Ella ShermanWorkPlayInfo

Ephemera
Advocacy | 3D Motion
Cinema 4D, After Effects, Premiere Pro
An advocacy project on coral reefs. A seemingly idyllic coral documentary that takes an unexpected turn as the crisis becomes too large to ignore. The corals are dying, and with them, so is our future.



References

Corals


Scene 1Scene 2Scene 3Scene 4

Bones



TreatmentThe animation begins with seemingly idyllic scenes as the camera pans slowly over vibrant coral species. They move and sway, pushed by the waves over the reef. Colorful and alive, they are almost reminiscent of organs in the way they pulsate and grow.

A plastic bag slowly makes its way into the scene, changing the reefs as more drops in. The corals are moving less - they are calcifying as their colors fading away. There is nothing we can do but watch as they bleach. Not a single coral will survive this silent mass extinction.

As the scene settles, the camera overlooks the reef. Everything is white as bone, and unmoving. As the camera continues moving away, the audience sees that it is in fact a graveyard of bones on a sphere, not just coral that has formed in the ruined reef - a glimpse into eventual extinctions (including our own) caused by that of the corals.

The screen cuts to black. The tagline and call to action appear and fade away. As the credits roll, the background plays images of the corals that were introduced in the beginning of the film, now dead, serving as a haunting reminder of what’s at stake.

Process

Tagline Tests
1.        If the corals go, so do we. Help keep our corals around, visit coralguardian.org
2.        Their survival is ours too. Help keep our corals alive, visit coralguardian.org
3.        We’ll die without them. Let’s survive together, visit coralguardian.org
4.        A goodbye to corals is a goodbye to our oceans. Keep corals on earth,  visit coralguardian.org 5.        Coral bleaching is a silent extinction. Lend them your voice, visit coralguardian.org
6.        The oceans need your help. Act now, visit coralguardian.org
7.        They need us. Defend corals, visit coralguardian.org
8.        This is our mistake. Act before it’s too late, visit coralguardian.org
9.        Corals are our future. Help us, visit coralguardian.org
10.      We’re next. Keep corals in our future, visit coralguardian.org
11.      The oceans are at their boiling point. Act now, visit coralguardian.org
Type Tests


Cinema 4D


After Effects & Audio 

Early Frames