Babyland on ABC’s 20/20 this Friday

Been working on graphics this week for just about the saddest show ever: Babyland, our special edition of 20/20. You can watch the opening of the film here.

A little about what it’s about, courtesy of the press release:

There are places in America where the unthinkable is happening — too many babies are dying. In most cities, black babies are dying at three times the rate of white babies. That’s what’s happening in Memphis, Tennessee, the city with the nation’s highest rate of infant mortality. A baby dies there on average every 43 hours. But many people are working to change that startling statistic. “Babyland,” a one-hour report anchored by Elizabeth Vargas, airs on “20/20,” FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 (10:00-11:00 pm, ET) on the ABC Television Network.

It’s a really important topic, and I definitely think it’s worth watching (and for more reasons than “hey, that’s my work on TV!”), but a warning: some of the footage is pretty intense. I’ve been working on this all week and am still having a bit of a hard time with all the tiny caskets.

China Inside Out airs this Wednesday!

Can’t wait to see it all done and on air!

My Work on ABC Next Week!

My company’s newest documentary, China Inside Out: Bob Woodruff Reports, premieres next Wednesday night (Aug 6th) on ABC. It’s a special edition of Primetime. I’m excited — it’s my first time I’ll have my graphics on one of the big four networks, and the logo I designed is already popping up in various places on the web.

It’s amazing how many graphics even an entirely live action film needs. Opening titles, logo bumpers for the start and end of every segment, locator maps, lower thirds, end credits — even the midbreak “…will return in a moment” is an animated clip. And on top of the show elements, there are web graphics, promo sequences, email ‘postcard’ promo images… the list goes on. And all this stuff, no matter how elaborate, pretty much goes under the radar of most viewers. If it doesn’t, something’s wrong: it’s either too over-the-top and distracts from the story or lacks the production value that makes your show seem like a real, professional undertaking. The graphics are important; they set the tone and help with the overall feel of the documentary — but subtle is key. That said, I’m pretty happy with the ones I’ve done for China. They’re shiny.

Anyway, a little more about the show:

China Inside Out, a documentary reported by ABC News’ Bob Woodruff, explores the stunning global transformation that is taking place at the outset of what is already being called “The Chinese Century.” While much of American foreign policy has been focused on the Global War on Terror, China has been shaking hands and making deals all around the world. In this hour-long documentary, Woodruff examines four of those relationships to discover how China’s rise is impacting all of us.

You can read more at my company’s site.