MYTH MACHINE
Design, Animation and Compositing
A four-part documentary series delving into the story of Israel - through the myths and legends, the facts and the fables that we told, and were told, throughout 75 years.
TITLE SEQUENCE
The series required a title sequence that would establish the themes, goals, and ethos of the show, while also serving as a framing device.
It showcases the set and setting to establish a location for the interviews, enabling viewers to grasp a sense of place and scale in what essentially constitutes an archival and interview-based documentary.
The masterful score by Avi Belleli ties everything together.
THE SET
A square of soil floats between a eucalyptus and an olive tree on a bright white limbo.
The set was designed to convey a sense of scale and a museum or gallery presence—something iconic, yet familiar.
The archival footage was divided onto three screens, and the footage was cut and offset to reveal slightly different content on each screen.
Technically, this posed a considerable challenge.
Every dolly shot was tracked, and the trees and archival materials were composited in.
Every dolly shot was tracked, and the trees and archival materials were composited in.
Specially shot camera moves of the set were taken for the archival footage and animated stills.
PLANTING A TREE
A bit of a more technical glimpse behind the scene.
First Yaniv Shimoni illustrated a magnificent olive tree.
As the goal was not a realistic looking tree but that feels grounded in the scene we had to find a pipeline that enabled that. As the in-set dolly shots moved through 3d space, the need arose to model it in 3d while keeping the whole scene light on render time allowing the show to go through post quite rapidly.
As the goal was not a realistic looking tree but that feels grounded in the scene we had to find a pipeline that enabled that. As the in-set dolly shots moved through 3d space, the need arose to model it in 3d while keeping the whole scene light on render time allowing the show to go through post quite rapidly.
I modeled the tree in Blender in low poly- using the illustration as texture. Imported it into after effects using Element3d and, remembering an old 3d games trick - used png planes with deformer animation for the foliage.
The whole virtual set had to be fast and responsive and by the end it was rendered in just a few minutes.
The whole virtual set had to be fast and responsive and by the end it was rendered in just a few minutes.
A Series by: Uri Rosenwaks
Animation, Compositing and Design: Dotan Goldwaser
Illustration: Yaniv Shimoni
2023
MUSIC VIDEO
Each time I complete a project, I get the sensation that now we truly comprehend how to execute it perfectly. With this endeavor, we had the opportunity to experiment and refine our approach.
Prior to the show's premiere, we produced a music video for a song by Ester Rada, who also served as the narrator for the series.