Designing epic stories
on unique canvases
As Creative Lead for Crystal CG International, Kate designed and directed all the digital content for the audience pixels for both the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The brainchild of Danny Boyle, the audience pixels consisted of 70,500 separate paddles of 9 high-powered LED lights, fixed to the stadium seats. The giant audience screen allowed the narrative to expand out from the field of play, immersing the audience into the show.
Working closely with the ceremonies’ creative teams, Kate oversaw two separate groups of animators, 2D and 3D, visual FX specialists, pre-visualisers and programmers. Together, we delivered well over 100 individual pieces of content to support the ‘Isles of Wonder’ story of the opening ceremony, as well as live performances celebrating British music in the closing ceremony. These included Take That, The Spice Girls, The Who, and Jessie J, amongst many others.
The opening ceremony was watched by 62,000 people in the stadium and an estimated global television audience of one billion. The closing ceremony was the most watched TV programme for the last three decades, with an audience of over 24 million people.
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“We probably had the most technically advanced show there has ever been in the Games history with our pixel light. Stunning!”
Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee
