Medium Explainer :
The Death of Critical Thinking Will Kills Us Long Before AI
Client: Medium
Objective:
My goal was to create an appropriate length explainer animation based on Joan Westenberg’s opinion article “The Death of Critical Thinking Will Kill Us Long Before AI”, hosted on the blogging site Medium.
My Partners:
Isabella Smith (Me):
Script Writer & Coordinator
Line Producer & Music Consultant
Editor
Animator
Elisabeth Augustine
Lead Designer
Music Consultant
Animator
Cel Animation Specialist
Sofia Tea
Designer
Animator
Voice Actor
Music Consultant
Responsibilites:
Script
In the age of viral media, many are losing patience for complex texts.
Sensationalism overwhelms us, fragments our focus, and makes reading feel like an intimidating chore rather than a tool to educate and empower.
Algorithms manipulate the truth and fuel clickbait, distorting genuine conversation.
No system can replace human insight—but we risk abandoning a millennium of valuable comprehension.
Will we let our critical thinking slip away, or choose to protect it?
Text was based on Joan Westenberg’s article, which can be found here:
Storyboards
Our group focused on an abstract portrayal of these complex topics, in order to make the video less reliant on our audio. We assumed there would be some viewers that would not have access to the audio, depending on the scenario in which they viewed the explainer.
While these storyboards changed over the course of the project, it’s a glimpse into how our process started and how our team came together to create and evolve together over the course of five weeks.
Animation
First Pass Animatic
Animatic & Initial Motion Tests
We wanted to show the most dynamic movements, playing with After Effects 3D capabilities. This also challenged our file building skills, since we had to be aware of what we created before we sent it off to another group member.
We kept pushing the animatic, aiming to have complete blocking by our next deadline. This way we’d avoid showing any storyboards & only focus on style frames.
Second Pass Animatic
Additional Motion Tests & Blocking
We reached our goal of only showing style frames and completed blocking, removing any storyboards that remained in our animatic. This gave us access to more conversations about timing, animation, and overall design with our art director, now showing the completed version of our planning.
Blocking & First Pass Animation
It’s All About Refinement
This pass allowed us to push the style frames even further, planning out cel pieces, and working towards improving the animation of the overall piece.
We also created a backing track and voice over with our Sound Designer/Producer Kelly Warner, who generously gave us his time towards recording and composing.
Second Pass Animation
Revisions & Development
In this pass, we continued to tweak the framing and transitions of several shots, making the group decision to remove certain elements from the planned storyboards that were not advantageous to what was becoming our final animation. We also got in the studio with our sound producer and recorded a new voiceover to replace our scratch track and added a preliminary music bed.
Third Pass Animation
Fluid Transitions
With our new voice over and music track finalized, our efforts turned to making the piece more fluid between shots, aiming to rework transitions as we approached our final deadline. This included experimenting with the animation and layout of multiple shots with the added task of timing it all to our new voice track.
Additional Revisions
Cel Additions and FX Fixes
We really pushed for this pass to be as complete as possible, fixing different animations, designs, and effects we’d added to the project to give it an even more cohesive look. In this pass, cel additions were also added throughout the animation to tie the final product more closely to our original pitched style frames. We also updated the credits look and copy to better reflect all the help we’d received on the piece.
