Chester Zoo: BEASTS
I worked as an animator on Chester Zoo's immersive installation, BEASTS. The project utilised 14 giant screens to create a 360-degree experience, complete with a floor and central pillar. The concept was conceived by acclaimed author, Jess French, drawing from her Beastlands series. This provided a wealth of source material that guided the production.
All screens required animations taking place in three different biomes. Each of these biomes consisted of a primary creature and many secondary creatures. I was responsible for primary and secondary creatures in the forest and mountain biomes, and a handful of secondary creatures in the cave environment. Having previously worked on the Printworks' digital ceiling project, I was experienced in working with large, complex scenes. I followed a similar method of creating a variety of animation cycles that could be used to populate these environments.
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Here are some of the cycles I created for these creatures.
Here are three of the 14 screens that composed the experience. The first is an unrendered preview of the forest and the second is the final result of the mountain scene. Here you can see how these cycles and bespoke animations were implemented, bringing the scenes to life
The most rewarding part of this experience was seeing people react to my work. It's always a delight to see a positive response, however, seeing people physically interacting with my animation was extremely fulfilling.
Responsible for animation only. Video credits Jess French and Flipbook Studio