Series 4 graphics reimagined

[GrandDizzy]

I'm not the biggest fan of the artistic changes from series 4 onwards—not just the move away from hand illustrations, but the move away from beauty and dramatic lighting, with everything looking slightly grittier and flatter, with more unnatural colours.

Since I'm a graphics guy, I thought it might be fun to reimagine how series 4 might have looked. I took a quick screen grab from YouTube and came up with a couple of alternatives. I really just did this for my own amusement but thought I'd share it here in case anyone else found it interesting :-) Also because this forum could do with some threads!

[s4t8brett]

More of those re-touched Series 4 scenes would be lovely, Grandizzy!! I always thought the Dunswater scene unnecessarily grey.

What Series 4 does have in its favour, though, in my opinion, is a good mix of David Rowe-painted scenes, CGI animations (like the Swinging Axe chamber) and location recording.

Also, when we filmed it, I didn't think the backgrounds noticeably bad in the high-res shots we were getting in the studio. One possible exception was the first forest trail after we obtained the Eye Shield, which always seemed pixellated and weirdly psychedelic.

[GrandDizzy]

More of those re-touched Series 4 scenes would be lovely, Grandizzy!! I always thought the Dunswater scene unnecessarily grey.

Just a bit of fun, really, but I will have to do some more when I get a chance.

What Series 4 does have in its favour, though, in my opinion, is a good mix of David Rowe-painted scenes, CGI animations (like the Swinging Axe chamber) and location recording.

I agree, it is a nice mix. I mean no disrespect at all to the creative team behind series 4. I really enjoyed the series. I'm just ultra-nostalgic about the first three series.

I suppose Tim Child's vision was always for Knightmare to be like a videogame, so I guess, technically, the show was merely fulfilling its original brief by moving more over to CGI.

It's just that I loved the "fantasy storybook" style of the earlier series.

One possible exception was the first forest trail after we obtained the Eye Shield, which always seemed pixellated and weirdly psychedelic.

LOL, yes, there is a fine line between a colourful fantasy world and, as you rightly put it, 'psychadelic'. Some of the pink and purple was a little heavy.

Hey, I've just realised you were a contestant! I will have to do some screens from team 8! LOL

May I ask a question about the filming, which I've always wondered? I presume there were lots of breaks in the shooting while the production crew prepared sets etc. I was wondering how often filming would be stopped, and roughly what was the ratio of break time to actual filming? And what happened during the breaks? Did Hugo keep silent/leave the set?

[Mystara]

Awesome stuff

I suppose Tim Child's vision was always for Knightmare to be like a videogame, so I guess, technically, the show was merely fulfilling its original brief by moving more over to CGI.

That's generally been my take on things and I think he's even said as much. More recent incarnations of Knightmare (such as Knightmare VR) have often done away with the helmet, too.

[GrandDizzy]

Another one…

[s4t8brett]

Hey, I've just realised you were a contestant! I will have to do some screens from team 8! LOL

>> That would be great to see, Grandizzy. Thirty years next year; Tempus fugit ...

May I ask a question about the filming, which I've always wondered? I presume there were lots of breaks in the shooting while the production crew prepared sets etc. I was wondering how often filming would be stopped, and roughly what was the ratio of break time to actual filming? And what happened during the breaks? Did Hugo keep silent/leave the set?

>> Good question, Grandizzy. Actually, we left the set! We lived in a green room for most of the time, with series 3 and a computer for entertainment. Sometimes we went shopping, or to the cinema of an evening to watch Back to the Future III. Once I saw Hugo enjoying a pipe in a side room.

How long between filming for series 4? About an hour, give or take 30 mins or so I would say. There were very short breaks if an eye shield sequence was attached to a location, and some latter sequences were recorded virtually back-to-back (the three river crossing shots and the three Falling Bridge/Valley of Decision shots). The longest break was probably before Ariadne's lair, not least because we had a Fire Drill to delay things (and tricky for Paul Valentine to get right in rehearsal, I would imagine).

Merry Christmas to everyone reading this on Christmas Eve!