realtime:uk

Sony [SCEE]

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Following the success of previous intro animations created by RealtimeUK for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), the RealtimeUK team was called upon to produce a 90 second intro for the fifth game in the Buzz! series, Buzz! Hollywood.

SCEE’s brief contained a number of specific challenges. The intro had to reflect the Hollywood theme of the game as well as injecting all the glitz and glamour of the movies. It also had to feature the Buzz! Oscars. SCEE were confident in our proven creative skills and experience and gave our team substantial creative input on the project.

The animation features the original Buzz! characters in a series of iconic movie settings including Pelvis making an Indiana Jones style escape, a cowboy standoff between Buzz and Stevie and a heroic rescue of Gina by Ash from a silent movie villain. During each scene the characters are invited to the Buzz! Oscars.
From a creative point of view this was a more challenging project for the team than any of our previous Buzz! work.

As our Animation Director, Chris Fenna, explains “our task was to epitomise Hollywood and its vast array of movies into a 90 second intro, while at the same time ensuring that the content was instantly recognisable to the viewer. To achieve this we concentrated on three movie genres - western, silent and action adventure combined with a humorous behind-the-scenes sketch. Before proceeding we made use of some of the reference material SCEE provided us with, which included a Game Design document that helped us understand the concept, theory and content of the actual game.”

Once the movie genres had been determined, Chris then produced a synopsis for the intro that worked in the entire original Buzz cast. With this initial idea approved by SCEE, a full script and storyboard was developed.

As all Buzz! intros are dialogue-free, Buzz! Hollywood’s core strengths are its visuals, supported by sound effects and music to tell the story, reflect the genres and portray what the game is about.

For animation production, RealtimeUK utilised matte paintings to achieve some of the distant landscapes, particularly in the western scene. “Our main challenge for the environments was ensuring they stayed faithful to the movie genres” continues Chris. “We used Vue to render, which helped speed up render times especially with the silent movie scene which, because of all the vegetation, has a high polygon count.”

All characters were re-animated in their existing outfits, with the exception of Buzz, who was given a complete new wardrobe, including a tuxedo to wear at the Buzz! Oscars.
SCEE felt that the final animation far exceeded their expectations.

Tony Prosser, Managing Director at RealtimeUK, commented “our team have effectively captured the true essence of Hollywood and the theme of the game, ensuring it is a massive success. We always strive to deliver to the highest possible standard and believe this is one of our greatest assets”.

Realtime - Realising Reality

Sony [SCEE]