Dark Matters is a short film created by Watergun, based on the eponymous play by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa starring David Weil, Steven Culp, Pamela Gray and Eileen Dietz.

Jeremy believes his recently disappeared mother has made contact with otherworldly beings. While searching for answers, he will uncover a dark secret about his past and family that will change him forever.

Watergun presents Dark Matters
Written and Directed by Ricardo Uhagon Vivas
Produced by Lucas de la Rua
Cinematography by Lyn Moncrief
Edited by Jorge Sandoval & Aaron Warzynski
Visual Effects by Lincoln Smith
Production design by Ann Hadlock
Wardrobe by Vanessa Gonzalez
Titles and credits by Adrian Alescio and VanilaBCN
Voice Over by Thad Monteiro

Dark Matters is in the last stage of post production and will be released in festivals around the world in 2012.

Music: “Contacting The Other Side” by Jerry Goldsmith, performed by The MGM Studio Orchestra for the album Poltergeist (Original Music Soundtrack)

You can get the album at Amazon and iTunes among others.

Brief
In both 2010 and 2011, Watergun was commissioned by Jotta and Fallon to produce groundbreaking visuals for The Latitude Festival, one of the UK’s most popular music events. Our water projections took pride of place above the festival’s magical lake, appearing like floating apparitions.

In 2010 the overall theme for the artists was ‘72bpm’, which is the average speed of the human heartbeat (ours is much lower of course – we’re so fit!). In 2011 the theme was ‘Synergy’ – with the videos being remixed live at the location in Suffolk.

Idea and Process
We scanned faces with rainbow coloured shapes, transforming people into hybrids of colour and light, and soon our 2010 project, ‘Scanlines’, was born.

2011’s ‘Heartcore’, with its 3D bionic enhancements, is our interpretation of the organic fused with the mechanic.

‘Neon Synergy’ is a comment on the visual pollution of neon signs with which we are confronted everyday.

Team
Directed by Watergun (Rafael Pavon and Eric Schockmel)
Special thanks to Melvin Galapon, Audrey Anastasy, Elena Muñoz, Andere Monjo, Blanca Garay, Bernadette Engel and Liana Nigri.

Brief

Vimeo and Saatchi & Saatchi’s ‘Hello Future, A Music Video Challenge’ seemed like the perfect opportunity for Watergun to flex its muscles. The competition’s brief was to produce a music video for a track off Moby’s new album, ‘Destroyed’.

The theme was ‘Hello, Future’.

‘Hello, Moby’. We replied.

Idea and Process
Take a few Marty McFly skateboards. Throw them against the backdrop of Blade Runner’s dystopian vision for the future. Sprinkle them with LED lights and a sci-fi dodecahedron. Cook until crisp, and you have one mean concept to gobble up.

We decided that we wanted to take Pukas’ concept of LED surfboards – which were designed for night surfing – and apply it to skateboards. After all, apart from grannies, who doesn’t love a skateboard?

After a period of extensive research, we discovered a company in San Diego that created exactly what we needed: Photon Lightboards. They jumped at the chance of coming on board (pun intended). So Watergun headed to Downtown-Echo Park in LA, where we sourced the perfect skaters for our video.

The idea for the hologram flyer came from L_A_N Magazine’s Simon Whybray – with whom we had collaborated a few weeks earlier – making this launch video for him using motion tracking and his custom-designed typeface.

Beyond the video
Our video reached more than 100k views on Vimeo and is the second most viewed of the contest, after the winner.

