Exhibit Designers: ZED Creative
Producer: ZED Creative
Production: ZED Creative and Raygun Media Ltd
Hardware Installation: Piranha

Project: Project Management, 3D modelling and texturing, animation, printed interpretation boards, video production, green screen filming, compositing, etc.
Created with: Modo, Cinema4D, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, InDesign

Newport Kiln has been described as “the most remarkably well preserved medieval pottery kiln in the UK”, and it was clear when we visited the site that there were a number of ways to bring its story to life. Not all the options had been considered when the tender brief was put together, so we embarked on a period of design and development before the final route was agreed.

With the brief finalised, we began by recreating the kiln as a high-resolution 3D model. The existing parts of the kiln had already been 3D scanned, and we were supplied with these files. We then recreated the missing top section as described and directed by the project’s archaeologists, as well as a small section of the surrounding landscape.
At the heart of the project is a film, produced by us, which tells the kiln’s story. This film features the kiln model, along with 3D animation, 2D motion graphics, and actors filmed against a green screen and composited into the 3D scene. We also worked with an illustrator to produce a flyover sequence of the town – this would have been very expensive to recreate in 3D. The completed film is projected onto a large, bespoke screen inside the kiln room.

We also produced a set of wall-mounted interpretation boards, with illustrations commissioned from Carmarthen School of Art, and we designed two further interactive elements: a flip-up panel and a pottery trail. The trail (a series of ceramic plaques produced by a local potter) gives young visitors the chance to seek out a number of hidden sherds, which when assembled correctly, form a pot.

The final show included:
• Large projection show with English and Welsh voice-overs and subtitles
• Automatic show trigger (infra red detectors)
• Viewer triggered controls for the video
• Choreographed lighting show to time with the video
• 16 printed interpretation boards – English and Welsh
• A series of illustrations were commissioned through the local art college
• Bespoke built physical interactives

The full video presentation is available on-line, but we have been asked to keep it password protected, if you would like to see it, please get in touch and we would be happy to send you the links.