Zero-budget motion design that outperformed typical content 10x and became the go-to intro for events and festivals.
Results at a Glance
Typical Engagement
Runtime
Social + Live Events
Project Overview
Help a Hero is a nonprofit providing tactical gear, medical supplies, and logistical support to Ukraine's defenders. They were scaling up — appearing at more public events, organizing their own festival — and needed a professional introduction to establish credibility with new audiences.
The Brief:
Create a 60-second video that explains who they are, what they do, and why it matters — something they could use both on social media and at in-person events.
My Role
✔ Script Development & Storyboarding
✔ Motion Design & Visual Storytelling
✔ Video Editing & Post-Production
✔ Voiceover & Sound Design
The Challenge
Communicate a complex humanitarian mission in under a minute, with no budget for professional voiceover or stock footage.
My Approach
Script & Framing
I worked with their project manager over several weeks to nail the messaging. The challenge wasn't what to include — it was what to cut. We had to distill months of work into 60 seconds without losing emotional impact.
Motion Design
I designed custom graphics in Figma, then animated them in After Effects. The visual style needed to feel urgent but hopeful — not war footage, but not sterile either.
Sound Design
With no budget for professional voiceover, I recorded it myself and used Ableton for audio cleanup to get it to broadcast quality. Sound effects were layered to make transitions feel natural and build anticipation at key moments.
Multi-Platform Optimization
Designed in vertical format with captions for silent autoplay on social. The same video works in presentation settings without needing additional context.
Results
vs. organization's typical content
Became standard intro for festival and public presentations
Works on social and in-person presentations
Reflection
What I Learned
Constraints force creativity. No budget meant I had to do voiceover, sound design, and motion graphics myself — skills I hadn't combined before. The limitation became an opportunity to own the entire production pipeline.
What I'd Do Differently
Plan for multiple cuts from the start. After launch, we needed a 30-second version and a horizontal format for presentations. Building modular assets upfront would have saved rework.
Other projects
