The first phase of the Eclipse Busway follows a 4.5km stretch of disused railway between Redlands Lane in Fareham and Tichborne Way in Gosport.
Film production
Mott MacDonald initially produced visualisations to support the planning application for initial phase of the bus rapid transit and later an update animation to continue updating local residents on the scheme's design and allay concerns over noise, security of properties, frequency of buses, and the way the route interacts with the existing road network.
Newly confirmed designs for the buses, street furniture, road intersections and acoustic fencing were all included to create a far more realistic vision of what the completed scheme will look like once in operation.
The animation highlights the experience of both the passenger on the new route and the road users who will cross the route.
Key to the success of the animation was the inclusion of detailed engineering design information, including landscaping and acoustic shielding. The function of each signal-controlled junction had to be created to indicate the view from the perspective of other road users, highlighting how little interference the bus route will have on crossing traffic.
As well as creating the entire 3D environment and animating the array of assets that made up the film, Mott MacDonald also supervised the sound recording for the voice-over and was responsible for the on-screen graphics, subtitles, post-production and editing.
Deliverables
Two versions of a six-minute animated short film (one with voice over and one subtitled) in various file formats, plus a series of high resolution stills for press and presentation purposes.
The animation has been widely used in the promotion of the scheme, including being featured on the web and on unmanned information stands in the local area. Excerpts from the visualisation were used by the county's local British Broadcasting Television (BBC South Today) in a report on the progress of the scheme.