The opening three scenes are still images but needed to feel like video. Adding subtle moving elements lifted the opening shots, rendering scenes that felt more lifelike. Slow-moving fog is composited over the coffee cup to resemble steam emitting from a hot cup of coffee.

The scene with the tablet is also a still image. A glow is overlaid onto the table, which shows light emitting from the tablet. This reflective glow and the slow zoom into the tablet lift the still image to render a more lifelike scene.

Compositing individual elements across certain scenes created a convincing world of connectivity. Rotoscoping, tracking, and color correction are used throughout the video. Similar to the images, there was a limitation on what footage could be used.

All the footage we provided was in MP4 format. This limits the amount of data that can be used when looking for tracking points and color grading. The multi-color line which animates into each scene required rotoscoping and tracking so the animation would feel smooth and a part of the world.

The limitations meant some shots needed to be manually rotoscoped and keyframed. Several attempts to track footage failed in After Effects, Mocha, and Cinema 4D. This meant some good old fashioned frame-by-frame rotoscoping and keyframing was needed.

Certain shots required the multi-colored line to have depth when animating. The scene in the city required a different execution than other shots as it was a hero shot of the line morphing into the logo. Cinema 4D is used to 3D track the scene and animate the line morphing into the logo. The use of 3D helped garner more control over the nuances in the animation.

The UI animation is done with a combination of Figma and After Effects. Much of it was straightforward as there was plenty of reference to pull from. Pixel-perfect attention to detail was important to create a Facebook UI that was believable.