Giant Pacific Octopus

Client: Blue Planet Aquarium
Exhibit Design and Production: ZED Creative

Project: Interpretation video to explain interesting facts about octopuses
Created with: Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects

The Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire was creating a new Giant Pacific Octopus exhibit and we were asked to produce a two and a half minute piece for the exhibit. There would be a number of shows throughout the day where the octopus’ handler would demonstrate some of it’s abilities to visitors, but much of the time there would be little happening – octopuses are not always the most active of creatures. So the video was intended to explain all of the fascinating facts about their lives.

The real challenge turned out to be something unexpected – trying not to include too much information. There was so much fascinating material to choose from, it was difficult to decide what to leave in and what to take out in order to keep the piece to a reasonable length.

The video was created using a combination of live action footage which we shot at the aquarium, motion graphics and animated stock photos, to keep the piece lively and engaging throughout. This approach meant that the imagery could be diverse while keeping the piece to a modest budget.