Join UK director and motion designer Simon Russell as he takes us through the creative and technical challenges of his intricate and hypnotic new personal work ROTATOR, a short film based on visual and audio symmetry.

Simon Russell: “The whole animation is a palindrome, that is, it reads the same forwards as it does backward. (The word ‘rotator’ is also a palindrome). The project started as a continuation from my pen plots, where I created 3D structures from sound. I wanted to try and create an animated version of those structures.

“The first thing I did was create an audio track, mixing samples and bits and pieces in Ableton. I also used Houdini’s audio tools to create the accelerating bass drum and notch filter effect. I then duplicated and reversed the audio for the second half.

“For the animation, I used the audio analysis in Houdini to drive the flowing rings, basically it’s a stereo graphic equalizer that emits particles and allows geometry to be created directly from the audio file. This process is then reversed for the second half so the particles are sucked back in.
 

For the animation, I used the audio analysis in Houdini, it’s a stereo graphic equalizer that emits particles and allows geometry to be created directly from the audio file.

 
“The particles use sprite animations, these were created in After Effects and then output as sprite sheets to be used in Houdini. I output the passes from Houdini in Open GL, basically a viewport render, so it was pretty quick even at 4K.

“I then composited the piece in After Effects and finalized the audio in Ableton and Premiere. The audio still felt a bit cold so I asked a friend of mine, composer Alex Eckford, to create string elements for me to layer in to create a softer, more cinematic feel.

“I created a font for the piece too. This isn’t something I’ve done before but the idea came from designer David Rudnick who creates fonts for each project he makes. I used Fontself which works as a plugin inside Illustrator and is pretty easy to get to grips with.

“I wanted the font to be geometric and techy but also quite cryptic. I referenced Tibetan typography and Nordic runes and just tried to get a nice balance with each glyph. It was nice to have a font I could then reuse as a design element throughout.

“Creatively it’s nice not to have a deadline. For example, I spent quite a long time working out what’s in the middle of the piece. I eventually settled on the most straightforward solution (a white nothing). But it was good to be able to try a variety of things without client pressure.”
 

 
Director/animator: Simon Russell

Sound design: Simon Russell
Music: Alex Eckford