The Blind Captain : Documentary

Client : The Blind Captain Production

Project Type : 3D and 2D animations

Responsibilities : 3D Cartography Visualization, Conversation Overlay

Software Used : Cinema 4D, Dem Earth, After Effects, Photoshop

The Blind Captain follows the journey of Ahmet Ustunel, a blind educator and kayaker who attempts to independently cross the Bosporus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey. Navigating through one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, he uses adaptive technology to stay on course. The film has been supported by The Lighthouse for the Blind and The Berkeley Film Foundation. The documentary was filmed on location in Istanbul, Turkey and in San Francisco.

Two animations were needed. A map depicting the traveled route that Ahmet took across the Bosporus Strait from Asia to Europe and a phone text conversation overlaid on footage.

Behind the Scenes

Storyboards were produced to show a few options for concepts that tell the client story.

Styleframes were used to explore brand elements to drive the Motion Graphics.

An animatic was produced to determin timing and pacing.

The client wanted to have a fly-in animation with a semi-realistic look. The first pass was a bit too dynamic and a more subtle over head push-in was used in the end.

A more graphic painterly style was proposed as we dove into the process. In the end, the production team settled on a more realistic version to drive their story better.