The direction for this documentary was to create a dark underwater environment. Our initial passes were more subtle — they had fewer particles and were against a near-black backplate. We gradually pushed the intensity to get to the final graphics present here. These don’t use any footage — every element comes from within After Effects. I use a spotlight reveal on the type, as if a diver is discovering the graphic. The intertitles use TT Norms Pro and the main title lockup was provided by National Geographic from their print campaign. I had also created an alternate over-picture design where we lose the underwater environment but retain the spotlight glow and ripple. Lastly, I created captions when needed.