MOTION BRAND IDENTITY
The anonymous phone call.
A short game of "6 degrees of Kevin Bacon" ensues. I acknowledge the names of mutual friends we have in the industry while I wait for THE BIG ASK. And then...
Voice : "So... we need an opening sequence for a show. We have everything: music, footage, voiceover all ready on a drive that we can just hand you, but we don't have time for direction and revisions. We basically have one shot at it and you'd be on your own. But we trust you based on your references"
Me : "Uhhhh..." (... stalling - I've never worked with these people - I'd have to drill down through a terabyte of footage I've never seen - wrap my head around what the show is even about - and if they don't like it we are all S.O.L. ... but it still SOUNDS FUN). So, finally : "uhhhhh... ummm. SURE. What is it exactly?"
Voice : "It's an opening for a show about these hip twenty- something trekkers who explore abandoned buildings to uncover secrets in America's greatest cities. And it's for Discovery Channel..."
Me : "Oh cool (Discovery? Now I REALLY can't screw up). Okay.... by when again?"
Voice : "Wednesday."
Me : "Like next Wednesday? - I think I can do that for you."
Voice : "No, umm, we need it this Wednesday. The day after tomorrow. Yeah."
Ahhhh. There's that other shoe dropping. Dropping from somewhere in earth's orbit.
An hour later I was in their studio meeting the producers and editors and then I was walking out with THE SOLE hard drive full of random footage and assets. By late afternoon I was working - digging through footage to find clips that could work - importing, editing, adding effects, watching and re-watching over and over, cramming a week's worth of effort into 18 hours. Wednesday came. Back at their studio I waited to see everyone's response. The longest minute went by. They loved it. The opening captured the vibe of the show and had a gritty energy to it. My favorite part is the first 10 seconds with the figure running through the field to the manhole and then how I utilized the manhole spin and zoom to act as a "portal" to bring the viewer down the proverbial rabbit hole into the other world of urban decay that the show would be exploring. Ultimately, I signed on to help with some lower thirds and panning and zooming custom maps as well that marked the various buildings explored in each episode.
So, below is the singular version of the opening to "Forbidden Zone Expeditions" which was rebranded as "Urban Explorers" ultimately. Discovery only funded five episodes unfortunately and then the time slot was given to *drumroll* -- Mike Rowe and "Dirty Jobs"-- !! Probably a smart choice for the network. ha!
