deliver on a wide range of timelines, budgets, and formats from Broadcast to HD and 3D cinema output.

[xr_video id="84eccd5526804fdda8fd463b775eae87" title="false" titleposition="below" size="sm" width="407"]

Director Erich Sommers came to us for help branding his company, Deuce of Hearts Films of San Mateo California. Mr. Sommers wanted an animation with falling cards in a dark room and a throwing knife being hurled through them. The challenge was presented when he wanted one of the particular cards to be ‘stabbed’ while in mid-air and then stuck against a wall or board. After playing with some ideas it was decided that we’d clone the behavior of the falling cards to a ‘group’ containing only the card he wanted stabbed, the Duece of Hearts. After our quick turnaround time on the logo identity there was still time to do some polishing on the film before festival entry and online exhibition. We suggested giving the whole piece a visual and color treatment that would really emphasize the disposition of the main character and his journey across town. After going through perhaps a dozen different options for an overall look, picture was locked and now the short film “Morning Coffee” has been submitted to more than 25 film festivals worldwide.

Morning Coffee on IMDB

[xr_video id="588812a7a76e4beabada05b764ae4b1a" size="sm" title="false" titleposition="below" width="407"]

In 2007 Creative Armada produced a trade show loop for Pacific Plastics and Engineering. A plastic injection molding and assembly firm in Soquel California specializing in medical devices. PPE wanted a quick turnaround HD video loop so we opted for the HD-DVD format. This year they came back to us needing to change the voiceover and we chose the .h264 mpeg4 format so they could more easily display the video from a laptop. 2011 opens a new chapter in our relationship with PPE and we will have more to show you soon.

PPE website