Team
Directed by Watergun (Ricardo Uhagon Vivas)
Co-director: Stefan Pavlovic
Editor: Jorge Sandoval
VFX Supervisor: Gabe Ferrao

Cinematographer: Chris Saul
B Camera Operator: Aaron Shapiro
Additional photography: Ricardo Uhagon Vivas, Stefan Pavlovic and Erik Anderson

Assistant Director: Rafa Sanz
Sound Mix: Nacho Lopez
Make Up: Pauline Noriega
Prop Master: Eric Fisher
Flyer concept: Simon Whybray and Veronica So
Lightboards courtesy of Photon Lightboards

Skaters:
Shannon Joy Rodgers
Sebastian Arrieta
Josh Sierra
Espen Solberg

Thanks to everyone that helped out on those two nights in Downtown LA, and to all the extraordinary people we met on this nocturnal adventure.

Brief

After learning of Watergun’s creative exploits, Becky from Saint Saviour approached us to create a music video for her brand new single, ‘This Ain’t No Hymn’.

The video’s concept was established early on: an examination of the beauty and grace of the jellyfish, nature’s most delicate monster.

Idea and Process
In our first development meeting with Becky, she spoke of her obsession with jellyfish. Surprisingly enough, Rafa had been trapped inside one of these sea creatures as a boy so creative juices flowed with ease, and the story began to unfold.

After initially researching textures and colours, our investigation led us to the extraordinary phenomena of a biologically immortal jellyfish called ‘Turritopsis Nutricula’. The idea was born: a breeding jellyfish, which rejuvenates itself and never dies.

As a location for the film, a crypt in the City of London provided the perfect backdrop for us to reference the religious themes of the song.

To help us create the illusion of the underwater world, we contacted costume designer Elisabeth Buecher. Elisabeth experimented with materials and lights for the costumes of the Queen Jellyfish and her dancers, while Colette Brandenburg, the choreographer, brought the routine to life with movements based on contraction and expansion.

Beyond the video
‘This Ain’t No Hymn’ won the PhinkTV Music Video Award 2012 and was shortlisted for the Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2011 in York, England.

Team
Directed by Watergun (Rafa Pavon + Ricardo Uhagon)
Executive Producer: Lucas de la Rua
Costume Designer: Elisabeth Buecher
Director of Photography: Nick Eriksson
Gaffer: Josh Paro
Saint Saviour: Becky Jones
Dancers: Kitty Bonner, Jade Champagnie, Alison Spink, Hannah Venet
Choreographer: Colette Brandenburg
Editor: Rafa Pavon
DIT / Postproduction: Eric Schockmel
Make Up & Hair: Sonia Bhogal
Make Up & Hair Assistants: Bianca Konig, Seung Lee, Monika Csutak
Costume Assistant: Georgia Bosson
Production Assistant: Amandine Radigue
Documentation: Lisa Tamburrano & Sara Dell’Erba
Warmest thanks to Julia Nutter

Brief
Jotta and INTEL commissioned Watergun to create two pieces for the INTEL REMASTERED exhibition. The theme of the showcase was the reinterpretation of prominent works from history by contemporary artists.

Idea and Process
Watergun tasked itself with interpreting Caspar David Friedrich’s iconic painting, ‘Wanderer above the Sea Fog’. We decided to create a 3D stereo projection, which guides its viewer on a dual walk through present day London and the painting.

There are few places more confusing than London. A city where everything is in constant and unstoppable cultural change. This is a portrait of that magnificent confusion.

Use Anaglyph 3D Glasses. If you don’t have these, you can still watch the 2D version here:

Beyond the video
INTEL REMASTERED was exhibited in 2011 at London’s One Marylebone, Manchester’s The Cube Gallery and TENT London as part of the London Design Festival.

It received the Digital Impact Award in ‘Best Use of Digital, Media telecommunications and technology’ and the WPP Award as the ‘Best Consumer Marketing Campaign’. It is also shortlisted for ‘Best use Technology Campaign’ at the PR Week Awards 2011.

