The team at Moonraker VFX discuss making great TV remotely for Netflixs new series History 101
By Contributor
Published: May 21, 2020
The team at Moonraker VFX discuss making great TV remotely for Netflix's new series History 101
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> The team at Moonraker VFX discuss making great TV remotely for Netflix's new series History 101
https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/is-it-possible-to-create-high-end-content-while-working-remotely title=Share via Email class=share-email>
With film crews set to return to work under restricted circumstances and production companies likely to be working from home for the foreseeable future, the TV industry is facing a novel challenge. Producing new content is essential in keeping viewers engaged, but how can this be achieved by a dispersed team?
History 101, a new type of documentary series produced by ITN Productions, debuts on Netflix in the UK on 22nd May. The series shines a light on how new content could be created under these new conditions, and Moonraker's animations were on the front line of making this possible.
Completed earlier in the year, prior to lockdown, it's easy to say History 101 is eerily forward-thinking in that the production was compiled solely with a combination of stock footage and animation, requiring no filming at all.
Delving into a diverse range of subjects, from robots to HIV/AIDs to nuclear power, the show takes viewers on a historical journey through unique archive footage. Each episode examines the importance of the topic and its significance in the world today.
Building narrative and visual identity through animation Working with a collection of shots from ITN's archive, Bristol-based VFX studio Moonraker were tasked with the creative challenge of illustrating the complex historical narrative behind the footage whilst also creating a visual identity unique to the show something that was impossible to achieve with archival shots alone. This was delivered through playful animated sequences, to create an overarching style over varied topics, presenting information to the audience in an engaging and humorous way.
From the outset, the challenge for the Moonraker team was to create a coherent style across such a broad range of complicated historical subjects and high volume of animations. Alex Dilworth, senior art director of the series, explains: The challenge with archive footage is it can feel quite distant, our role was to inject humour and interest through animation, helping illustrate the complicated ideas within each episode in a fun way and bring the programme together stylistically.
The team used a host of tools from the Adobe CC suite alongside C4D to create the animated content, which provided a stylistic identity to the series. Incorporating 3D and 2D animation, Moonraker were also keen to reference a range of animation styles, with the aim of adding further depth to the series whilst also bringing the stock footage, and all episodes, together using a consistent artistic style.
Executive director, Simon George, comments: The animation and design elements for History 101 were critical for two reasons. Firstly, for providing clean and dynamic information sections for the viewers, and secondly in forming the overall identity for the show.
Producing content with remote teams While History 101 sets a precedent for how production companies can revisit old footage and repurpose it into new content that appeals to modern audiences, the combination of animation and stock footage is also a process that can be effectively replicated as the industry continues to work remotely.
Scott Metcalfe, who produced the series at Moonraker, is confident that the process can be repeated for future productions: The way this project worked, using stock footage and then collaborating as a team to create the visuals, coupled with how we can work remotely, means we could do another series almost immediately, he says.
We could tackle any subject now with virtually no obstacles, even in lockdown conditions.
Adapting to change Even before lockdown, Moonraker has been working hard to replicate the systems and dynamics of the studio at home to facilitate home working. With a combination of early planning and remote logins, Moonraker artists are able to access the studio network and machines from their home devices.
Alex Dilworth, who recently joined Moonraker as senior art director, says this foresight is the reason the team have been able to transition relatively seamlessly to a new way of working. The reason we can work almost as efficiently at home is due to having access to our studio systems. The whole network is still there , he says.
In terms of the creative process and working collaboratively as a team, channels such as Slack have been an effective way to facilitate the informal conversations of the studio, whilst pipeline tools such as Shotgun enable the team to share and edit footage.
Dilworth concludes, I am sure we will see many more programmes revisiting archive material in the upcoming months as the industry looks for innovative ways to produce fresh content. That being said, nothing replaces the collaborative process you get from the studio.
SubscribeFor more stories like this, and to keep up to date with all our market leading news, features and analysis, sign up to our newsletter here.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Marshall Electronics is showcasing a comprehensive lineup of next-generation POV cameras, purpose-built to power today's connected AV environments, at InfoC...
01/06/2026
Adobe Announces Concept to Vector
Deepa Subramaniam June 1, 2026
0 Comments
One of the biggest frustrations we hear from designers is how difficult it...
01/06/2026
Vampire Feature Night Patrol Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton June 1, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist shapes dark, gritty tone for horror thri...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Mardi 2 juin 14h00
FilmLight (ARRI), 10 rue Ren Boulanger, 75010 Paris
Rejoignez-nous pour d couvrir comment FLAPI (l'API FilmLight) peut transformer e...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
31/05/2026
Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty member will debut her choral symphony with...
31/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Wins 15 Awards at the Canadian Screen Awards - See Pho...
31/05/2026
Taiwan is home to more than 500 NVIDIA ecosystem partners. More than 1 million N...
31/05/2026
As factories move from isolated automation to plant-wide intelligence, manufacturers need AI systems that can connect live machine signals, quality systems, wor...
31/05/2026
The NVIDIA AI Cloud ecosystem is accelerating the global buildout of AI factory infrastructure. Partners are expanding capacity to meet growing demand from ente...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
The team at Moonraker VFX discuss making great TV remotely for Netflixs new series History 101
