Art Direction • Design • Animation
Created for the newly refurbished Poole Museum in Dorset, this gallery film tells the story of the Swash Channel Wreck and the discovery of its remarkably preserved ship's rudder, one of the exhibition's centrepiece artefacts.
I was responsible for the art direction, design and animation, developing a visual approach inspired by detective work: gathering clues, examining evidence and piecing together discoveries. The film uses an animated evidence board to bring together archival material, underwater photography, maps and annotations, gradually revealing the story of the wreck and its archaeological investigation.
For moments where no visual records existed, I created stylised animated reconstructions, including the ship sailing the English Channel and its anchor dragging across the seabed before the vessel was lost. White line illustrations, layered 2.5D animation and wave transitions that gently carry visitors underwater connect the evidence-board sequences with the animated reconstructions, creating a seamless journey between historical evidence and imagined events.
