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Octopus Garden
Deep beneath the waves off the coast of Central California, thousands of mother octopus brood their eggs on the seafloor. In 2023, MBARI researchers and their collaborators discovered that
Off the coast of Central California, deep beneath the waves, thousands of mother octopus nestle amongst hydrothermal springs on the seafloor. In 2023, MBARI researchers and their collaborators discovered that the warm water from the springs helps speed up the development of the octopus' eggs. This brooding time boost gives the octopus babies a better chance at surviving in the frigid world that they are hatched into.
The SciComm and Video Lab teams at MBARI produced a video to accompany the publication of this discovery. I was responsible for developing animations that visualized facts and data that were key to the researchers' story.
Role
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Motion Design
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Graphic Design
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Illustration
At the start of this animation, I use a research ship (MBARI's R/V David Packard) modeled to scale to help viewers visualize just how deep below the surface an animal can be found.
Sketches
I executed the design phase of this project remotely, sketching ideas both on paper and on a digital whiteboard that I shared with my coworkers over Zoom in real-time.
Title Card Elements
AOTD's title card pays homage to the triangle in MBARI's logo that represents Monterey Canyon, the institute's home base.
We populated this canyon with iconic species that MBARI has encountered there:
a deep-sea coral, vampire squid, spider crab and gulper eel (also featured in MBARI's logo).
Outcomes
Check out the video on MBARI's YouTube channel to see these motion graphics in action!
Additionally, I wrote a behind-the-scenes web story detailing the exciting collaboration between BBC and MBARI that led to the featuring of the Octopus Garden in Planet Earth III.
