This year, the Latvian Television programme Kultūršoks has unveiled a new visual and sound identity, created by artist Roberts Rūrāns, animator Eduards Balodis, and sound designer Pēteris Pāss. The programme’s opening sequence, or theme animation, depicts a detective moving through a rich and colourful cultural landscape, following the trail of a «problem thistle»
Artist Roberts Rūrāns says that his intention in creating the new visual identity for Kultūršoks was to create a character that would personify the programme and invite viewers to follow how events unfold. All the action in the programme’s theme takes place in a bright and abstract world reminiscent of architect Ricardo Bofill’s colourful «labyrinths». An investigator follows a thistle, which represents current problems causing turmoil in the cultural world as he travels through various spaces that represent different cultural fields. Roberts points out that the arts depicted in the animation — music, visual art, and theatre — were chosen because they can be successfully represented visually, allowing the viewer to instantly grasp what the programme is about.
Early on in the animation process, it was decided to focus on movement and frame editing, which allows the story to be told in a compact and gradual manner, with its own dynamic arc. «The main antagonist — the sharp thistle — was chosen not only on a symbolic level, as a problem, injustice, or absurdity, but also as a driving force, determining the dynamics of the animation and pulling the frames together in montage jumps,» says animator Eduards Balodis.
The tension and mystery characteristic of detective stories are conveyed in the animation through the sound design, which at times takes on an almost ominous tone. «The show often deals with very serious topics and digs deep to get to the root of the matter. That’s why I wanted to create a feeling similar to the beginning of a detective film,» says Pēteris Pāss. The sound design for the show was created in Ableton and Pro Tools, sampling various sounds, while music was created with UVI Falcon.
The elements and mood used in the theme continue throughout the rest of the programme’s visual, motion, and sound design, which, along with the intro, includes the end credits, the names of the programme participants, transition graphics, and background panels. Eduards emphasises that, compared to the intro animation, the most important aspect in creating the other elements is the practical side and the ability to easily adapt them to changing needs, which is why the moving elements are animated in a simpler way.
Kultūršoks episodes are available on the Latvian public media platform Replay.lv.
Viedokļi