Drawing the Line: The Opioid Epidemic in America
Communicating a complex timeline of events in a compelling visual narrative
Overview
In 2021 I was approached by OfCourse! To create a gripping Motion Graphics piece that tackled the complex issue that is the Opioid Epidemic in the United States. The Client provided all the copy content but gave me complete freedom on visual approach. Inspired by media of the time like The Pharmacist (Netflix, 2020) and Do No Harm (2018) I decided to go with an almost horror-like feeling to visually equate the deaths caused by Pharmaceuticals to the sensationalist —and significantly lower— casualties of any True Crime documentary.
Challenges
- Low-budget meant a lot of fishing for royalty-free and free use images to support the narrative
- Little-to-none existing documentation online of media coverage
- How to narrate information blurbs without feeling like a soulless drone.
Solutions
Templatized the sections for easy repeatability, cutting down drastically on production time. Created the necessary Newspaper headlines we just couldn’t find. Decided to not have a voiceover, and instead chose a harrowing background track.
Result
“I always enjoy the artistic sensibilities Jordi brings to our projects. He’s explosively creative but also responsive and timely. We’ve worked on many animations but this Opioid Timeline stands out above all others and has been very well received by all of my clients.”
LA Times + Pfizer social content
Motion Graphics, video editing
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