Animated Shorts are an effective solution for the promotion of Cultural Heritage. They appeal to and capture the attention of all age groups. The animated short film on the assault on the Greek Walls of Hipponion Valentia was totally created in computer graphics on the occasion of the restoration, enhancement and promotion of the Archaeological Park of Hipponion Valentia carried out by Co.Ge. s.r.l. for the Vibo Valentia City Council.
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The decision to make an animated short film came about following the inspections carried out on the archaeological site of the Greek Walls. The aim was to restore to the public the exact grandeur and strategic importance of the original structures, but given that today only a small part of these has survived, we were convinced that a film made from video footage alone would not be able to meet the expectations of the viewer.
After discussions with the Department of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of the
Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria and the Province of Vibo Valentia represented by the Officer in charge, Dr Fabrizio Sudano, with the archaeologist Dr Maria D’Andrea and
restorer Dr Marianna Musella, a three-dimensional model of the Greek Walls was created based on studies by German architect Thomas Aumüller, dating back to 1994, and by the archaeologist Paolo Orsi, carried out during excavation campaigns between 1916 and 1921.
A digitally reconstructed section of the Greek Walls was 3D printed in order to produce the storyboard, together with images of the characters and the environment surrounding the archaeological structures.
The drawing of the terrain that can be seen in the animated short was obtained from the three-dimensional aerial survey, remodelled and adapted for the purpose.
The armies were created using the three-dimensional modelling technique and the characters, as well as the General of the troops assaulting the walls, were post-produced in 2D.
The character that identifies the General of the troops of Hipponion, on the other hand, was created from the digital model of the body of a professional athlete.
To obtain the digital model, a specific shooting set was set up for the photographic poses aimed at obtaining the photo-realistic textures for covering the model and, using laser and optical scanners, the entire figure of the Athlete was acquired.
This is the backstage video of the model scan.
The resulting model is a digital copy of the original to which the war kit, clothing, cuirass, footwear and weapons such as the sword, shield and helmet have been added, the latter personalized in the “paragnatidi » with the head of a ram.
All the animation has been reworked with the cel-shading technique to enhance the final result of the entire animated short.
The animated short takes place in 3 minutes and 32 seconds (plus the opening and closing credits) for which over 750 hours of rendering were required with the use of workstations in parallel computing.
For the realization of the short, specific professional figures were employed for over two months such as: Level designers, 3D modelers, graphic designers, Actors (for the narrator), Technicians expert in Laser surveying and Photographers. In addition to the Coordinators, the Audio Technicians and the necessary support of the scientific advice of Dr. Rosanna Pesce, the Archaeologists and Restorers.
Credits:
animated short made by digi.Art Digital Services for Art on behalf of Co.Ge. S.r.l. as part of the restoration, enhancement and promotion of the Archaeological Park of Hipponion Valentia, for the Municipality of Vibo Valentia;
Supervision of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria and the Province of Vibo Valentia in the person of the Responsible Officer Dr. Fabrizio Sudano;
Animated short made by:
-digi.Art Digital services for Art and Cultural Heritage
–Artistic coordination, Rosanna Pesce;
–operational coordination, Giuseppe Musicò;
–3D aerial survey, Giuseppe Musicò;
–directed by Rosanna Pesce;
–first camera video shooting, Claudio Martino;
–second camera video shooting, Mikail Vadalà;
–photography, Claudio Martino;
–laser relief, Giuseppe Musicò;
–consultancy for 3D reconstruction, thanks to: Maria D’Andrea and Marianna Musella;
–3D reconstruction and 3D models in 3DS MAX, Antonio Tarantello;
–3D modeling and 3D models in Zbrush, Claudio Martino;
–storyboard, Giuseppe Musicò;
–secretary, Rossana Crucitti;
–Professional Athlete model, Giovanni Giuseppe Ambrogio;
–Audio and Video editing, Mikail Vadalà;
–video post production, Giuseppe Musicò;
–titles and graphics, Claudio Martino;
–narrator, Simone Martino;
–musics, bensound.com;