Darin Kirschner

E! Entertainment Super Party open sequence - I created this show open for the E! Entertainment Network's Super Bowl coverage. This package also included interstitials, bumper graphics and lower 3rd ID tags

Style Network broadcast ID - As Domestic and International Brand Manager for Style Network, I directed and oversaw all of the network's many show packages and identity looks. I spearheaded and created the re-branded design of the network which the Marketing Dept. tagged as "Watch Pretty". This was an ending tag out for shows and presentations with an updatable trademark end date.

Style Network, Neicy Nash promo graphic package - I created this variation on the overall Style theme as an identity spot featuring 2006 Style headliner, Neicy Nash.

Style Network, Stripped show open - I designed this show package for the Style show, Stripped. This series was about how cosmetics are manufactured, so the package included many "live" textures and fashionable colors. This was also a full package with editorial devices such as wipes, backplates, promo graphics, lower 3rd bars for ID's etc.

Thumbnails of various work - This was a promotional hand out I used to give away showing many pieces of work I've been involved in during my entertainment and gaming career.

This is a shot from a promotional spot I directed for Dennis Miller Live. The idea was Dennis had been killed in a horrible accident, so in order to continue the show for the next season, the producers were secretly cloning a new Dennis... Laughter ensues. Dennis was a GREAT sport for doing these. I had him in an awkward position with tracking dots all over to get the shots to match in with the sheep.

Spartacus- It's True! Paramount Television pilot - As the Character Designer and 3D Art Director for an effects house, I was called on to bring mythical beasts to life for the Paramount Television pilot of It's True, a Sci-Fi show where the paranormal happens everyday. This was Spartacus, leader of a tribe of human sized sentient rats, looking to extract revenge on society. This is my first character sketch, used to build a clay maquette from. The model was digitized & then I directed a team of animators using SoftImage 3D.

Spartacus, head model- It's True! - A close up facial target of Spartacus showing anger. We would overlay these with the 3D model and then work with the model to replicate the emotion.

Spartacus, maquette- It's True! - This is Spartacus' maquette. It was done as a half model on glass, then 3D scanned into SoftImage for animation. Being a past car designer, it was a simple task for me to direct all of the modeling staff as well as the animators. This one maquette was changed and adjusted once scanned in, to create a whole army of different sized and shaded rats required to follow the maniacal Spartacus.

Troll, closeup- It's True! - Another character from It's True! This time its a Troll. Here is a closeup of his eyes for the animators to work from. Its sad that It's True! never got picked up as a series. Not only would it have been a breakthrough CGI for TV show, it was a really fun premise!

Troll, maquette- It's True! - Here is the Troll's maquette. He was a very fun character, having a head that blows up when he's mad and eyes that changed color... He starts out all angry, spitting at the camera, finally calming down to be interviewed by the principal live-action stars of the show. He goes right through the range of emotions, from mad to scared to sad, revealing himself as a guy who's just worried that the new modern bridge being built over his old one will put him out of a job!

The bug world behind your walls- Terminix Commercial - This was a black & white pencil sketch I did to set tone and environmental architecture for a series of animated 3D commercials for Terminix. In them, we learn the bugs that live inside your walls fear the Terminix Man above all else. The world was conceived as made from cast-offs & found objects of human society. It was great fun imagining alternative uses for bottle caps, pins & cardboard while implying bugs use your water pipes as a highway through your walls.

The Roach Schoolmarm- Terminix Commercial - Every school needs an old Marm. The roach world apparently has this one, teaching all the nymphs to watch out for the Big Bad Terminix Man. My friend and mentor, Steve Martino designed this character, while I created the world around her and the other bugs in this series of commercials. In addition to designing all of the environments, I also created all of the textures used by the 3D team, then directed many of the camera moves and lighting.