{"id":11363,"date":"2026-11-09T11:53:32","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T10:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brojka.hr\/?p=11363"},"modified":"2026-11-12T20:04:58","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T19:04:58","slug":"drava-story-river-birdlife-interactive-content-case-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brojka.hr\/en\/drava-story-river-birdlife-interactive-content-case-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Dravska pri\u010da: from a river\u2019s course to life in the shallows"},"content":{"rendered":"

From a beak to a story about the river<\/h2>\n

Selecting a beak beside the \u201cTko to tamo mulja?\u201d exhibit brings a bird into the picture. It enters the shallows and searches for food, before the view moves closer to its beak and what is happening in the mud. The shape a visitor has chosen becomes meaningful through movement and feeding behaviour.<\/p>\n

This is one of the themes we worked on for the Dravska pri\u010da Visitor Centre in Noskovci. Across seven related content areas, we produced animation, graphics and audiovisual material ranging from changes in the river\u2019s course to the life cycles of aquatic organisms.<\/p>\n

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The bird-feeding exhibit with physical beak forms for species selection. Photo: institutional archive \/ Dravska pri\u010da Visitor Centre.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Eurasian spoonbill: a beak detail from the animated film.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Showing processes that are difficult to see together<\/h2>\n

The centre interprets the natural heritage of the Mura, Drava and Danube region. Its multimedia exhibition brings the river landscape together with plants, animals and the lives of people beside the water.<\/p>\n

The production task involved very different subjects and scales. A meander calls for a view of the landscape; a feeding bird needs a close-up; life in a drop of water opens up another world altogether. Each subject needed its own visual approach and a relationship with the place where visitors encounter it.<\/p>\n

We developed the material with Smart AudioVisual, alongside content and specialist reviews by the client and project team. Our contribution covered seven themes within the wider exhibition.<\/p>\n

A river shaping its landscape<\/h2>\n

In \u201cDynamic Processes of the Drava\u201d, animated views connect the river\u2019s course with side channels, meanders, steep banks and river bars. The content also covers channelisation, dams and hydroelectric plants. At an interactive table, visitors can select a topic and connect a river form with its explanation.<\/p>\n

We prepared animation and graphics for these views. The river, markers, text and reference images had to work together on the equipment used in the exhibition.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrava, Then and Now\u201d offers another perspective. Photographs of people, boats and life along the water connect the natural setting with the ways people use it. The story of a changing landscape continues through the relationship between the river and its communities.<\/p>\n

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River processes shown in the installed exhibition. Photo: institutional archive \/ Dravska pri\u010da Visitor Centre.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The natural course of the Drava, from the animated display.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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A river boat, from Drava,Then and Now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seven beaks, seven ways of feeding<\/h2>\n

For \u201cTko to tamo mulja?\u201d\u2014an exhibit about birds feeding in the mud\u2014we created seven separate animated films. The cast includes a black-winged stilt, little ringed plover, Eurasian spoonbill and Eurasian curlew. Each enters the same riverside setting and demonstrates a different way of finding food.<\/p>\n

Physical beak forms beside the exhibit provide the starting point for selecting a species. The screen then connects the bird\u2019s appearance and movement with a close view of its beak in the mud. A shared background helps visitors compare the feeding behaviours.<\/p>\n

Proportions and scale within the frame required particular care. Specialist references distinguished a bird\u2019s measured length from tail to beak from its dimensions when standing. That small distinction has direct consequences for modelling and composition. Reviews also covered species names, text and the length of the animations.<\/p>\n

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A black-winged stilt in the shallows, from the animation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Below the surface: from an aquarium to a life cycle<\/h2>\n

\u201cEndemic Species of the Danube Basin\u201d takes the form of an interactive aquarium. An animated aquatic scene introduces the animals, and selecting one opens information about it. We prepared models, animation and graphic screens to be connected within the application.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife in Water and Beyond\u201d follows another kind of transformation: organisms whose lives begin underwater and continue on land or in the air. Frogs, dragonflies, caddisflies, mosquitoes and mayflies appear through animated life stages and movements.<\/p>\n

The \u201cWhat Is Hidden in a Drop of Water?\u201d exhibit shows small aquatic organisms on a screen. For the area devoted to sand martins, we also created an animated loop of a flock in flight. These scenes bring different rhythms to the visit, from pausing over a detail to following the movement of an entire flock.<\/p>\n

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The interactive Danube-basin aquarium in the exhibition. Photo: institutional archive \/ Dravska pri\u010da Visitor Centre.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The animated aquarium, from content prepared for the exhibition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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A frog\u2019s developmental stage, from a life-cycle animation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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CGI photomontage and 3D compositing for \u201cWhat Is Hidden in a Drop of Water?\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Sand martin animation within the habitat interpretation space. Photo: institutional archive \/ Dravska pri\u010da Visitor Centre.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Content shaped for an exhibition<\/h2>\n

Production continued beyond the first animations. Final screen formats had to be agreed, static graphics separated from animated elements, and Croatian and English versions prepared.<\/p>\n

Brojka produced audiovisual and interactive content as a subcontractor to Smart AudioVisual. The physical equipment and the centre\u2019s overall design belonged to the wider project. Domagoj Gra\u010dan programmed the interactive aquarium, \u201cDynamic Processes of the Drava\u201d and \u201cLife in Water and Beyond\u201d. Connecting content, specialist review and technical implementation is what turns an individual animation into part of a visit.<\/p>\n

Project contributors<\/h2>\n