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Case Study

2D Animated Video

Making fish subsidies
easy to follow.

We made this 2D animated video for the International Institute for Sustainable Development. It shows how fisheries subsidies fuel overfishing and why a WTO agreement is needed.

Client

IISD

Style

2D Animation

Runtime

2:12

where the fish went

01

The Brief

IISD wanted a broad audience to understand a trade policy issue. Fisheries subsidies are a dry subject. The history covers two decades of WTO negotiations and a UN Sustainable Development Goal. The video had to tie that history to emptier oceans and fishing communities that are struggling.

02

Our Approach

The video opens with what people can picture: fewer fish, bigger fleets and longer trips. It then traces the money from taxpayers to industrial fleets. A simple timeline covers the WTO talks and the UN’s Goal 14. The ocean stays on screen the whole way through.

eight key moments

Where the Money Goes

The script travels from the ocean to the negotiating table. These eight frames show how.

1

Open water

Help is needed now.

2

Too few fish

More than a third of populations are overfished.

3

Public money

Large fleets receive the cash.

4

Local fishers

Smaller boats bring in less.

5

Trade talks

Negotiating an end to harmful subsidies.

6

Goal 14

The UN sets a target.

7

Back and forth

Officials pass the goal around.

8

What could be lost

Livelihoods, food security and fish.

sketch first, then animate

Storyboards and Script

Every scene was sketched before color was added. Each sketch matches one line of the script with one action. Choose a panel to see the sketch beside the final frame.

Storyboard sketch, panel 10
SketchPanel 10
Final animated frame, panel 10
Final frame8 of 14
Script

"WTO members debated details like the types of subsidies to be prohibited."

Action

Officials toss the SDG 14 icon back and forth.

the final artwork

Design and Illustration

The artwork makes a policy story simple to see. These are the finished frames up close.

The personal chef
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The personal chef
The personal chef
The personal chef
The personal chef
The personal chef
The personal chef
The personal chef
The personal chef
The personal chef

Watch the Video

2D Animation · IISD

next step

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