play ball!
Client
Boardwalk Pictures
The original Netflix docu-series, Home Game, explores the excitement and cultural significance around unique competitive sports all across the globe.
Batter up
The good folks at Boardwalk Pictures came to BigStar looking for a fun, unique graphic look - specifically centered around explaining the complex rules of each game.
Pulling inspiration from old 70’s instructional manuals, we wanted to strike a balance between communicating the rules clearly and efficiently while keeping them stylish and entertaining. Starting with a dip into Voodoo Wrestling or “Catch Fetiche”, our initial styleframes really hit the mark for the tone of the show, and the structure and intention of those designs were carried through across all 8 episodes.
Pehiwani Rules of the Game:
Our animation language for each “rules of the game” sequence continued to play off of our practical, instruction-manual graphic feel. By making punchy, energetic camera moves from figure to figure, we create a sense that we’re zooming around a physical manual with real directions and illustrations.
While the “rules of the game” graphics were the through-line for the show, we built various other graphic elements in the same textural, illustrative style - from a map of Kyrgyzstan to custom lower thirds and location IDs.
Although we explored various ways of incorporating our game illustrations into the title reveal, we ultimately felt that a more simplistic logo reveal over footage was the best and most organic route. Still, we tie off our signature “rules of the game” elements into the famous quotes at the top of each episode.
We had a blast collaborating with the Boardwalk team, showcasing these sports and the cultures they come from as well. Catch Home Game, streaming on Netflix!
