Overview

Messi, Neymar, Maradona, Cryuff – the names of Barcelona’s biggest stars roll off the tongue.

But discover how the glories of this famous football club might not have been possible if not for the exploits of an Irishman named Patrick O’Connell, who saved FC Barcelona from financial ruin in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War.

Eighty years on, O’Connell is finally receiving the recognition at home that he has long had in Spain. On Friday 12 May a blue plaque honouring was unveiled on Albert Street in Belfast, where he lived when he began his career playing for Belfast Celtic.

BBC Sport required an animation in various formats made from imagery from the Patrick O’Connell Memorial Fund to tell this story. BBC Sport’s Joel Taggart did a fantastic job with the narration.

3D modelling and projection techniques in Maxon Cinema 4D were used. Also parallax and 2.5D animation in Adobe After Effects brought the entire piece to life.

Project

BBC – Have you heard the one about the Irishman who saved FC Barcelona?

Client

BBC

What Was Required?

Design, Animation, Sound Editing, Video Editing

Process

Planning

The animation started from a simple brief and initial script from the client. From this point we began refining the script and coming up with concepts. When the script and concept was close enough, a storyboard and animatic (a simple, draft, slideshow type animation) was sent to the client. This helped confirm the chosen design and art style with the client and allowed them to see how the animations timings look and feel. We can always fix things later, but this planning stage is so valuable and makes sure we’re going the right direction.

Process

Asset Creation & Photo Editing

The design, artistic choices and other elements are made concrete. The planning with the storyboard confirmed our script, now it’s time to confirm our project is on brand. Assets are created in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Maxon Cinema 4D. These include scenery, characters, 3D models and other elements such as explosions, particles and light flashes.

Process

Asset Creation & Photo Editing

The design, artistic choices and other elements are made concrete. The planning with the storyboard confirmed our script, now it’s time to confirm our project is on brand. Assets are created in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Maxon Cinema 4D. These include scenery, characters, 3D models and other elements such as explosions, particles and light flashes.

Process

Animation

Adobe After Effects was the tool of choice for bringing all the created assets together. Meticulous keyframing was carried out to bring all the scenery and characters to life. Many various plugins were used such as Element 3D, Trapcode Particular and more. Timing was kept with the animatic and storyboard.

Process

Sound & Video Editing

For the final stage the animation was rendered into Adobe Premiere Pro. The voice over was edited and everything was glued together with the chosen music track. Audio levels were mastered and all final edits were made before rendering and delivery.

Process

Sound & Video Editing

For the final stage the animation was rendered into Adobe Premiere Pro. The voice over was edited and everything was glued together with the chosen music track. Audio levels were mastered and all final edits were made before rendering and delivery.

Design & Animation.

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