The Corinthians: We were the Champions
Client: Films Not Words
“Playing at the height of the FA ban on women, The Corinthians Ladies Football Club, from Fog Lane Park in Manchester, are the finest female football team that time forgot. Defying the establishment, they played for over two decades, jetting off abroad to become world-famous pioneers.”
Films Not Words took these untold stories and created an award winning, Grierson nominated feature length documentary, shown in cinemas nationwide and available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Following release the FA have issued an historic apology for the 50 year ban.
"John didn't just create animation and graphics - he created a whole world for The Corinthians: We Were The Champions. Collaborating from the concept phase, right through to cinema release and broadcast on the BBC, John was a crucial part of our team from the beginning.
"He created animation, graphics, logos, posters, TX cards and more. All tied together with one creative vision. Inspired by the Corinthians 1950s and 60s heyday, John worked with us to build a beautiful vintage feel - and also to bring the players' rebel spirit to life.
"We started off as a crowdfunded independent film. It has since gone on to win awards across film festivals, sell out cinema screenings, be broadcast on the BBC and spark a campaign for an historic FA apology for the ban on women playing.
"Thanks John for being a crucial part of making that all happen!"
As very little footage was available from the time, we animated a “Roy of the Rovers” style comic book to document the women’s endeavours.
Working with illustrators to create the page content, each panel was broken down into individual, animatable elements and placed into 3D space allowing a camera to orbit the comic book world for each scene.
An old portable tv unit was used as a device to present credits and narrative text sequences, complete with 3D versions of a 1950’s football and a copy of our “The Corinthians” comic book. The scene was designed to complement the interview and archive sequences which were filmed in a post-match dressing room aesthetic.
Each of the 10 contributors were introduced via individual football card graphics, with stats including shirt number, position, seasons played and skill.
The Corinthians Ladies FC logo evolution, born from an original 1950’s hand-stitched design
Head in the Clouds design duties went beyond content for the film; we produced posters for print and digital billboards around Manchester leading up to release date. As well as bespoke invitation tickets for the premier at HOME Cinema, Manchester.
