Recently they were invited to design the new identity and motion graphics for November's MTV European Awards ceremony held in The Point, Dublin; to be beamed out worldwide to millions if not billions of people around the globe.

We talk with Brian Williams, who co-owns the company along with Brian Nolan and and founder Jamie Helly about implementing one of the most coveted design contracts of the year.

Can you tell me how Dynamo was first approached by MTV to produce the designs for the MTV Europe awards? Was there heavy competition?

Tim Morris in Film House was contacted first to produce the animation but there was no creative partner to design the look and logo for the awards, so he suggested Dynamo. We have worked with Film House a lot over the past year on projects for TV3 and Iona Technologies and the partnership proved very successful for both parties. Once Film House recommended us we put together a pitch for MTV. At that stage there was no brief, so the creative work was very loose but did enough for us to win the pitch. Competition was heavy but we were never privy to what the other creative houses got up to and who were involved.

What was involved in the project?

It was a vast rambling project that took on an almost organic form, as the style of the core animation dictated the overall look of the project.The logo was completed very quickly early in the year as many of the sponsors needed it ASAP. Then the concepts for the main show opening credits were storyboarded, rejected, storyboarded, visualised, refined etc. over a period of a month. Running alongside this were the category concepts; best album animation etc. and all the surround show animations, ie. the programmes that air before the show on MTV, previews of the awards show and the artists up for awards.

In total there were 15 separate animations, each 10 to 20 seconds long, plus the main show animation which was 45 seconds long, the award category nominations during the show, break bumpers for every show and end credits for some. Style guides for all type and supers had to be produced plus tapes of all core elements without type, mattes and keys had to be produced for editors around Europe each of whom were producing there own programmes for all the MTV territories. This was only the on-air material, but we also produced core elements for the print side and for web applications which MTV designers then used for posters tickets and web sites throughout Europe.

How long were you given to complete the project?

The project was spread over a year in fits and starts with deadlines moving and shifting all the time and new deadlines emerging for new aspects of the project at different times. Overall I would imagine it was about two people working solidly for two months.

How many people were involved in the MTV project?

On the creative side in Dublin, 4 people. It started in Dynamo with Jamie Helly and myself. At first, Jamie produced the initial logo and the character (dubbed Fergus by MTV). Then the two of us worked on the concepts for the main show animation. Once that was approved I worked on the look and style of the animation. I produced detailed stills and rough animations for approval by MTV and once that was achieved it was handed over to Film House to begin the process of filling in the storyboard blanks as it were. Ronan Coyle was responsible for the animation, with Tim Morris co-ordinating the delivery aspects. We would art direct in Film House once the main animation was underway and concentrate on producing all the surround show aspects in-house here in Dynamo.

What were you aiming to bring to the MTV identity, given its irish slant?

After we pitched for the project, the work, although deemed highly creative, was thought to be too 'wacky'. MTV gave us a full brief that was very concise in style, not so much in content. They wanted it to be Irish, not too contemporary and not too old-fashioned. The reason for this is that it was airing to the world and every year the awards must reflect the country completely in the logo and animation. We were straight-jacketed immediately into 'green' and 'mystical'. In the early concepts we tried to bring more of a trainspotting 'cool' to the animation but in the end we had to revert to more of a 'Braveheart' approach. Once things were up and running, we tried to keep the animation slick and exciting with good use of Oisin Lunny's music.

Were you worried about hamming up the 'oirish' aspect to Ireland's identity?

Yes. Terrified. Still cringe a bit.

Can you explain the animation sequences at the awards - what was the inspiration for the sequences and the figure motif?

Every year the opening sequence is a journey from A to B with some kind of hero character(s). We reveal that our character 'Fergus' who is human in basic form, yet other-worldly inhabits this mystical world that is neither modern or ancient. He's there hanging out with his mates in this huge canyon-like labyrinth with what appear to be weapons slung over there shoulders. They move off gathering more numbers as they progress through this strange land, finally meeting on the crest of a giant amphitheatre, a seemingly opposing and aggressive band of creatures. Two characters clash in the centre of the amphitheatre, which is a giant speaker, and as they do, it's clear that they are there not to make war, but to party. The camera pulls up through the canyon following the revellers to reveal that all the action was happening within the MTV logo. The MTV logo is an island in the sea...

what software was used in the creation of the animations - talk us through the process...

