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Sunday, 21 May 2006 | Levent OZLER
ZONA Creates Programming and Promotion Packages for Mega Disasters
 megadisasters.mov ( 50MB ) - Viewed 368 times
For thousands of years, massive natural disasters have shaped our planet. If Mother Nature unleashed her fury today, could we survive? To promote and package Mega Disasters, a new series, which looks at some of the greatest natural disasters in history and how our modern world would be impacted if we were faced with similar events, The History Channel has returned to the image makers at ZONA Design, Inc. ZONA has created and produced programming and promotion packages for the series, in high definition and NTSC, including a logo, open, promo close and network ID, all of which began airing May 9th. In addition, the full service design agency created a theatrical trailer, in HD, that hit theater screens in mid-April. The series is seen on The History Channel, Tuesday evenings at 9:00p.m. ET/PT.
As the 2005 devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami have dramatically demonstrated, we are all vulnerable to unexpected disasters, both natural and man-made. Combining science and history, Mega Disasters visits the sites of previous disasters, then recreates them in modern times and locations, using state-of-the-art computer animation. Whether it's the city of Memphis crashing into the Mississippi River during an earthquake or a mile-wide asteroid destroying Los Angeles, each week The History Channel makes crystal clear just how vulnerable our complex society really is to the power of nature.
Could it happen here? And what would it look like? Of the open and programming elements Zoa Martinez, Creative Director/Designer ZONA Design explained, "We created a dark and ominous 3D environment in which a natural disaster lays siege to Main Street USA. Roiling waters and wind whipped skies carry debris into the darkness and turbulence of a metropolis. To add yet another layer of chaos, we shot and integrated numerous light sources. As lights flicker and die, the ground shakes violently, fires erupt and the detritus, carried into the city by the wind and water, resolves to form the fractured title Mega Disasters, as nature's fury decimates everything in its path."
For the high definition theatrical trailer, ZONA Design added effects to the footage of stunned onlookers, witnesses to the havoc wreaked on a metropolitan community. Their simulated tornadoes, comets and tsunami floods add spontaneity to the footage, making it feel as though these horrors are being captured in camera and on the fly by someone shooting the catastrophic events as they unfold.
"Zoa immediately said 'I want the storm to be so powerful it breaks the logo' and that's why we go to these guys. Not to sound cliché, they think out of the box," stated The History Channel Producer Mike Scalere. "Zoa knew from the get-go that the logo would be comprised of the buildings, that we were going to have a major storm, and that the logo was going to have massive fault cracks around which everything else would be built. If you are going to tear apart a city I think ZONA is the company to do it. This was a big project and we wanted the rain, hurricanes and storms to look natural, and we needed to capture everything we were going to talk about in the show, all in one :10 clip. As always, the ZONA execution worked really well."
"We needed a design that would set our series apart from the competition and Zoa created the perfect solution. Her work on our brand is edgy, contemporary and relevant," added Timothy Nolan, Creative Director, The History Channel.
The ZONA Design team, known for their distinctive and effective designs, was led by Creative Director/Designer Zoa Martinez, and included Executive Producer Dennis Fluet, Senior Designer Mark Lee, Digital Composite and 3D Animation Fabien Leon, Senior Composite Artist Andre Sam, Composite Artist Supara Sophonwasu and Composite Artist Eric Konon.
ZONA utilized Adobe After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop, Apple Final Cut Pro and Lightwave in the execution of this project.
Representing The History Channel were Creative Director Tim Nolan, Producer Michael Scalere and, on the theatrical trailer, The History Channel Director/Producer JP Balas.
The final audio mix for the programming and promotion packages was provided by Frank Cabanach of SoundHound (New York, NY). Jody Nazzaro of Bionic Media (New York, NY) completed the audio for the theatrical trailer.
ZONA Design, founded in 1999, is an award winning multi-disciplined design agency creating results driven work that is bold and direct for all points of contact with the consumer in the general, Hispanic, and youth markets. The company's portfolio includes high profile projects for Disney/ESPN Networks, AOL Time Warner Networks, 5Boro Skateboards, Discovery Communications, Encore Media Group, Rainbow Media Holdings, Chrysler, Dodge, and the various A&E Television Networks.
ZONA Design: http://www.dexigner.com/directory/detail/3151/
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