Animated Graphics for the PBS Origins History Webseries

This video essay for the PBS Digital Studios series “In the Margins” makes extensive use of archival images, and some After Effects virtual camera magic and a set of richly-textured animated backgrounds brings the stills to life. I also created a package of animated wipes, lower thirds, and other on-screen graphics to add context and structure, and (of course) a logo build to serve as the mail title. The visually dense but understated design of the animated sequences dovetails with the information-rich, brisk-paced delivery of the essay, balancing well with the archival footage and giving the piece some nice visual punch without seizing attention from the narration. Like all PBS Digital Studios productions, quality, well-researched information takes center stage, and the production rises to meet it. It’s a great vision of what short-form educational web content can be, and it was a joy to work for a channel I actually subscribe to!

This is the first of three episodes of this series I am animating for the fantastic team at PBS Utah, and as a lifelong public broadcasting viewer, I could not be prouder to see the PBS logo bug overlaid on my work.