This was one of those projects that was just joyous from start to finish - unusual for what is essentially a safety video - but it turned into a fun and very creative project. Newcastle Castle asked me to produce a 'Welcome back from lockdown' video to assure patrons that the castle was safe to visit and to inform them of the safety measures they now had in place. They asked if I could take what could be a traditional, dry instructional video and add a lightness of touch and humour into into it, whilst keeping the seriousness of the messages.
I worked collaboratively with the Newcastle castle team on the script. The Newcastle team were keen to incorporate into the film two historical characters linked with the Castle - Mary Bruce and Sir Aymer. So I asked two well-known local voices to narrate the video as those characters; comedian Jason Cook and singer Kelly Rickard. I needed upbeat voices to take the script and give it some life - which they certainly did.
Next came the storyboard. I hit upon the idea of doing the entire piece as a medieval tapestry which would scroll from left to right showing the key messages - one continuous panning shot.
All the elements for the piece were designed in the style of the Bayeux tapestry with the exception of the two main characters who had a more finished illustrative style. They would exist outside the tapestry and introduce key messages.
Both myself and the team at Newcastle Castle are delighted with the finished piece which delivers important, serious messages in an original and entertaining way.
"I asked Scott to work on our 'Castle Safety - Coronavirus’ video as I was impressed with his work on a previous illustration project we worked on together. Scott went above and beyond in creating the animated tapestry concept, storyboarding, scripting, sourcing a background audio track and even finding and directing voice over actors. The process for us was so smooth from end to end. The results are exactly what we had hoped for and are very well received by our audience."
Ben Smith, CEO, The Heart of the City Partnership / Newcastle Castle