King’s College London: Undergraduate Admissions video
Sarah and David at King's College London's wanted to create an animation that would give an overview of the undergraduate admissions process to potential applicants.
The video needed to help viewers understand broadly what to expect when applying, while emphasising specific points (such as encouraging applicants to check their messages) and, of course, convey how exciting King's is as a study destination.
David at King's led on the project, and he and the team had developed a strong vision for the project. They produced a written treatment, introducing the concept of a piece of paper travelling through the process - transforming at various stages into a boat, an aeroplane and an entire city at the end.
A talented member of the team produced some sketches, showing elements such as the river scene from an isometric viewpoint, which were very helpful for developing the look of the video.
Armed with the King's brand pack, I decided that a look that was simultaneously clean and hand-crafted would convey a good balance of approachability and professionalism. Drawing vector assets in Illustrator allowed me to create the precise shapes of the folded paper elements, and then textures were applied with brushes in Photoshop to give a human touch.
I produced style frames for David and Sarah to consider, and then a detailed storyboard that was as faithful to the team's vision as possible. Prior to completing the storyboard, I made some test animations of sequences that I felt might be more challenging to ensure I'd be able to deliver them within budget - these included the book, aeroplane transition and final city scene.
Where I didn't think certain ideas would work I tried to provide alternative solutions that fit with the overall themes of the video.
The excellent voiceover work was provided by two talented members of the team - Laura, an actor, and Gabi, a heavy metal musician and producer.
Overall I was very pleased with how the project turned out, and it was great to work with a team who had such strong creative ideas. Some of the more ambitious scenes required several revisions to get down, but in all cases the extra time spent on these was well worth it.
I think the video achieves the brief of giving an accessible and engaging overview of the application process, while making applicants aware of specific pitfalls and requirements, and also works as an effective piece of marketing content.
