Reimagining Education.

TEACH FOR AMERICA

We created an animation that brings to life the newest initiative of the Memphis chapter of Teach For America: Catalyst, a massive, 20-year initiative that is set to re-imagine education in our city.

SERVICES

Strategy
Digital

WEBSITE

teachforamerica.org

For decades, Memphis has made itself the center of traditional job markets such as manufacturing and logistics, industries that are making rapid advancements in automation and artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, it’s predicted that jobs in these crucial local industries will not exist by the time today’s first-graders graduate from high school.

Through their network of former teachers and thought leaders, the Memphis chapter of Teach For America is uniquely positioned to tackle this challenge and help equip a generation of globally-ready citizens with the tools to lead our communities forward. They wanted an animated piece to launch a massive 20 year initiative to reimagine education in our city and approached us to help visually bring those goals to life.

FIRST STEP: DISCOVERY & EXPLORATION

We worked with the client to understand the scope of TFA’s challenges and compose a script that succinctly captured and conveyed them within the confines of a 2-minute video. Then it was time for storyboarding, a visual representation of each scene and transition before asset creation.

From script to storyboard to final product

“But now, more than ever, we must gather more innovators and explorers to help us equip a generation of globally-ready citizens with the tools to lead our communities forward.”

ART DIRECTION

When establishing art direction, it was important to choose a visual language that both represented TFA and positioned the topic at hand in an easily digestible form. We chose a limited color palette that aligns with Teach For America’s brand standards, and a simplified style with touches of detail to speak to a broader educational experience.

In preparation for animation, we explored styles for teachers, students, settings, and even transportation. The people are built from simple organic shapes with geometric aspects and minimal detail. The architecture is geometric, and the landscapes are curvy.

The storyboards were translated into scenes and then built out in layers for easy translation to Adobe AfterEffects where the animating takes place.

PREPPING FOR ANIMATION

With the scenes built, we created an animatic, or preliminary version of the animation using successive storyboard stills and a voice-over of the script to establish pacing for the animation. The animatic also allowed us to go through much of the revision process without having to alter the final animation, which saved a lot of time and headache for both parties involved.

With pacing established, revisions finished, and voice-over complete, we came to the most time-consuming part of the process: animation. In AfterEffects, each element was animated then compiled into the complex scenes of moving parts that made up the complete animation.

Reimagining Education.

We created an animation that brings to life the newest initiative of the Memphis chapter of Teach For America: Catalyst, a massive, 20-year initiative that is set to re-imagine education in our city.

We worked with the client to understand the scope of TFA’s challenges and compose a script that succinctly captured and conveyed them within the confines of a 2-minute video. Then it was time for storyboarding, a visual representation of each scene and transition before asset creation.

From script to storyboard to final product

The storyboards were translated into scenes and then built out in layers for easy translation to Adobe AfterEffects where the animating takes place.

With pacing established, revisions finished, and voice-over complete, we came to the most time-consuming part of the process: animation. In AfterEffects, each element was animated then compiled into the complex scenes of moving parts that made up the complete animation.

The final animation clocked in at two minutes and fifteen seconds.

Holler at us

Reimagining Education.

We created an animation that brings to life the newest initiative of the Memphis chapter of Teach For America: Catalyst, a massive, 20-year initiative that is set to re-imagine education in our city.

We worked with the client to understand the scope of TFA’s challenges and compose a script that succinctly captured and conveyed them within the confines of a 2-minute video. Then it was time for storyboarding, a visual representation of each scene and transition before asset creation.

From script to storyboard to final product

The storyboards were translated into scenes and then built out in layers for easy translation to Adobe AfterEffects where the animating takes place.

With pacing established, revisions finished, and voice-over complete, we came to the most time-consuming part of the process: animation. In AfterEffects, each element was animated then compiled into the complex scenes of moving parts that made up the complete animation.

The final animation clocked in at two minutes and fifteen seconds.

Need For Speed

UrbanArt Commission

Holler at us