For all concepts, Adobe After Effects, Cinema 4D (3D Models), Adobe Illustrator, KPT Bryce 3D (Landscapes), and Adobe Photoshop. Then in Film House; Soft Image and Flint. All the look and feel was created in Dynamo and approved by MTV for the main animation, then any roughs and models were passed to Film House along with the storyboards and they would flesh out the animation in Soft, rendering out low resolution roughs and stills as the process progressed between ourselves. Then higher resolution sections were produced for approval by MTV until the animation was complete. We would produce the other surround show segments here in Dynamo using generic sections produced by Film House (shots of the main animation using different camera angles) blurred, re-comped, layered, with new 3D and 2D segments created in Dynamo using Adobe After Effects, Cinema 4D and Bryce.

Were there any hair-raising moments when you felt you weren't going to meet the deadline or things weren't working out...

Yes. But I don't want to be reminded of them. Nothing too, as they say, 'Mission Critical'...

If you could change one thing with the MTV awards project, what would it be?

'Oirish'

Is this the largest and highest profile project Dynamo has been involved in? What other design projects have Dynamo been involved in?

We have many huge projects on the print side of Dynamo that are always on-going and dwarf MTV in every aspect but in terms of single projects, TV3's brand identity would be a contender as would be Tg4's. Red Stripe Beer is another very high profile client and Esat Telecom. Iona technologies, though, would be the biggest and most involved project we have ever undertaken in terms of covering every aspect of design and our resources here in Dynamo. Covering packaging for all their products, web design, brochures, exhibitions all around the world, corporate videos and independent design styles for Iona World Conferences in the States and Asia. On the TV front; Tg4 and TV3 have been huge projects for us but we have done commercials for Coke in America and several commercials here and opening titles for programmes like District Detective Unit on RTE.

You have also created the TV3 and TG4 identities - what makes designing for a tv station different to designing for print? is it more exciting/flexible?

5:4, the ratio constricts as does the resolution. But what you lose in terms of detail and restraint of size you more than make up for in the simple fact that everything can MOVE over time. It is, for me, more exciting, but for many designers that is not the case and most of the designers in Dynamo like to work in print and motion. I love the motion side. Clients find it hard to ask for changes as easily when type and images move!

What are some of your favourite tv station identities?

Channel 4, without a doubt, and of course BBC, but in Europe it has to be the Neville Brody-designed ORF in Germany.

Do you think design companies today need to be more diverse, and involved in more visual medias?

Not necessarily, as the technical demands on designers are becoming greater and more varied and this can, I think, dilute the craft of design as we dabble in every application. I think, though, it is necessary to have in place experts within the company who know about these aspects ie. web, as one can find oneself having to re-do a design due to technical restraints, after having shown the client an amazing concept for a web site with all the bells and whistles, only to find it would take several minutes to download each page. It's still the craft of design first, then understanding the media you are applying the solution to, allied with a good and full understanding of all technical issues. Only then can you diversify.

Designing for the internet is increasingly involving more and more design companies, do you see this as a new and exciting area to design for?

Yes. At first I think most established design houses were sceptical of the web as marketing budgets were transferred to the web to no effect in the mid 90's and then abandoned. But with the streamlining and definition of the usefulness of the web and the explosion of eCommerce, I think design houses are doing what they do best now; designing, and working in a strategic alliance with web authors who know how to implement technically the designer's vision. Ultimately it's down to client trends and if they are earning money from the web, we will design more and more for the web, depending on market trends.

What are some of your favourite designs/designers currently out there?

Rian Hughes, Blue Source, Niall Sweeney, Pentagram, Deep End, Metadesign, Landor.

Where do you think design is going in the next 5-10 years - do you think designing for print will become less and less important?

No. I don't think it will become less important but I think it will be overtaken by the demand and speed of the web. A month to re-do a brochure with a limited amount of people you can reach, a couple of days to re-do a web site and the potential of billions?

Recently Enterprise Ireland produced a report on the design industry in ireland stating that the industry lacked co-ordination, leadership and support, and was poor at marketing its services to industries, what do you think of the state of the Irish design industry and the report?

Visual illiteracy and parochialism among marketing people and clients is the biggest problem for design companies, allied with poor training in designers and, yes, an inability to sell our products as an expert and not a taste issue. The subject is far too big to go into here and it often depresses me.

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