The team over at JUST challenged us this year with another big Fanfest reward. You might remember last year's Fanfest reward resulted in the "Beauty of Eve" video I created for it. This is that reward once again, but this time in honor of YC128 they asked us to create something that showcased the pure essence of Eve Online in only 128 seconds. Talk about a challenge.
Eve is so many things. To so many people. How do you encapsulate it all down into a tiny bit over 2 minutes? This was my challenge and I love a great challenge. I spent a lot of time thinking about this problem and trying to find a powerful creative solution that would apply to all Eve players, the miners, the pirates, the transporters, the null-sec warriors - everyone. Eventually I came to the conclusion that there is really one thing that unites us all - our journey through the game. Our journey learning skills, evolving into bigger and bigger ships, moving into new space, adapting to ever growing changes. But ultimately the journey from newbro into seasoned veteran. And visually, well how else to showcase that journey than through our spaceships and those incredible moments when we do something new for the very first time?
That is what "First Undock" is all about. The double meaning behind that title is the entire basis on which I built this video. Our first undock is a memorable moment in time, but one that we must live through each and every time we exit a station or a structure. We first must undock. And once I had that creative thread up and running in my head the rest was how best to execute that vision?
The reward requested a timer be running. So I designed and illustrated a UI timer that I could animate and then set about figuring out how to make that work. The idea of the ships being centered came to me as I was undocking the rookie ship from station. And that theme quickly became the anchor around which I would build the entire structure of the piece. Visually this technique is used to create an anchor for your eye during quick edits so they are less jarring and it creates a mental thread in your mind as you watch, which is exactly what I wanted. It visually illustrates the journey.
I'm really proud of this one and I hope you enjoy it.
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