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A shining example of athletic animation

The BUPA Great North Run will take place in Newcastle this Sunday.  The event, which first took place in 1981, is the world’s biggest half-marathon, with 50,000 people taking to the North East’s streets each year.

And a group of University of º£½ÇÖ±²¥ graduates have made a contribution to the Great North Cultural Programme, in a purely virtual sense.  The group of three have formed an animation company, moShine, through the University’s DigitalCity Fellowship scheme.  moShine have been commissioned by the Great North Run Cultural Programme, which commissions new and innovative art work that celebrates the event and all those that take part.

moShine’s digital animation was devised to accompany a new piece of music by the acclaimed composer and musician Michael Nyman (best known for his soundtrack to the Oscar winning film The Piano) entitled 50,000 Pairs of Feet Can’t Be Wrong. Inspired by sports science research, the new work explores the internal physical and psychological journey of an athlete during the BUPA Great North Run.

Premiered last week at The Sage Gateshead, an extract will also appear on the BBC this Sunday, 30 September, as part of their live coverage of the event. 50,000 Pairs of Feet Can’t Be Wrong will then tour to Thailand in November, to London’s Barbican in December, before embarking on further tour dates in 2008.

The moShine team are Stephen Caie, Satish Shewhorak and Michael Siu. They met as students on the University’s MA Computer Animation, and then applied to the DigitalCity Fellowships scheme.

Michael Siu said: ‘We were really happy to be asked to produce this animation.  It looks at what happens to the human body during running, such as respiration, the blood system, molecules.  We met with scientists in Leeds when researching these processes.  Although it’s good to be part of the event, none of us are running!’

Beth Rowson, Manager of the Great North Run Cultural Programme said: ‘It was fantastic working with moShine, they created an incredibly engaging film that works with the music fantastically, adding a whole new dimension to the project. We’re just delighted with the result.’

Michael Nyman said: ‘It’s brilliant! Great choice of team to work with!’

You can contact moShine on 01642 384564 or email info@moshine.co.uk.

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