Artjail Helps Visualize Going Clear

//  04.06.15


Artjail helps visualize the look of Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

 
The revelatory HBO Documentary Film Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, which debuted on the network to a record audience number on Sunday March 29, offers a rare glimpse behind the veil at the Church of Scientology. Before the curtain was lifted, New York-based VFX studio Artjail was enlisted by lauded documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney and Jigsaw Productions to help visualize the overall look he had in mind for his film.

Artjail was involved in working on many important aspects of the documentary. In particular, the studio designed the film’s important and impactful opening sequence (above), which drew viewers right into the mysterious inner world of of Scientology by depicting its peculiar “auditing” process. Artjail shot live-action footage and created the type design for the sequence.

“Working closely with Alex and his team, Artjail was responsible for giving vision to the filmmaker’s ideas,” said Arthur Portnoy, Executive Producer, Artjail. “We created a simple, elegant visual language for a film featuring a complex story spanning many years, many themes and many characters, both famous and not. There was a lot of collaboration in terms of how the type, graphics and animations looked and worked in the film until everyone was satisfied we had hit the right notes. In the end, it was well worth the effort.”

Using stock footage, CG and 2D elements, Artjail also created the animations for the film’s “Myth of Creation” sequence (below), which is narrated by L. Ron Hubbard himself. The animated footage is layered, creating a surreal and bizarre set of images that serve as a visual interpretation of Hubbard’s strange, sci-fi explanation for how the world was created. Impressionistic imagery was used throughout different parts of the film to illustrate some of the strange rituals and circumstances in which featured church members found themselves. These shots were filmed by Artjail creative director Steve Mottershead over a two-day shoot using Phantom and Bolex cameras.

“After our first meeting with Alex I came away feeling like we really connected,” said Mottershead. “It was the type of project that allowed for a lot of experimenting with different looks and techniques, which is always fun and ultimately rewarding. We are very pleased with the final film and glad we had the opportunity to play such a big role while working closely with such an insightful director.”

Artjail also worked on additional short animations, titles and graphics found throughout the film, as well as treating a vast number of archival still photographs. All in all, the studio executed eighty shots in the film, helping provide the work with it’s unified look and feel.

Credits: Myth of Creation Sequence
Director: Alex Gibney
Production Company: Jigsaw Productions
Design / VFX Studio: Artjail
Steve Mottershead- Creative Director
Tamir Sapir- Creative Director
Arthur Portnoy- Executive Producer
Lisa Starace- Senior VFX Producer
Melissa Fornabaio- VFX Producer
Chris Monico- Motion Designer/CG Artist
Hunter Hardesty- Motion Designer
Jade Milan- Motion Designer
Jie Yun Roe- Motion Designer
Ben Vaccaro- Flame Artist
Delano Samuels- VFX Assistant

Credits: Main title sequence for Jigsaw Productions / Alex Gibney’s “Going Clear”
Production Company / Design Studio: Artjail
Creative Director: Steve Mottershead
Creative Director: Tamir Sapir
Editor: Andy Grieve
Main Titles DP: Lee Towndrow
Designer / Animator: Chris Monaco
Motion Designer: Jade Milan
Executive Producer: Arthur Portnoy
Producer: Lisa Starace
Flame Artist: Ben Vaccaro
VFX Assistant: Delano Samuels





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