Meet the team behind Hungry Beast

Hungry Beast series two, the Andrew Denton-produced show that’s back for a second run on ABC1, includes innovative graphics that have formed a significant part of the show.

In case you’re not familiar with the concept, last year ABC TV and Zapruder's other films (Andrew's production company) teamed up and selected 19 young people from around Australia to put a show together from the ground up. Presenters, researchers, editors and graphics guy, all on a crash course in making TV and then having it go to air.

For ten episodes, the team aimed to provide a different take on the week’s events – using humour, graphics, stark facts and sometimes powerful first person accounts. And now they’re back to apply everything they learnt the first time around to a second series.

Every week, Hungry Beast’s small graphics team pumps out six minutes of purely animated segments for its half-hour program.

The show's producers knew that they wanted to make a different kind of television show. The team looked at print and online journalism, and realised that a lot of elements common to those media haven't traditionally slotted into a TV format.

The producers worked with the graphics team to find practical ways to take that information off the page and put it on the screen – and to design a series of segments that could be produced week-in, week- out using animated text, illustration and design.

The team was keen to develop a distinctive look and feel for the show that set it apart from other topical programming.

They wanted to create a show that utilised bright, light bold colours and lots of negative space. The visual language of websites and computer interfaces has influenced a lot of design cues and animation.

HungryBeast graphic team:

Patrick Clair, senior designer (www.patrickclair.com)
Patrick has previously worked as a promo producer at MTV and on the graphics team for the last season of The Chaser's War on Everything. In the past he's worked as a freelance designer and editor for TV commercials and music videos, and has an MA Digital Media from the Australian Film Television and Radio School. He was born and raised in Brisbane.

Luke Harris, designer (www.lukeharris.biz)
Luke, the youngest member of the graphics team at just 23, has previous experience ranging across music composition, IT and business. Luke relocated from Brisbane to take up his role on the show. Having previously worked as a long form editor, Luke's natural curiosity and technical prowess has allowed him to rapidly adapt to the fast paced production environment.

Robert Grieves, design support (www.robertgrieves.com)
Robert, who joined the team half way through season 1 to provide graphics support, is a highly experienced illustrator and motion designer.

www.abc.net.au/hungrybeast.