SOULS OF THE VERMILION SEA
The art of the animation
A collection of stills from the animated parts I was commissioned to develop for the wildlife conservation documentary "Souls of the Vermilion Sea" produced by Wild Lens. The documentary seeks to raise awareness for the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, which faces imminent extinction from the illegal totoaba trade in the Sea of Cortez. The animated elements enable the visualisation of scenes that are nigh impossible to capture on cameras - from vaquita families swimming through dark waters to the illegal fishing of totoabas in the dead of night.
The visual style of the animation was chosen to evoke a sense of gritty realism with the imperfection of memory; a combination of cutout-like animated elements integrated with realistic CGI environments creates a visually unique atmosphere to the scenes portrayed - both separating it from the live-action parts of the documentary, while simultaneously existing as an extension of the overall story - giving visual life to the stories told by the people living in and around the Sea of Cortez.
