The Use of Illustrations, Animations and Graphics in 360° Videos
Scrolling through various 360° videos and virtual reality documentaries, you’ve probably noticed different types of flashy animations and colorful illustrations. At Contrast, every graphic, animation and illustration comes with a purpose — we don’t slap them on to the 360° video without careful consideration. Rather, we ask, do they add depth to the story? Do they add other information that we can’t get through live action footage or audio? Will they be more distracting than helpful? Additional graphic elements in immersive storytelling has come a long way in the last few years, so we decided to break down why and how we use these elements to enrich our stories.
1. Portraying memories through animations
In some cases, these elements can help trigger memories. In Contrast’s very first documentary, I Am Rohingya, the character Jamalida Begum describes all the atrocities she suffered in Myanmar while she was being persecuted by the military. Her narrative was powerful, revealing her being raped by soldiers and finding her husband’s dead body. In order to deliver the story sensitively and with the right emphasis, we chose to recreate her experience by using visuals that simultaneously softened the experience of the viewer who is going through the character’s mind and memories. We decided to use a style of fluid illustrations, of sketches that are roughly filled in with a watercolor texture as an acknowledgement that these animations are meant to represent Jamalida’s memories.
At the same time, we made sure to use the 360° space wisely by strategically placing these 2D elements in a way that the viewer would be forced to turn around to explore both the space and her narration. For example, when she mentions that she heard sounds like bombs in her village, we gradually see houses being set on fire one by one around the space, accompanied by sound effects spatially applied as cues for the viewer to look around.
We also used illustration to reconstruct a memory in our second documentary Oil In Our Creeks, where Lessi Phillip describes how the unprecedented oil spill in the Niger Delta destroyed her village in Nigeria a decade ago. On half of the 360° space, the viewer sees live action footage of how the region looks like in present day — on the second half of the 360° space, illustrations depict what the land looked like in the past. The illustrations were hand painted, digitally scanned and then animated. We chose this specific style because Lessi had very fond memories of her village before the oil spill, and we wanted the animations to depict the vibrancy and happiness of her home in the way she remembers it. In this recreation of a memory, we create an explicit juxtaposition between past and present through the split screen, adding an important visual of the oil spill’s impact on the environment.
2. Portraying scientific data through animations
Illustrations and animations in the 360° space can also be very useful in simplifying and demonstrating complicated processes or data for the audience. Furthermore, beyond taking complex ideas and making them more comprehensible, animations can also be helpful in taking processes that are not visible to the human eye and visualizing them for the viewers.
For example, in a social 360° video about the shrinking Dead Sea, we added animations to break down the impact of climate change on the landscape. Instead of relying solely on the data, we visualized the dropping water levels so the viewers could see the processes of climate change happening before their eyes, rather than simply viewing its effects. Through adding these animations to the space, we allow the viewers to engage in a richer and in-depth experience by witnessing the salinification process of the Dead Sea.
3. Portraying dreams through animations
Applying animations to the 360° space is also a tactic to show someone’s dreams and hopes for the future in a compelling way. In Dreaming in Za’atari, we illustrate the dreams of three young Syrians who live in Za’atari refugee camp, Jordan. In many ways, Za’atari refugee camp is defined by its space — its borders are regulated and fenced, a constant reminder of the limitations that the refugees face. A transient space, they are neither within Jordan nor within Syria, their home. Yet, dreams can be limitless, expanding beyond the practical restraints of reality, which we chose to emphasize by using illustrations in the spaces around them.
We used bright and colorful animations to capture the vibrancy of the places, things and journeys they imagine — their desires to visit Paris, become pharmacists and journalists, all coming alive around them. We integrated the illustrations throughout the spaces of the refugee camp, in order to merge the reality with their dreams. In this way, the addition of animations in the virtual reality documentary was able to take the imagined and present it as a real and concrete possibility.
4. Portraying scale and location through maps and satellite imagery
In the short 360° documentary Forced to Flee, which documents the stories of several Rohingya refugees who fled devastating atrocities in Myanmar, we collected satellite images of the area where one of the characters came from. By incorporating satellite images and maps onto the film, we provide important historical and geographic context — not only do we understand where the subjects come from, but also what happened to their homes, an important pretext for understanding why they became refugees today.
We used an animation to re-enact the fires that spread across the villages in Myanmar, so the viewers can understand how the mass fires — started by the Myanmar military — destroyed the villages of the documentary subjects’ homes. Placing the animation over the satellite images was instrumental in demonstrating the scale of the destruction and how it caused thousands of Rohingya to flee.
5. History through archival footage and animations
Often times, 360° documentary filmmakers need to show complementary images that haven’t been captured in 360°. To solve that, archival footage of past events such as wars and catastrophes can be creatively added to a 360° documentary through presenting these traditional linear videos in graphics or creating animations based on these images.
Yemen’s Skies of Terror is a short documentary told by kids and young survivors of the war in Yemen — which entered its fourth year in 2018. In the last few years, Yemen has experienced over 16,000 air raids that have destroyed countless homes and left thousands dead. We captured the aftermath of the air raids through 360 footage, but we also wanted to relay the experience of living with a constant fear of the bombs falling from the skies.
As the documentary is told through the lens of young teenagers and children, we decided to create an animated environment with a simple and almost child-like style. Yet, we juxtaposed this with dreary colors and startlingly realistic and brutal explosions, to convey the sense of youth and innocence that has been tainted by war. The animations in the environment show planes flying overhead and missiles raining down, providing context to what causes the destruction that we later witness in the documentary.
In September 2018, a catastrophic fire hit the National History Museum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Participants of the fourth edition of our training initiative My People, Our Stories captured a protest against the neglect of the government in preserving Brazilian heritage. The participants were unable to capture the huge fire itself, but through linear images we presented the facts and circumstances of the protest in the piece “Rescuing Brazilian Culture”. The sequence of images and videos was important for adding more depth to the story and providing context as to why the fire represents a larger political and cultural significance within Brazil. Without the additional details and archival footage, the viewer would have had a more difficult time understanding the relevance of the protest and its role in the larger discussion about cultural preservation in Brazil.
We hope this is helpful in understanding the different ways we can utilize graphics and animations to enrich an immersive story. If you have any additional ideas for how they can be used, make sure to comment below!
