Lever Talent, in partnership with Studio Lewis, reached out to me to build the brand and create motion graphics for Season 1 of their video series, The Lever. Hosted by Drew Fortin, Season 1 features contributor commentary from experts in economics, business, as well as academia and breaks down how artificial intelligence (AI), automation, robotics, and Web3, will fundamentally change the role of humans in the future of work.
In order to help the series reach new audiences as well as break down complex topics of Web3, robotics, AI, and more, we developed a visual language that could be used across the series, as well as additional marketing and social assets, to bring the concepts to life.
The design and style for the series melds the ideas presented in the original brand for Lever Talent mixed with gradients and clean line styles. The color in the gradients speaks to the wild possibilities that generative AI and the future of work present to the world, while the clean white lines and wireframe grids show the precision and the technological nature of future tech and innovation.
I started first by developing motion graphics templates for the Lower Thirds that could be used across all 23 contributor interviews, as well as several contributor window animations that could enhance the look of zoom calls beyond simple screen recordings.
I created a dynamic episode opening title sequence, used across the series, that blends both visual styles in the interviews together. The open highlights key concepts and visual motifs for the viewer seen across the series.
We also wanted to treat archival sources with visual framing. Drew was looking for a way for technology's development and reporting to feel "overwhelming" and "vast" to the viewer. That way, the series could break down the innovations further to excite the viewer at technology's possibilities. We utilized 3D tools to place archival in a void, which the viewer sails through and takes in all at once.
To break down many concepts of innovation, I also utilized 3D models created in Cinema 4D and used Sketch and Toon to render objects as schematics. I then blended these objects with tools in After Effects to seamlessly translate the style to The Lever brand.
We also created several text title templates that mimic app design, to break down complex topics and help the viewer visualize how concepts in AI might translate to their everyday apps and tools.
Across the six episode season, I built over 36 unique, fully animated scenes, as well as several templated text callouts, visual backgrounds, credits, and more. When blended with final sound design and art direction by Connor Lewis, the final graphics stand out among other reporting about the future of AI technology. Below are several select animations from the series showing the diversity of animation techniques we created.
Animations were also utilized across social promotion for the series, including vertical video selects and podcast artwork.
For more on the entire series, The Lever, and to see all of the animation work, visit their website at https://levertalent.com/the-lever-show-future-of-work-trends. You can also watch full episodes on Youtube by clicking the link below.
Illustration, Motion Graphics, 3D Animation, and Templates by Arthur Lembo
Executive Producer: Connor Lewis
Host and Producer: Drew Fortin
