Long-form content doesn’t reach everyone, so when we work with Nat Geo, PBS, and others to create animation content, our job is to “spark the start”. Here’s what I mean: Our job isn’t to teach everything. With projects like Weird But True for National Geographic, Cornerstones for PBS, and The Curious Mind of Benjamin Franklin with Ken Burns, we were asked to help people care enough to go deeper. These partners came to us with a similar challenge: How do we reach new audiences with complex topics without watering them down? Here’s what worked: With Weird But True, Nat Geo had a beloved book series, but they needed a way to make it click in the digital classroom. ↳ Our animated shorts translated their quirky curiosity into a visual style that stuck. Suddenly, science facts tasted like candy and snuck in some nutrition too. For PBS Cornerstones, the goal was to spark interest among younger audiences in the historic Americans who helped the nation live up to the intentions of the Constitution and the Christian principles that shaped it. ↳ Long-form documentaries were not in the budget. But animation could fire up the interest in the content and make the foundational ideas digestible and interesting. With Ken Burns, we worked on The Curious Mind of Benjamin Franklin and Iconic America. ↳ The short, animated interludes could stand on their own or act as an entry point into his deeper catalog. We weren’t replacing his documentary voice. We were giving it another way in. If you want your audience to stay curious, you have to meet them there first. What’s a short piece of content that pulled you into something deeper?
I love this little animated piece! So much going on, so much info in a concise package. . . and the VO is a clever call, too.
Hello Clint! Long time... Let's work together again. Hope life is good.
GREAT Stuff!!!
Such great animation. I also think the narration reminds me of Mr. Peabody from the old Rocky and Bullwinkle show. ❤️