With his small Kyiv studio closed due to the Russian occupation, director/3D artist Anatolii Belikov regroups his scattered team virtually to craft visuals for the Pitch Music & Arts Festival in Australia.

Anatolii Belikov: “This is a non-commercial project since we did it for a small (somewhat symbolic) budget over a few months. So it’s not about profit but having fun and experimenting. The images were used for the digital campaign, on-stage visuals, and outdoor installations.

“Pitch is a music, visual arts, and camping festival, where people go and have a good time in nature – that’s why there are so many nature elements in our video. In order to keep that connection.
 

“We took techniques from 80-90s B-movies (mostly horror and sci-fi) and mimicked them. Basically, VFX before CG. Somehow practical effects, even if we know they aren’t real, feel more real than photoreal CG.”

 
“There were two creative approaches to the film: first, Surreal Bonsai. Make a bonsai composition from Pitch branding objects as accurately as possible so they would feel grounded and then mix them up in an unrealistic fashion through surreal scenes.

“Second, re-think the standard approach to animations in modern 3D. We took techniques from 80-90s B-movies (mostly horror and sci-fi such as robotronics, reversed footage, timelapse, and stop-motion) and mimicked them. Basically, VFX before CG. Somehow practical effects, even if we know they aren’t real, feel more real than photoreal CG.

“Before the Russian occupation started we had a studio in Ukraine. Now my partner and I are in Berlin, one designer just moved to the UK, and the rest are still in Ukraine. We donate money to Ukrainian NCOs from any project we take on.”
 
 

 
Client: Pitch Music and Arts Festival
Creative Director: Georgia Treloar
2D Design: Georgia Treloar

Creative Director: Anatolii Belikov
3D Design: Anatolii B, Mykyta K , Yurii Kh, Yaroslav K

Sound Design and Music: Seb Bruen @ Three Peaks Music