A variety of animated artworks of Reconciliation Action Plans.

There has been a recent push in many companies to put emphasis on the indigenous communities by way of the ‘Reconciliation Action Plan’.

The goals, generally speaking, include being more aware and inclusive to First Nations people, and help foster growth for them when they’d normally, historically, be overlooked.

Each company has its own approach and details laid out in a ‘Reconciliation Action Plan’ document. And a huge part of this is graphic design.

These artworks have been designed by Elaine Chambers-Hegarty; an Aboriginal artist. Each artwork represents its companies core values, by using Aboriginal art motifs and design elements.

I was tasked with animating the artworks to build them from the ground up, and to isolate and explain each element.

The winning formula has been animating a dynamic camera, panning and twisting across the artwork like a landscape. Each shot required a different camera setup to get the motion exactly how I envisioned. Because the camera moved and swooped so much, telegraphing smooth, predictable movements was key to avoiding motion sickness. (I’ve done many ‘camera flies across artwork’ animations. Too much spinning gets nauseating fast!)

A personal goal was absolute respect to the artwork, and minimising anything transformative. Any movements were often dictated by what the design elements represented: Rivers would flow, people would wiggle, mountains would grow and erode at the edges, and so on. Maintaining the spirit and integrity of someone else’s artwork, especially for a Reconciliation Action Plan, is important.