In June of 2003, we entered into a one-year contract with the San Jose (CA) Police Department to produce a weekly series of training programs to be seen each week by all officers. “Mission Street Update” (the department HQ is on Mission St.) runs around 6–12 minutes each week, and is presented in the context of being a show on the “Police News Network,” or PNN. Each show is preceded by a network bumper or promo. Below are the show opens and a selection of bumpers, plus a goodie from one of our last shows. All files are in MPEG format.

Each episode of Mission Street Update includes both a training segment and a news segment. The show host is a sergeant who serves as the show’s anchor, and who introduces the training segments, which are presented by a lieutenant who is also the show’s executive producer.

MSU uses a virtual studio for the news segments and occasional interview segments. The anchor sergeant is shot against a blue screen, and chromakeyed in post over the virtual set, which we created in Strata 3DPro.

The shows are initially distributed on VHS and viewed by all watches during daily briefings. They are also available in MPEG form on the department’s intranet, and have become rather a hit among department personnel.

Our contract has now ended, but our affection for the department and the series leaves us with fond memories. We had way too much fun over the course of the year, and we’ll miss working with some great people.
 
 
This is the main open, used for most of the shows. Some of the clips within it are from department stock footage, and some were shot specifically for the open. 3D elements were created in Strata 3Dpro, and the final compositing was done in Adobe After Effects. (4.8 MB)

 

This is an alternate opening designed to “sell” the virtual set to the audience. It starts with the beginning of the standard open, and then dissolves to an overview of the “studio.” It was shot with two cameras—one high and at the back of the studio, and one in the normal “camera one” position for the anchor. Everything in the shot except for the anchor is computer generated. The images in the flat panel display at left and on the viewfinder of the camera in the foreground were composited in After Effects. The live video of the anchor was first resized in After Effects, then rotoscoped in Strata MediaPaint to extend the blue background around the anchor, and then keyed in our Media 100 XS. (4.3 MB)		  
 
“Earth” is one of our first bumpers. It was created in Strata 3Dpro using Earth and cloud textures downloaded from NASA’s web site. Like all bumpers, it was field rendered for smooth motion during output to tape. (3.1 MB)

“Plasma” was created in 3Dpro and After Effects. The 3D logo and text was rendered in 3Dpro with an alpha channel, and then wiped on with lightning effects in AE. (2.3 MB)		  
 
“Grabber” was created in 3Dpro. It was designed to tie the PNN logo to the SJPD (you’ll have to watch it to see the connection. While it’s the most elaborate 3D animation we’ve done so far, it also has the most complex sound editing to get everything just right, and will be best appreciated when listened to in stereo. (3.9 MB)

“Flop” is pretty much what it sounds like. It’s a purely abstract animation distinguished by (we think) some neat sound choices. It was created with 3Dpro. (2 MB)		  
 
“Moon” evokes the spirit of Kubrick’s “2003,” with the PNN logo being revealed at the North Pole of the Moon. It was one of the simplest 3Dpro animations we’ve done, with only two objects—the logo and the moon, which uses a NASA texture. (4.5 MB)

“Classical” starts out as something from a PBS import, genteel and refined. Something that—believe us—beat cops aren’t drawn to. That’s why it ends with a nice little twist that produced the hoped-for reaction of laughs. Entirely Strata 3Dpro. (3.2 MB)		  
 
“Car” is the first and so far only non-computer generated bumper we’ve done. The car was shot backing away from the camera, with the footage then reversed at 2x speed in the PD’s Avid Xpress and laid off to tape. The clip was then imported into Strata MediaPaint where the final frames of the grill and logo were cleaned up through rotoscoping. The resulting clip was then imported into After Effects, where the ending “dip” motion was added, and then to our Media 100, where selective frames were deleted to speed and smooth the end of the shot. (3.7 MB)

“Space One” is a tribute to the SJPD helicopter patrol—which currently operates “Air Two”—and is both our and the department’s favorite so far. While it was in production, one of the video unit crew asked what the sound effects would be like, and I replied, “They’ll be completely realistic.” As you’ll see, they are. Totally 3Dpro. (6.7 MB)		  
 
“Night Earth” is a wonderful image (if we do say so ourselves) that sets the night side rotation of Earth against some wonderful music. The day and night Earth image maps are from NASA. The “PNN” logo in lights was created in PhotoShop. There were two original animations—one daytime, and one night time— that were composited in AfterEffects using a soft circular wipe. The “sun” in the upper right corner is an AfterEffects lens flare. (4 MB)

“What If” is an intro for a “think-out-of-the-box” segment designed to recruit members for a think-tank group that would look for ways to improve both department operations and community relations. The animation was created in Strata 3DPro. (4 MB)		  
 
Toward the end of the contract, I called the show’s host with an idea I’d been carrying around for a while. “Joe, did you ever see the movie ‘Batteries Not Included?’” I asked. “Yes!” he replied. “It’s one of my favorites.” “So how’d you like to have one of the little SpaceBots fly through the studio at the opening of a show?” I asked. He loved the idea, and the results can be seen by clicking the image to the left. The mini spaceship was created, animated and rendered in Strata 3DPro, and the three layers that comprise the scene were composited in the department’s Avid XPress. (5.8 MB)