The Sexual Assault PSA Start By Believing aims at spreading awareness among students about sexual assault – a common problem in universities across the globe, and that involves young people of any gender and race.
The goal of the storyboarding stage was to find ways to represent the inner reality of a sexual assault victim without showing potentially triggering images. The visual narrative was therefore chosen to express the sense of loneliness and isolation that survivors tend to experience. The sketched concepts where then given a recognizable visual identity based on the contrast between crowded colorful scenes and empty dark ones.
Each image seamlessly transitions into the next, never resorting to cuts for changes of scene. This generates the feeling that, as viewers, we are following the main character’s inner experience in its entirety.
While expressing a survivor’s feeling of helplessness was important, it was also crucial to incorporate a positive and comforting message for victims of sexual assault. For this reason, the visuals of the animation also include brighter scenes crowded with supportive people, as long as representations of feelings of hope and peace in the main character.
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Laura Faraci
Montana Department of Justice
2024
Montana, USA