Final Video
The Problem
In a village of daily wage laborers in Navi Mumbai, Manjari Charitable Trust is an NGO that is transforming lives by providing free education to children living in poverty.
With the subpar government school system and indifferent teachers, parents often prefer their children to work and contribute to the household income rather than pursue education. This perpetuates the cycle of poverty.
The NGO's efforts aim to change this mindset, encouraging families to see the long-term benefits of education in creating a brighter future for their children and breaking the poverty cycle.
The Brief
We worked with Manjari Charitable Trust to create an engaging motion design video to raise awareness among lower-income families and parents about the importance of investing in their children’s education.
Additionally, we also wanted to highlight the impactful work being done by Manjari and related NGOs.
This compelling visual narrative was to be featured on Manjari’s social media pages, using dynamic animation and storytelling techniques to captivate and inform the audience, parents in lower and middle social class families.
The Idea
Create an animated video featuring a voiceover with excerpts from an interview with an ex-Manjari student.
Instead of focusing on negative stereotypes like "poor kid can't study," highlight positive outcomes with messages like "This kid invested in their education and now is better because of it." Show proof of success rather than preaching.
The animated medium also ensured the participant's anonymity while delivering an impactful message.
Research & Voiceover
I visited Manjari's teaching centre, spending time with the kids to gain a grassroots understanding of their challenges, recognizing my perspective of privilege.
I then contacted ex-students of Manjari to conduct interviews and hear their success stories. During the ideation phase, our team debated whether to use a multi-interview voiceover or focus on one compelling story. Given the social media platform and a runtime of about 90 seconds, we decided to highlight a single, resonant story. We chose the most relatable interview and proceeded with it.
The participant, excited to share their story and support Manjari, preferred to remain anonymous.
Moodboard
Using 2D animated characters in this project makes them friendly and relatable, reminding the audience of the people this affects: their children.
However, a major concern was that if the entire video were in 2D and the voiceover participant remained anonymous, viewers might doubt its authenticity and dismiss it.
To address this, we decided to create 3D environments based on actual village locations to add grounding and realism, reinforcing the authenticity with a touch of "Based on a true story."
Animatic & Storyboard
With the voiceover participant selected, we crafted a 90-second version from a 15-minute interview recording.
The excerpts were carefully chosen to tell the most resonant and relevant story, ensuring the context of the participant's narrative was preserved.
This voiceover guided the video's storyline, and the storyboard was created based on the finalized 90-second version to maintain the authenticity of this true story.
Photoshoot
We decided that 3D environments based on actual village locations would be created to add grounding and realism, reinforcing the authenticity with a touch of "Based on a true story."
Character Designs & Pre-Visualization
The characters were designed to be simple and textured to evoke a rustic and grassroots feel. The 3D environments were modelled after real locations and were shot to resemble miniature sets, maintaining a sense of realism while providing a fitting world for the animated characters to inhabit, making sense to the viewer.
Character Sketches:
Final Character Designs:
Pre-Visalization and Exploration of 3D environments:
Shots from the Final Video
The Team
Thanks for Watching!