Tencent
WE Summit 2018 Conference Titles
Tencent is the world's largest gaming and social media company with subsidiaries in entertainment, Internet-related services, AI, and tech. Their annual WE Summit event brings together a host of speakers from across the spectrum of science, industry, and academia. Often described as the ‘Chinese TED Talks’, the WE summit event is considered the high point of the tech community calendar in China. Past speakers have included theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and internet pioneer Tim Berners-Lee. This year's keynote was delivered by Nobel laureate Kip Thorne, famous for his work on gravitational waves and astrophysics.
@ Midnight Sherpa.
5 MONTHS
THROUGH THE EYES OF JANUS
Midnight Sherpa in collaboration with Framestore’s team in China created the WE Summit opening film, a 3-minute experiential film to run as a prelude to the conference. The opening piece was to be as grand in physical dimension as it was in thematic scope. Three LED screens, custom built-in Shenzhen, and spanning a total width of almost 300 feet would arc 180 degrees around the audience in the circular venue to create an arresting cinematic experience. Midnight Sherpa and Framestore developed a narrative centered around Janus, the Roman god of past and future. Through Janus’ eye, we journey through time, nature, astrology, technology, and beyond. A bold visual sense combined with an energetic score by our friends at Yessian Music created a dynamic and memorable installation on an epic scale.
SPACE, TIME, AND IMMERSION
The Beijing Exhibition Center served as the venue for the WE Summit event. The circular theater provided a unique space that allowed us to immerse the audience in the story. We had the opportunity to work closely with the crew in Beijing to propose the shape and dimensions of the physical screen in order to deliver the most impactful experience possible. As part of our scope of work, Midnight Sherpa also created a VR experience integrating the space and content so that viewers can experience the piece contextually.
MY CONTRIBUTION
I led the conceptual development and visual storytelling for the project, creating comprehensive storyboards and style frames that brought the client's vision of "The future found in the past" to life. My primary responsibilities included drafting the overall storyline and developing detailed storyboards for key narrative sequences, including historical landscapes, DNA sequences, acupuncture scenes, ancient mathematics, and constellation sky environments. I also designed original 2D illustrations of ancient mythical creatures and contributed to both character animation and camera movement sequences, ensuring the visual narrative seamlessly connected past and future themes throughout the 3-minute experiential film.
CREDITS
AGENCY: Framestore, Team (Framestore), Angela Zhu (CD), Alex Robin (EP), Cosmos Deng, Cassie Ke, Elaine Liu
CONCEPT, DESIGN & ANIMATION: Midnight Sherpa, Team (Midnight Sherpa), Miguel Lee (CD), Alex More (EP), Preston Brown, Ha Eun Chang, Yoyo Dong, Joyce Ha, Joanna Hwang, Esther Kim, Jehee Lee, Mier Lee, Justin Leung, Michael Lo, Anna Mendoza, Joseph Moon, Evan Parsons, Greg Reynard
Thank you for watching! :)