Motion capture technology brings Battle of Bannockburn to life

A first glimpse into the behind the scenes work to bring the Battle of Bannockburn to life for visitors has been released by National Trust for Scotland and Historic Scotland.

A first glimpse into work going on behind the scenes to bring the Battle of Bannockburn to life at a new Bannockburn visitor centre due to open in 2014 has been released by National Trust for Scotland and Historic Scotland.

The work is part of the Battle of Bannockburn project, which sees the National Trust for Scotland and Historic Scotland working together to transform visitor facilities on the site of the historic battle, in time for the 700th anniversary in 2014.

The project’s interpretative designers Bright White Ltd are working with the combination of an Academic Advisory Panel featuring some of the UK’s top historians and state-of-the-art 3D technology to produce a new interpretation of the battle, to be launched at the new visitor centre in 2014.

The new motion capture video reveals the first ‘making of’ footage of fight sequences used to create the sparring medieval warriors featured in the online teaser trailer. The victorious axeman featured is Charlie Allan from the Clanranald Trust who has been working on the fight choreography for the project, and has previously worked on over 180 movie productions including roles in the movies Gladiator, Robin Hood and most recently, Snow White and the Huntsman.

The Academic Advisory Panel, including historians Dr Fiona Watson, Professor Michael Prestwich, Proffesor Edward J. Cowan, Proffesor Richard Oram, Dr Michael Penman, Scott McMaster and archaeologists Dr Tony Pollard and Derek Alexander are advising on the development of scripts, story boards and character profiles, playing a crucial role in authenticating the complex history of the battle for the production process.

Professor Michael Prestwich, a member of the Academic Advisory Panel, said: ‘We are very proud to be a part of the Battle of Bannockburn project and able to bring our expertise to ensuring that the new interpretation tells the story as accurately as possible. Some heated debates have been brought to the forefront, most prominently where the battle was fought, and it has been a very interesting and eye opening experience.’

To view the new motion capture video teaser, visit the Battle of Bannockburn website.

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