Introduction
Overview
The animated commercial, created using stop-motion animation, is aimed at the healthcare sector. The final product is a humorous, motion-driven sunscreen advertisement designed to reduce resistance and increase daily sunscreen use with Sun Protection Factor (SPF).
Context & Problem
It is challenging to target digital healthcare products to a younger audience, especially when it comes to the health benefits of sunscreen use.
I created a relatable product in which the healthcare message comes as a surprise at the end. The whole scene is loaded with humorous moments, intended to go viral across social media platforms. Special emphasis is placed on the use of animated software tools and sound editing to match the high-quality products consumed by a younger audience on those platforms.
This project was part of the Motion Across Media course, a graduate course at Quinnipiac University.
Goals & Success Criteria
This product was part of a university program assignment and not a genuine campaign. While achieving a specific number of views and sharing the clip on social media platforms can serve as metrics of success, the project's primary objective was different.
Audience
This product targets teens and young adults with low interest in healthcare who are likely to avoid sunscreen. They scroll quickly, skip ads, and disengage when content feels like a lecture. They respond to humor and unique viewpoints; sharing potential is key.
The major factors that guided me throughout the creative process:
Use humor to deliver the message
Use of animated fruits and vegetables instead of humans because this is more unique, memorable, and has higher sharing potential.
Delay displaying the message until the end to create suspense and engagement, and reduce early drop-off rates.
Creative Concept
Early in the creative process, I decided to emphasize humor, similar to a sitcom with frequent punchlines. Using real fruits and vegetables supports this strategy because it's unexpected, visually rich, and metaphor-friendly.
The story reflects human tendencies: the potato finds a cozy spot, settles in, and stays until it's too late. Transforming a raw potato into a Ruffles chip delivers a message statistics alone can't. The final product is playful, fast, clear, and impactful.
Approach
The production of this digital product included three major stages:
Pre-Production
Pre-production summary
Storyboards
Production
Planning materials and scenario creation
Stop motion animation
Post-production
Video editing
Sound design
Visual effects
Rendering and uploading
Stage 1: Pre-production
Establishing the foundation
The focus of this stage was locking the story before anything was built or filmed. Defining the narrative arc, characters, and storyboard early ensured that every production decision had a clear creative path.
Methodology
Develop a formal Pre-production Summary and creative brief
Create a Storyboard
Pre-production Summary
The first step was a written synopsis of the product. This included a draft of the sequence of events, dividing the study into four major scenes that correspond to the main character's state: potato, sweet potato, chips, and end message.
Then I dove deeper into each scene, developing the storyline and side characters, and writing the story's text. Here, I considered the need for frequent punches and the visual potential of each scene.
Storyboards
The final storyboard a six-shot storyboard, was built to translate the three-act linear structure into visual terms:
Exposition: The potato discovers a beach chair.
Complication: Time passes, tanning advances.
Resolution: The reveal of a fully friend chip due to not using sunscreen.
Stage 2: Production
Building the set and bringing the objects to life through stop motion
At this stage, the focus was on building the physical set to enhance the story. Thoughtful set design, lighting, accessories, and rigging contributed to a more efficient stop-motion recording and a polished final product.
Methodology
Plan materials and scenario creation
Execute stop motion animation
Planning Materials and Scenario Creation
The physical set was carefully designed to be clearly visible yet not overcrowded. Materials included sand, a scaled folding beach chair, and other ambiance elements like paper waves, a boat, beach umbrellas, and a little turtle. Vegetables, such as tomatoes and oranges, were used to represent different kinds of people at the beach. All of them were dressed as humans, wearing common beach accessories.
During this phase, practical lighting, a tripod, and a digital camera were used. The camera position was fixed for all wide shots, providing a stable reference and allowing the chair to act as a consistent anchor. This setup enabled smooth, repetitive vegetable crossings in both directions. The key-light placement and prop scale were adjusted to keep the main character visible throughout.
