American Library Association

2018 Banned Books

The American Library Association is committed to fighting against censorship. As librarians, they know that the best way to fight back against censorship is to speak out — to raise your voice and bring attention to attacks on educational freedom wherever they come up. In 2018, they compiled their annual “Most Banned Books” list, but they knew that to really make a difference they needed a way to get the message out.

The solution? A motion video that they could promote through social media channels to generate buzz and excitement about the topic. Cubicle Ninjas worked to design, storyboard, and built out a rich and compelling animated presentation of the 2018 list, bringing the characters from these controversial books to life and driving home how much we stand to lose if we allow art to be lost to censorship.

With a stunning, shareable animated video in hand, the American Library Association was able to promote its 2018 Banned Books list to a much wider and more engaged audience than ever before.

Frame 58
Action

From the bottom, a hand holding a phone pops in and bops the book off screen in animation. From the bottom, a second hand slides in towards the phone.

Dialogue

That can mean circulating…

Frame 59
Action

The finger presses a button on the phone and pops in animation when it touches the screen. Simultaneously, a second hand holding a phone slides in. The left most hand slides off to the left of the screen and the right mist hand slides off to the right leaving a blank background.

Dialogue

…petitions on social media…

Frame 60
Action

From the left a stage with a man slides in on screen, while at the same time a panel of people pop in from the bottom. One by one, they lift their hands as the man on the stage moves his pointing stick around.

Dialogue

…piling into board meetings…

Frame 61
Action

The camera pans over right. The carpeting is now a desk with legal scales. A fist pounds on the desk.

Dialogue

…and demanding change…

Frame 62
Action

The camera pans over left. The desk is now a coffee table with a book club discussion.

Dialogue

…hosting discussions…

Frame 63
Action

The camera pans up. Speech bubbles pop up in succession.

Dialogue

…or even just speaking out…