This short explainer animation was created for the EcoTravel app, a new platform designed by researchers at University College London to encourage greener travel choices and highlight the benefits of sustainable commuting. The video introduces the app’s key features and demonstrates how users, employers, and policymakers can all benefit.
EcoTravel is a free mobile app that tracks your journeys and calculates the carbon footprint of your travel. Whether you’re walking, cycling, driving, or using public transport, EcoTravel helps you see the impact of your choices and rewards you with "eco-points" for choosing cleaner ways to travel. These points can be swapped for rewards such as discounts on transport, gym memberships, and wellbeing products.
By opting in, users can also contribute anonymous data to shape greener policies, healthier cities, and stronger local eco-initiatives.
Stills from the Animation:
Production Process:
Script & style concept
Our client provided a script which we made edits to and imagined the visuals to accompany the script. Two style concepts was designed to give an idea of how the animation would look.
Sketched Storyboards and Animatic Video
A storyboard was sketched out based on the script in Photoshop then uploaded to Boords. The storyboard images were then put into a video sequence with a draft voiceover recording so we could test the timings and ensure the script and images made sense when played together.
At this point we made some script and image revisions before moving to the next stage.
Illustration of Animation Assets
Once the sketched storyboards were signed off, the storyboards were illustrated in the style design.
The illustrations were created using Adobe Illustrator.
Some revisions were made before moving onto the next production phase.
Animation
The animation phase started by preparing all the illustrations for animation. This involved separating artwork out onto layers and naming them.
Illustrator files were imported into Adobe After Effects then animated.
A professional voice over artist recorded the script then the audio track was mixed and edited so it could be animated in time to.
