A short film for the Museum of Fine Art Houston, used to generate funding during the holiday season and develop a sense of what the Museum has in its portfolio.
This was a unique journey. It is not everyday you are tasked with transporting viewers to a world filled with dragons and mazes. We wanted to tap into the feeling of being a child and the excitement that comes with a field trip. A pain point for our museum user is often museum have tons of walking which tire out children, as well as can be rather dry. The tiring out of children could also be a positive interaction if you ask their parents. What makes this museum different is The Museum of Fine Art Houston has an extensive collection of art that is interactive, making this a more enticing experience for our user.
When thinking about children in museums they make the infrastructure of a museum sustainable. Museums are built for adults but adults don’t always visit museums, it takes a full day, and that takes dedication. Children tap into the unmet needs. Children need to learn so adults take them to museums making them the ideal user to take us on this museum journey.
Children are more energetic, and their field of view is significantly shorter. I found myself pondering what would Ai Weiwei’s dragon look like, feel like, and make me react like if I was only 2 feet tall. It would be scary, exciting, and energetic. We took iconic well know masterpieces and conveyed them through the youthful user’s eyes.
This project was produced by Lovelane Productions, illustrated by Shruti Sharma, and animated by Jen Meller. It was an ultimate dream to animate some of the most whimsical art work of our time. I was tasked with bringing to life Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors and Ai Weiwei’s Dragon Reflection among other art works.
In order to achieve the notorious orange glow of the Infinity Mirrors, I build geometric lanterns in Adobe Illustrator. I felt it was important that the vectors have an actual glow level within After Effects so the vector could cast a shadow. In order to achieve this I worked with maxon’s uni.glo plugin and key framed a pattern for the lanterns to turn on and off.
Achieving the size and proper perspective of the Dragon so it appears both disconnected and connected in space was done by manipulating the perspective in After Effects. I rigged a camera and placed the assets in such a way that the Dragon sat at the same optical illusion it does at the museum in Houston.