Team
Directed by Watergun (Rafael Pavón)

This is the showreel of the whole exhibition:

Brief
After successfully working with Jotta on the Latitude water projections in the summer, they approached us again in autumn 2010 and asked us to participate in REMASTERED, a project sponsored by processor giant Intel. The idea was for contemporary artists to revisit classic works from art history with the help of new technologies:

“Intel are interested in exploring how digital technology is shaping both the method of
production and output of an artist’s practice. The artist is someone who uses, is
inspired by and comments on digital technology and its place within the creative
process.”

Eric chose “Rain, Steam and Speed: The Great Western Railway” (1844) by JMW Turner.

Idea and Process
This is how he explains his research and method:

The first step was to analyse the features in this particular painting, as well as in Turners work in general and apply them to my own creative practice. I have isolated some general features that are present in most of Turner’s work:

- Inspiration from the forces of nature: sunlight, storm, rain, fog, power of the sea,…
- The ensuing effects on human endeavour: shipwrecks, fire, catastrophe,…
- Recurring genres of his era: marine, mountainous, pastoral, historical, architectural,…
- The transformation of the environment through industrialisation.
- Mythological subjects, fictional settings of epic proportions.

Previous works by JMW Turner:

Left: “The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken” (1839)
Right: “Dido Building Carthage” (1815)

Stating my own personal assumptions about digital technology in my personal practice:

- The digital workflow allows for infinite remixing and mash-up potential of cultural content.
- Animation can contain visual and aesthetic hybrids drawn from these influences.
- Videogame design incorporates rules and “laws of nature” governing virtual spaces.
- All of the above elements can influence and be revealed through an underlying narrative.

Early environment designs:

Notes on the narrative:
Examining Turner’s Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway immediately reveals the prominence of the train in the painting. It is a symbol for the rapid industrialisation and technological progress of the era, advancing relentlessly towards the spectator. The shape and colour make it stand out against the blurry, impressionist backdrop of the surroundings, creating visual tension.

For the narrative of the animation, I am appropriating this symbol as a detailed object, against a more minimalist background. The train is a metaphor for a transformational process that the surrounding world is submitted to.

The train (technology) starts to generate instances of itself, creating the conditions of its own growth. Considering the context of Intel’s involvement in the project, we can link this to Moore’s Law of exponential increase in processing power over time, and the relative fall in costs of production to arrive at a critical discourse about the consequences of such a steep rate of progress.

From Wikipedia:
“Moore’s law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware. The number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years. The trend has continued for more than half a century and is not expected to stop until 2015 or later. The capabilities of many digital electronic devices are strongly linked to Moore’s law: processing speed, memory capacity, [...] All of these are improving at (roughly) exponential rates as well. This has dramatically increased the usefulness of digital electronics in nearly every segment of the world economy. Moore’s law precisely describes a driving force of technological and social change in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.”

Physical resources for progress are finite, however. This begs the question of how and when the machine stops. Will the increasing pace of innovation head towards the abyss, or stop through it’s own logic?

Notes on Lighting and Shadows:
As the landscape should have a fairly minimal style, with details only visible on 3D elements that are essential to the narrative, I’ve explored different combinations of lighting before settling on the last one (4):

1) Default Editing Light (No manually placed lights in scene)
2) Omni Light with Soft Shadows
3) Omni Light with Hard Shadows
4) Omni Light with Hard Shadows and Ambient Occlusion (AO)

References for modelling:

(Top: “Back to the Future III”, Bottom: “Grand Junction Canal at Southall Mill” (1810), by JMW Turner)

Finalizing the visual style of the environment, drawing extensively on simplified shapes, low-polygon 3D modeling and a limited colour palette. External source of free 3D models for remixing: Archive3D

Notes on Concept and Title:
The previous thoughts on technological progress and Moore’s Law lead to a related concept, that of the Technological Singularity.

Definition from Wikipedia:
“A technological singularity is a hypothetical event occurring when technological progress becomes so rapid that it makes the future after the singularity qualitatively different and harder to predict. [...]”

