Motionographer® The World of Bosnian Knight

For the documentary film Bosnian Knight, KnapStudio crafted a striking map that exudes a handcrafted, artisan look. As the movie navigates various time periods, this map serves as an essential tool, clearly highlighting the key locations integral to the unfolding story at each moment.

KnapStudio’s main responsibility was to create a map that follows the main character’s journey. Since the movie covers different time periods, a map effectively clarifies the locations relevant to the story at specific moments.

They designed a map that appears handcrafted, featuring modelled sculpture-like miniatures made from wood or metal for specific locations or recognisable points. Additionally, rivers, lakes, and similar features were hand-painted to enhance the handmade effect. The base map is quite large (84,000 px) and is based on real geographical data. After gathering all the data, they applied hand-painted treatment throughout the map to soften its technical appearance and achieve a more artisanal feel.

For typography, KnapStudio chose a medieval, authentic variant of the Cyrillic alphabet known as Bosancica. Although some of the letters are not present in the modern alphabet, it remains readable. For names that are difficult to read, they replaced the first few letters with recognisable ones to enhance visual readability. Additionally, they incorporated archaic or period-specific names for certain locations. All of these choices help create a more immersive and realistic world.

Due to the extensive camera movement from satellite view to close-ups, they designed multiple levels of detail that effectively load depending on the camera position.

Find the full world of Bosnian Knight on Behance.

Credits:

Studio: KnapStudio
Creator: Kenan Tuzi

Bosnian Knight Movie
Production: Concept MEDIA / Prime Time
Producer: Adnan Ćuhara
Director: Tarik Hodžić
Cinematographer: Admir Švrakić
Art Direction: Kenan Tuzi
Costume: Adnan Hajrulahović
3D VFX: Malik Kurt, Slaven Ištuk, Alan Savić
Bosancica Typography: Mila Melank
Music Composer: Larisa Buro
Sound Design: Nenad Kovačević