Michael Hoepfel
Chodowiecki Str. 20
10405 Berlin
++49 30 37 30 48 33
hoepfel@meso.net
- Project: Science Magazine Q21
- Date: April 2003 - December 2003
- Client: Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln
- Tasks: On-Air Design, Set Design, Hardware Tool Development
- http://www.wdr.de/tv/q21
The science magazine Q21 was conceived as a format with especially aesthetic coherence. To achieve this both on-air-design and set-design were developed in closest cooperation. The result was a novelty to WDR´s broadcasting where prerendered, live recorded and realtime generated/projected material merged smoothly with each other and achieved a distinctive overall impression. The set mainly consisted of spanned gossamer to be projected on by means of a self developed, easy to use unit for live-direction.
This device allows to generate animated studio backgrounds or monitor feeds with currently imported image material just before production or even right at the set – if program changes require it.
The magazine´s opener starts with a drop falling into the screen. Like ink within water it produces streaks that shape an abstract creature which evolves and finally shapes the logo. The Q21 logo consists of two counter-spinning light trails that pulse continuously and create a steady movement.
The desired bionic impression was furtheron achieved by self programmed visualizations of “strange attractors”. With even minimal changes of their parameters these mathematical structures permute their organic appearance and provide endess ressources for visuals.
Q21 was broadcasted from Januar 2004 – December 2006.