Midnight in Technicolour Gala
Back in 2021, the world was still adapting to the new normal. Galas were postponed, stages sat empty, and the idea of gathering in a room with hundreds of people seemed like a distant memory. But in true Fort McMurray fashion, the Arts Council of Wood Buffalo wasn’t going to let that stop the celebration of local creativity.
Enter: Midnight in Technicolour — the vibrant, nostalgic, and wildly ambitious theme for the 2021 Wood Buffalo Excellence in Arts Awards Show, also known as The Buffys.
As one of the founding members of M’Guphynn Media, I had the pleasure of helping bring that theme to life in a completely different way than usual. Instead of a live gala, we filmed the entire show and transformed it into a broadcast experience that paid homage to the golden age of television — from the black-and-white broadcasts of yesteryear to the dazzling burst of colour that changed the world forever.
Filming an awards show is no small feat, especially when you’re trying to channel vintage broadcast energy while keeping it modern and COVID-safe. I operated camera during production, working with a tight-knit and passionate team to capture every speech, performance, and spontaneous moment. But where the magic really happened (at least in my opinion) was in the post-production — specifically, the motion graphics and visual effects.
Here are a few gems from the project I’m especially proud of:
🎞️ Vintage Arts Council Logo Animation
Inspired by the iconic black-and-white Universal Studios intro, I designed a retro animated logo for the Arts Council of Wood Buffalo. Created in After Effects, I feel it captured the spirit of early cinema and set the perfect tone for the show’s opening.
🎨 CMYK-Tinted M’Guphynn Media Logo
As a nod to the shift from monochrome to vibrant colour, I animated a stylized CMYK-inspired logo for M’Guphynn Media. Think: ‘80s tech commercial meets modern design nerd energy. It gave our media brand a distinct identity within the show, while still staying true to the overarching theme.
The CMYK colour model — Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black
Foundational to the way colour was printed and later influenced how we thought about broadcasting in colour. While television used the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) model for screen display, the principles of colour layering and separation from CMYK printing helped engineers understand how to simulate full-colour images using limited technology. CMYK’s role in early colour theory and print helped pave the way for visual media to break free from black-and-white and embrace the vivid spectrum we associate with technicolour today.
Black-and-White to Colour FX
One of the most memorable effects I worked on was making the actors literally shift from black-and-white to colour on-screen. Using After Effects, I carefully composited each transition to mirror the exact moment when old televisions first flickered into full colour — a visual metaphor for the resilience and vibrancy of our arts community.
From Gala to Graphics — What It All Means
Projects like this remind me why I love media work so much — taking something rooted in tradition and giving it a fresh, dynamic twist. Though the room was empty, the energy in that production was anything but. And it was a powerful reminder that even when we’re apart, creativity can still bring us together. Below is the Arts Awards show in its entirety if you were keen to watch it.
🎬 Let’s Make Something Brilliant
If you’re working on a video project and want it to stand out — whether you’re going for full retro vibes or slick modern polish — motion graphics and video effects can elevate your story in unforgettable ways. That’s something we specialize in at Hexwave Media, and I'd love to help bring your next project to life.
✨ Let’s turn your black-and-white vision into Technicolour.