Stop Motion Animation
Production focused on a single, ongoing craft challenge: making a rigid, expressionless object perform. To accomplish this, hidden rigging was used during filming, and an incremental number of frames was captured. This technique conveyed the movements smoothly.
The vegetable crossings were arranged to move alternately—left to right, then right to left—creating the illusion of a passage of time. Also, adding wave motion to the beach enhanced this illusion and the product's overall authenticity.
Stage 3:
Post-production
Refining the story through rhythm and detail
This phase transformed raw footage into a polished final piece. Through editing, sound, and visual effects, I controlled pacing, amplified emotion, and ensured the message landed with clarity and impact.
Methodology
Conduct video editing
Perform sound design
Apply visual effects
Render and upload final video
Video Editing
Assembly and sequence editing were completed in Adobe Premiere Pro. All the pictures were named in numerical sequence to import them into Premiere Pro as a sequence. This was set to 23.96 frames per second to ensure smooth frame-to-frame movement. The video was set at 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high.
No dialogue was incorporated; instead, the edit depended entirely on timing, staging, and sound design to tell the story.
Sound Design
The audio was built in layers and treated as a secondary script. Background sounds included ambient waves and beach noises, such as seagulls. To create a realistic scenario, detailed sound effects were included, such as footsteps that grounded each character's movement.
Humor sounds were incorporated throughout the video. A funny scene features a potato whistling at an passing avocado, with amusing background conversations among the vegetables. The finale includes a surprise scream highlighting sunscreen neglect. All sounds are credited for copyright.
Visual Effects
Adobe After Effects was used to create specific transitions in the video, including the illustrative circle that concludes the narrative. This effect was achieved using a black mask with Keyframes.
Motion graphics were produced using Adobe Premiere Pro. A bold font emphasized the message: when the Chip potato appears, it reads “Use Sunscreen.” This strong font underscores the video's point, making the sunscreen reminder stand out without additional explanation. Kinetic closing titles were animated to display credits and copyrights.
Rendering and Uploading
Once all post-production was ready. The final deliverable was rendered and optimized for short-form digital distribution. The completed piece was uploaded to YouTube.
Iterations & Feedback
Upon preliminary review of the final product, I have identified several technical issues. Firstly, the size of the concluding textual message was small and obscured within the beach visuals. I have increased the font size to ensure that the key message is clear and visible.
Second, I toned down the audio wave motion because it was mainly used for authenticity and was not a key element in the story. Lastly, after feedback from my schoolmates, I have slightly shortened the video by three seconds (5% of total time) to reduce the dropout rate and “get to the point faster.”
On the technical side, I was pleased with the final product and the choice of software tools. Adobe Premiere Pro supported the required motion aspect of the product, contributing to the overall authenticity of the scene.
Outcome
The final outcome, 59 seconds long, was uploaded to YouTube
Reflections and Next Steps
Creating this stop-motion commercial reinforced that animation isn’t just a medium I enjoy. It’s a way of thinking. The process demands patience, iteration, and an obsession with timing: how a tiny change in spacing, rhythm, or pacing can transform the meaning of a moment. That same sensitivity to motion and sequencing shows up in my UX/UI work as an attention to user flow, narrative, and clarity, making sure every transition, microinteraction, and state change feels intentional rather than decorative.
My background in animation and sound editing tools also strengthens my design practice in practical ways. Motion helps me communicate hierarchy and cause-and-effect, reduce perceived friction, and guide attention without adding visual noise. Many of the digital products I design and develop can incorporate animated content, from a bubbling cup of hot coffee on a restaurant’s digital menu to an original animation of a screen change in a mobile app. In short, animation expands my toolkit for designing interfaces that feel alive, legible, and emotionally resonant.
Looking forward, I want to keep integrating motion as a core part of the product experience by exploring more advanced motion systems, refining how I document interaction choreography, and deepening my understanding of accessibility and performance considerations in animation. I’m excited to continue building prototypes that unite UX strategy with expressive, purposeful motion, and to pursue opportunities where storytelling, interaction design, and animation come together to create memorable experiences.
