Johnny English Strikes Again

From on-set and post graphics to character animation and VR sequence, Territory Studio worked with production and editing teams to craft a high tech world of comedy and mayhem.

A project that began with concept and development of graphic languages and the creation of screen graphics across all sets, took an exciting and experimental turn when director David Kerr asked us to take on a CG VRR sequence.
The stand-alone sequence supports a live action VR training scene in which Johnny English literally takes virtual into reality. To deliver the sequence, the team worked from a loose storyboard and film plates and created virtual environments and characters in the training programme. Working closely with director David Kerr, actor and producer Rowan Atkinson and editor Mark Everson, we discussed details of character animation, shots, camera angles, pacing and CG realism. Our own sense of comic timing was also really important in this process, as the storyboard left a lot of freedom in terms of character interaction.
A comic hero piece, we created and delivered 15 shots and over 7K frames, amounting to nearly 5 minutes of CG animation that was intercut with live action shots for the final sequence.

VR Sequence POV

The sequence is always seen from the first person view. To suggest a HUD and gameplay, we designed a simple graphic overlay of directional markers and target indicators. These are always subtle enough not to restrict the view and give the action room to play out.

We also needed to animate what you can see of the Johnny English character in these shots. We tried to mimic his body language without becoming too cartoony, and referenced the plates carefully to get a seamless blend of worlds from reality to VR.

Credits
Producer: Gen McMahon
VFX Supervisor: Peter Eszenyi
2D/3D Lead: Nick Lyons
Animation Lead: Ashley Pay
Environment and UI Designer: Ferdinando Spagnolo
2D UI Designer/Animator: Jay Dingle
Motion Designer: Thomas Barry

VFX Graphics

As a number of phone, tablet and wall screens needed to be added in post, we furthered developed graphic elements and interactions for Volta’s technology, Highlights included the media to support Volta’s appearance on a Ted-style event, and the avatar characterization of Xandar.