Brit Awards
Ravi Deepres collaborates with Wayne McGregor and University students and staff to create the opening of the Brit Awards 2016.
Ravi Deepres (Professor in Moving Image and Photography), in collaboration with choreographer Wayne McGregor, has directed and created the film and photographic animation sequences for the opening of The Brit Awards 2016 which lit up London with a stunning visual display which opened the showpiece event. He collaborated with his talented core team of Steven Spencer and Luke Unsworth to create the sequences featuring specially shot sequences of presenters and Ant and Dec, dancers from Studio WayneMcGregor and The Brits School. The damcers were choreographed wearing incredible costumes designed by Philip Pugh and together with Stuart Price’s intensifying music anddesigner Es Devlin’s wonderfully fragmented zoetrope section screens became the canvas for a stunning interactive cross art form spectacle. Screens became dancers, dancers became screens.
Presenters Ant and Dec and a series of dancers were transformed using live action, photographic stop motion and 3D laser scanning techniques which were projected onto dozens of screens to create an immersive multi screen animation across the 20,000 seater venue.
The displays which showed zoetrope style sequences was intercut with a 1920's film sequence featuring Ant and Decalso wowed millions of viewers tuned in on TV screens across the country. The ideas for the piece were inspired by Muybridge, Jules etienne Maray and Vertov's "Man with a movie camera'. We used a direct replica of Vertov's camera which became a centrepiece interactive prop for the filming with Ant and Dec.
Deepres also enlisted the support of several members of the University’s School of Visual Communication staff and students who were given key assistant and content creation roles for the testing and production phases which included shoots in London and editing on set. The initial testing and editing phases of the project were produced in house at BCU using the studios, edit suites and the great support of the Photography and Media technicians.
Professor Deepres said: “To be asked to take part in such a high profile project by Wayne and the Brits for such a well-loved event was an honour and a great creative challenge. I have a long history of working alongside Wayne McGregor and his fantastic dance company and together this collaboration brought our ideas to life and made the visual aspects as stunning as they looked on the night. The fact that so many of the University’s staff and students were involved in this piece of work is not just testament to the skills and expertise here, but also demonstrates the kind of real-world experience and state of the art facilities we are able to give to the next generation of creatives.”
Professor Deepres and Mr McGregor have worked together for over a decade, including on a series high profile ballet, dance, opera productions as well as producing many film and photographic works.
University student William Marler said: "This project is the best thing I've worked on so far, being given the opportunity to assist with early experiments, taking those onto the two shoot days, editing and animating the footage and finally being invited backstage to preview the work in the venue. Seeing and hearing the piece in the venue was one of the most awe inspiring moments of my life, the vibrations of the sound really hit my body and made my heart race, really made me very proud. One of the best aspects of the project was being involved in a creative way, not just pushing buttons but being an influence into some of the ideas and problem solving methods. I was allowed to be on the front line as it were and have a lot of constant input.”
