What We Do in the Shadows S5
BGSTR designed and animated the wayward vampires of What We Do In the Shadows for the promotion of season five of the FX Networks hit series. We played with the design for bats, dolls, evil eyes and other show iconography until we hit the perfect note to promote the newest season of the vampire mockumentary.
Having been lucky enough to work on the first season of WWDITS, our team was particularly excited to revisit the series four seasons later to design a promotional package ahead of the fifth season. With the show now being a bona fide hit for the network, the FX team had requested an overall lift of the series and the BGSTR was ready to put our stamp on the design.
Pitch Design Frames
We flexed our collective muscle and pitched a ton of creative looks to our partners at FX ranging from 3D puppets to floating eyeballs to vampy vampires. The look that resonated with the FX team the most we termed tempora resist— consisting of the use of darks and silhouettes and playing with the concepts of light and shadow.
Additional Pitch Frames
BGSTR worked with our friend Steve Fuller on the concept art— he handpainted a lot of the art and created the vibes that are infused throughout the concept. The little imperfections from the hand-painting add a human touch, enhancing the tactile feel and really making the design stand out.
Guillermo AE Workflow v. Final
From there, BGSTR’s Casey Drogin took the lead with animation, adding the movement the design craved and kitsch necessary to match the tone of the series. Our animation team used a combination of effects, taping layers and bringing them to life in After Effects. We used a lot of cel animation, working frame by frame to keep the production value high and the feel of the edit premium.
Bat - Cel Animation Breakdown
“It was a fun challenge to mix hand-drawn animation with the rigorous standards of a complete broadcast package. We had to systemize every aspect of our style, down to the individual brush stroke blood drips!”
What We Do in The Shadows has been a hugely successful series for FX, and they’ve evolved the show in such a fun way that we wanted to create a design that matched its energy. Our partners at the network are so talented and it’s always fun to work with them on creating elements that are uniquely compelling. We’re really pleased with how the promotional design turned out, and love being part of the continued success of this series.
Founder, Executive Creative Director
Josh Norton
EVP / Executive Producer
Carson Hood
Vice President, Head of Production
Virgil Conklin
Creative Director, Designer
Ross Henderson
Lead Designer
Steve Fuller
Animation Director
Casey Drogin
Animation
Sohyun Park, Ayden Ackerman
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