Ironsights is a short documentary about the competitive world of the “Big Buck Hunter” arcade game. It follows Sara Earlandson, a bar owner and competitive player from northern Wisconsin, as she fights her way through regional and national tournaments, with hopes to overthrow her rival and claim 1st Place.
Ironsights is the first documentary created entirely in house by the Twtich Studios team. Working alongside fellow motion graphics artist Ryan Johnson, we developed, designed, and animated the visual metaphors used throughout the film to help explain the game and tournament context, and communicate the increasing stakes and pressure that Sara faces along the way.
We decided early on to take a stylized approach to representing the game itself, rather than trying to incorporate actual game footage. This gave us greater control over the story being conveyed, and allowed us to represent the emotional progression taking place over the course of the competition.
We introduce the game in an 8-bit, retro video game style, which helped explain the games core mechanics (shoot bucks…dont shoot does…) in a fun and easy to grasp way.
We kept with this retro stylization as we see Sara on a roll in day 1 of the competition, easily sweeping through her opponents. The “simple” style of the graphics reflects the easy nature of her wins while providing a fun and clear visualization of her progression through the tournament bracket.
After ending on a loss the previous day, the second day of the tournament finds Sara feeling more focused and driven. The stakes are higher and the competition more fierce. To reflect this change in her emotional state, we transition from the “simple” retro 2D style, to an intense, 3D, “Tron” inspired representation.
As Sara grows more serious, we literally dive into the screen as she gets her head in the game…
For the films climax, we see Sara taking on her long time rival, Melinda. This is the final “boss battle”, the make or break moment for our hero. Naturally, we represent her nemesis as a towering, intimating “super buck”.
As Sara manages a last minute victory, we see her rival explode in defeat…
Sean Green | Director
Max Wink | Executive Producer
Director of Photography | Tu Do
Jenn Rubin | Editor
Kelly Nickles | Assistant Editor
Ryan Johnson & Mike WIlliams | Animation & Motion Graphics