Sacrifice Zones

Sacrifice Zones: Los Angeles was exhibited at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles in January 2024. It was an immersive and interactive environmental justice experience that merges exhibition with live performance. Utilizing multimedia enriched, documentary theatre and film storytelling, SZ:LA highlighted the damaging effects of decades of industrial pollution on South Los Angeles communities.

Brief

Create an animated short that familiarized visitors with the basic concepts that will be discussed in the exhibit as well as help engage the audience in the world of the live performance.

Approach

Created a speculative narrative in which the struggles faced within sacrifice zones have become a daily norm. The animated alphabet series modeled after 1960s educational children's programming repackages the toxic chemicals, industrial facilities, and environmental justice concepts at the heart of SZ:LA as playful lessons. The familiar format made the dissonance impossible to ignore. All 26 illustrated compositions were animated in After Effects and compiled in Premiere Pro.

Producer & Editor: Nicolas Diaz-Magaloni
Illustrator: Zi Zhang
Motion Designer: Zi Zhang
Composer: Theo Pleasure-Park