This unpredictability, growing into a “force of nature” (with global impact), echoes Turner’s epic depictions of natural phenomena and their effect on human endeavour. The subtitle of the painting, The Great Western Railway, provides the template for the animation’s title, hence The Great Western Singularity.

It also alludes to the “western” nature of progress, Europe being the birthplace of industrialisation and the starting point for a technological drive that now spans all continents.

Modelling and animation of the Abyss scene:

Graphic “interface” elements highlighting actions on-screen:

Addition of ground displacement effect to stress the impact and transformational character of
the train on the environment:

Additional visual references throughout the design process:

- Illustrations by Dan McPharlin

- Pivot, 2009 short animation produced by il Luster Productions

- Opening Credits of Enter The Void by Gaspar Noe

- Graphics by M.I.A. (Boyz)

Beyond the video
INTEL REMASTERED was exhibited in 2011 at London’s One Marylebone, Manchester’s The Cube Gallery and TENT London as part of the London Design Festival. It received the Digital Impact Award in ‘Best Use of Digital, Media telecommunications and technology’ and the WPP Award as the ‘Best Consumer Marketing Campaign’. It is also shortlisted for ‘Best use Technology Campaign’ at the PR Week Awards 2011.

This is the showreel of the whole exhibition:

The Great Western Singularity is part of the onedotzero_adventures in motion 2011’s onscreen program at BFI Southbank, November 23 – 27 2011.

Featured on

Team
Directed and animated by Watergun (Eric Schockmel)

Brief
When Stella Artois launched a new brand of beer called Stella Black, they commissioned Mother London and Unit9 to organize a real-life cinema event and a neo-noir interactive film experience. The resulting website, Black Diamond, was directed by Anrick Bregman, who approached us to create the project’s compositing work with Henry YP Ho.

Idea and Process
The work consisted mainly of motion tracking, green screen keying, colour correction, and compositing onto the film’s raw footage. We then collaborated closely with the developers to optimize the output for a smooth interactive experience.

Beyond the video
Immerse yourself in the hunt for the Black Diamond, which was The FWA site of the day on October 13th, 2011.

Team
Agency: Mother London
Brand: Stella Artois
Director: Anrick Bregman
Executive Producer: Piero Frescobaldi
Interactive Producer: Fred Chak
Production Company: unit9

Postproduction Watergun: Eric Schockmel

Brief
We were approached to create an awe-inspiring music video for Belgrado’s new single, “Hoy vuelvo a empezar”. The aim was to reach out to the band’s burgeoning fan base, and give them a big Belgrado bear hug.

Idea and Process
After a brainstorming period, we cracked it: people dancing on rooftops with the wind in their hair and the sun on their faces. What better way to illustrate the exhilaration and exuberance of moving on? – which is the essence of the song.

Cameras rolled at all three of our Watergun locations, at no extra costs. The contrasting beauty of each city merging together to form one stunning video.

Beyond the video
After the video’s release, Belgrado called on the fans to participate in a ‘dancing contest’ through social media. The competition is still running and if you like busting a move, you should definitely have a go! For more info click here.

Team
Directed by Watergun (Rafa Pavon)
Director of Photography: Rafael Pavon
Executive Producer: Lucas de la Rúa
2nd Camera Operator: Ricardo Uhagón Vivas
Editor: Rafael Pavon + Bernadette Engel

Super special thanks and high five to: Lorena Peli, Fello Matallana, Lucy Zidour, Stefan Pavlovic, Gabe Ferrao, Erin Taj and Daniela de Angel.

Brief
Panasonic entrusted us with their new AG-3DA1 stereoscopic camera in order to a shoot a spec commercial for their new 3D plasma flat screen TVs. The commercial was shot in December 2010 in Los Angeles, as part of Affonso Beato’s 3D Cinematography class at the Art Center College of Design.

Idea and Process
Combining traditional Japanese puppetry Bunraku with cutting-edge stereoscopic technology, we travel inside a three-dimensional space, entering various scenarios that represent the diverse entertainment options that 3D television offers.

