While we have been creating event backgrounds for many clients for many years, we first encountered sporting events in 2019 thanks to the “Impact” event agency. The LED wall loop for the FINA Water Polo World League final was originally only intended to be a background for a fashion show, but due to its great success, it was used throughout the entire tournament. We really liked the nearly 40-meter format because we had never encountered such a size before and began consciously positioning ourselves in the direction of sports. This is how we were hired for the final of the 2019 BENU Hungarian Cup, where we were able to work on a single giant panel. At this time, there were already rumors that we had a chance to win the European Championship.
The main rehearsal for the project was ultimately the group drawing ceremony at the Sofitel Hotel on October 22, 2019. The commission was accompanied by a significant amount of stress because the event took place months before the European Championship and the preparations had barely begun, but the visuals had to meet the final international event standard. This is how it happened that we had only a few days to design the entire event’s animation identity. The graphic materials were thankfully already ready, so we didn’t have to start from scratch, but at that particular moment, no one had ever seen an EB-branded moving image. Since we knew that the design we created would inevitably continue to ring in the tournament identity, we worked day and night to achieve the best possible result.
The Drawing Ceremony itself included a large central LED panel and 4 televisions, and we also produced the television program’s interstitial wishes and other inserts. As it was a group draw, we worked a lot with flags, which appeared in a spectacular animation as they were drawn. The main problem was that the 2D design of the EB, consisting of splashes, was not necessarily the most visually striking on motion picture, as it was primarily designed for print. The situation was further complicated by the fact that the client was the International Swimming Federation, LEN, with whom we could hardly communicate in the short time available. Huge thanks go to event director Krisztina Kovács, who served as a protective net for us throughout the entire EB, without whom the work would never have been created.
The draw was successfully completed, both on site and on television, and we were able to calm our frayed nerves, but not for a long time. As everyone was satisfied with how the draw looked, we suddenly became the main contenders for the big event. After a lot of coordination, organization, back and forth, and several full-day meetings, it was announced just a few weeks before the event, in late 2019, that the Mimicry team would be creating all the animations for the 34th LEN Water Polo European Championship.
During the 2020 34th LEN Water Polo European Championship, we created two weeks worth of animation for nine LED walls in the Duna Arena. This article series will thoroughly cover this topic. At the end of Part 4, a comprehensive video of the animations will be available to watch, but if you want to see it sooner, you can click here.
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