‘We were absolutely blown away by the standard of work and how it has added significantly to the overall quality of the course.’

Neale Pledger- Director of Programmes, NITE

The Brief

I worked with the National Institute of Teaching and Education (NITE) to create an educational animation illustrating Byram's model of intercultural competence for their postgraduate Primary school teaching course. The project required transforming complex academic theory into accessible, engaging animated content that would resonate with both students and educators, making the 'Five Savoirs' framework understandable through creative visual storytelling.

The Process

My animation production and educational content development began with analysing Byram's intercultural competence model and identifying the most effective visual approach to communicate these complex pedagogical concepts.

Given the creative nature of the project, I developed a streamlined pre-production process:

Concept Development & Art Direction

  • Pitched the animation concept using mood boards and reference imagery rather than detailed storyboards

  • Established a distinctive visual style that would make abstract educational theory tangible

  • Designed creative animation approaches that balanced expert knowledge with accessibility

Animation Production

  • Created motion graphics that visualised the 'Five Savoirs' framework with clarity and engagement

  • Developed character animation and visual metaphors to illustrate intercultural competence concepts

  • Produced educational video content optimised for postgraduate learning environments

The Result

We delivered an engaging educational animation that successfully transformed Byram's complex theoretical model into dynamic, accessible learning content. 'The Five Savoirs' animation has become a valuable teaching tool, praised by both students and educators for making intercultural competence concepts understandable and memorable.

Key deliverables included:

  • Educational Animation Production: Complete animated explainer video illustrating Byram's model of intercultural competence

  • Creative Visual Storytelling: Motion graphics and character animation that simplify complex pedagogical theory

  • Teaching Resource: Dynamic learning tool for postgraduate Primary teaching courses

  • Mood Board-Driven Design Process: Efficient pre-production approach delivering creative freedom with client approval

The animation production successfully demonstrates how creative motion graphics and visual storytelling can transform academic content into engaging educational media. The positive reception from students and educators validates the effectiveness of using animation for teaching complex theoretical frameworks, establishing a new standard for accessible postgraduate educational content at the National Institute of Teaching and Education.