The inspiration for this project came from Basil Twist’s Dogugaeshi, influenced by the traditional Japanese stage mechanism of the same name.

A team of 20 accomplished puppeteers dressed in black cat suits animated the characters and the background’s moving components by hand. The shoot was great fun, but also a huge technical challenge that required meticulous preparation, so as not to break the stereoscopic parallax.

Here are some videos that inspired us in some way:

“Fútbol matrix” – Schneider

Tyger by Guilherme Marcondes

Beyond the video
PANASONIC are interested in using our video in promotional displays for their flat screen TVs. We have also been approached by THE LOS ANGELES 3D FILM FESTIVAL to use the video as a promotional tool for stereoscopic filmmaking.

Use Anaglyph 3D Glasses. If you don’t have, you can still watch the 2D version below.

Team
Directed by Watergun (Ricardo Uhagon Vivas)
Producer: Will Hemminger
Cinematographer: Chris Saul
Puppets by Sam Koji Hale & Sonya Palencia
Production Designer: Julie Chen
Art Director: Ann Hadlock
Prop Master: Eric Fisher
Props: Jom Rivers
Set dressers: Kira Harris and Jennie Cotterill
Editor: Aaron Warzynski
VFX Compositing: Gabe Valente Ferrao
Music: Dennis McCarthy
Sound Mix: Nacho Lopez
Cast: Jessica Tupas
Puppeteers: Eli Presser, Erik Finck, Saeko Igarashi, Jarek Khoilian, Erik Huso and Eduardo Vivas
Make Up: Pauline Noriega
1st Assistant Camera: Brian Williams
2nd Assistant Camera: Axel Lanzenberg
Gaffer: Yev Zhuk
Key Grip: Nik Wendelsdorf
Electric: Ryan McDonald

Special thanks and big high fives to Affonso Beato, Erik Anderson, Belen Ricoy, Christine Fraguela, Anuar Yahya and Ben Lazarus.

Brief
We love working with the Spanish pop singer El Pescao and Sony/BMG Spain. So we were delighted when they asked us to create a new music video for ‘Buscando el Sol’ that will make his fans go crazy and share like there was no tomorrow.

Idea and Process
Inspired by the slapstick comedies of the silent era, Watergun wanted to create an action-packed video bursting with dynamism and energy.

The idea was to combine forty short individual narratives into one three minute long video, with ten characters constantly changing their roles and costumes as they interact with El Pescao. In order to make all that possible, we played with camera and playback speed. The result is an hilarious tale of fun and frolics in a sun-drenched Spanish park.

Beyond the video
The video spread virally across the Internet. Soon countless fans from around the world began recreating the video and releasing their versions on different Internet platforms. People recreated the dance with friends, colleagues, in bars, and even at weddings!

Here are some examples:

But Watergun couldn’t leave it there. In March 2011, we successfully created a Flashmob, which saw over 700 people dancing in Plaza Santa Ana, Madrid.

‘Buscando el Sol’ was selected for the Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2011 in York, England.

Team
Directed by Watergun (Rafa Pavon + Ricardo Uhagon)
Produced by: Lucas R. de la Rúa

Cast: Tatiana Gallego, Patricia Ferreira, Carmen Ruiz de Huidobro + 1, Gonzalo Maldonado, Juan Murrieta, Miguel Pavón, Marina Roveta, Ezequiel Romairone, José Luis Sáenz de Heredia, Sergio de Arrola, Alberto Argoitia.

Team Flashmob
Camera Operators: Alberto Triano, Sergio de Arrola, Juan Murrieta and Rafa Pavón
Production: Lucas de la Rua
Production Assistants: Alvaro Espinosa de los Monteros, Eric Schockmel, Guillermo Ruiz-Pita, Mickey Pavón, Marina Roveta and Tatiana Gallego
Editor: Rafael Pavón