"Blame Game" - Drone UI Design
I was approached by VFX Supervisor Florian Decker from nhb studios to work on the spy thriller "Blame Game" creating authentic screen graphics to support the narrative in the film.
Philipp Leinemann's award-winning feature film tells a gripping story about the German intelligence agency BND and their involvment with the CIA as well as political and industrial parties.
I was commissioned to design all the UI and HUD elements of the MQ-1 Predator drone. This included wide full frame UI screens but also multiple 4:3 UI screens that were composited on top of the empty displays on set. During the research it was identified that there are actually two different sets of graphics. One for the pilot and one for the weapons officer, that shows some different info and graphics.
The full frame in-flight version of the pilot UI. It is extended to accommodate the wide format. The same design elements were then repurposed in the 4:3 format, which were then placed on top of the real screens on set.
All the UI elements were designed entirely in After Effects as shape layers to be fully flexible with the look as well as the animation. The flight footage was provided and was filmed from a flying quadrocopter. However as this footage always had straight horizon, dynamic flight movements were added by rotating the footage and linking the UI graphics (e.g. the horizon and climb ladder) to the animated footage.
It was important to maintain an authentic visual language that plays along nicely with the film's narrative, especially to support key plot points like the drone strike and the explosions.
Credits:
Blame Game directed by Philipp Leinemann
Post Production: nhb studios
VFX supervisor: Florian Decker
CG Drone & CG C-160: Robert Hranitzky
Film distributed by PROKINO Filmverleih GmbH
Available on Blu-Ray & DVD as well as VOD
