The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), along with the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (UNFAO), have been working tirelessly with NGOs and governments worldwide for decades, looking out for and empowering small-scale fishworkers across the globe. In that time, they’ve compiled an exhaustive voluntary guidelines document, which covers every conceivable aspect of fishworkers’ rights and livelihoods, and advises organisations and governments on how to make sure those rights and livelihoods are always protected, and prioritised.
Even though we have no actual experience making animated videos, when the ICSF came to us with the task of creating a series of 4 animated films for the UNFAO, there was no way on earth we were going to let that opportunity pass us by. So we did what we always do when faced with a creative challenge like this — we found an expert in the field, with whom we could collaborate, put our heads together, combine our expertise with theirs, and eventually create something we could all be proud of. With Basim Abu on board, everything fell right into place, and we ended up working together for months on this most special of projects.
We created the final four animated films in a distinctive, charming, hand-drawn and hand-animated style. The entire process was a real learning experience for us, and by the end of it we had become so well-versed with the nuances involved in an animation project of this scale, we’re looking forward to taking on even more work in this domain.
If you’d like to nerd out on the process we followed, and get a glimpse into what it’s like creating animated films like these, head over to the case study on our blog, where we explain every step in sweet, satisfying detail.
If geeking out on the details isn’t your thing, that’s fine too. Take a gander at the teaser trailer we created using our favourite bits and pieces from the final films:
ILLUSTRATION & ANIMATION :
Basim Abu
SCRIPT, CONCEPT & CREATIVE DIRECTION:
Tushar Menon, Arjun Rajkishore, Vikram Bhalla
SOUND PRODUCTION & MUSIC:
VOICEOVERS:
Vandana Bhalla, Vikram Bhalla
FINAL FILMS
And finally, here are the four final films, in all their finished glory. Popcorn not included, but recommended!